Without your ORIGINAL title deed, you are unable to sell or mortgage your property. A lost or misplaced
title deed will mean that you’ll need to make an application for the certified copy thereof to be issued by the
Deeds Office. A certified copy (certified by anyone other than the Deeds Office) will not be acceptable.
The procedure to be followed for the application for the deeds office certified copy of title deeds has been
significantly changed from 25 February 2019 in terms of the new Regulation 68(1) procedure. The new
application must be signed in front of a Notary Public and must be published in the Government Gazette
where after it must lie for inspection at the Deeds Registry for two weeks after the date of publication.
There are extra costs involved in having documents notarised and placing an advertisement in the
Government Gazette. The biggest cost, however, lies in the fact that the seller’s sale or the registration of a
further mortgage bond taken out will be delayed should the problem be uncovered too close to the
expected date of transfer.
We are currently waiting for a directive from the Chief Registrar to get more clarity on the practical
arrangements, but it is important to establish the whereabouts of the title deed when you commence with
the marketing process.
Please remember that the title deed will be with the bank if the property is bonded so do not panic if you
don’t have your title deed for a bonded property. The bank holds it as part of their security and if the bank
has misplaced it this will only become known to the conveyancer at an advanced stage of the transfer
process.
How to proceed with this whether you are the seller, purchaser or agent in respect of a property: confirm
the whereabouts of the title deed of the property.
Should you require assistance with the application for a copy issued by the Deeds Office or if your client is
unsure as to whether their document is with the bank, please contact us to assist you.
Related Services:
Property transfers
