Land use is carefully guarded in South Africa and property owners must use the land for the reason it has been registered. Creating new towns from old agricultural land is a complex process called Township Establishment. If the owners of two or more pieces of land want to merge it into one property, this is called consolidation and must be done according to South African Property Law. The law also permits the creation of smaller units of land by dividing a big piece of land according to a legal process called Subdivision. Contact a Conveyancer at Greyvensteins Attorneys to help ensure that you are changing the structure of your Title legally.
How are townships established in South Africa?
Township establishment is the process of converting land that is zoned for agriculture into land for commercial, industrial and residential use. Township establishment is a complex process that begins with the preparation and submission of a township establishment application. The application will be circulated for comment to relevant government departments and various departments of the local Council.
Municipal By-Laws prescribe how applications must be advertised to allow all stakeholders to comment. This is followed by the approval process by the City Planning Department and the creation of a General Plan for the township which must be prepared by a Land Surveyor and approved at the Surveyor General’s office. Once the Surveyor-General has approved the plan, Civil and electrical engineers must be appointed to compile reports on the installation of engineering services. At this stage, an attorney can apply to open the Township Register. The process can take up to 24 months, and if all goes accordingly, a new Township is proclaimed.
Subdivision of Land in South Africa
Large tracts of land can be divided into smaller erfs. A Land Surveyor is needed to draw up a new diagram of the land and submit it to local authorities for approval. Once the Surveyor-General has approved the sub-divisional plans, a Greyvensteins Conveyancer will draft the appropriate documents and register Title Deeds for the respective subdivisions of the land.
How to Consolidate Land in South Africa
In recent decades, farms around Port Elizabeth have been bought from various owners and merged to create game reserves. The process of creating an enlarged piece of land in this way is called land consolidation. Greyvensteins Conveyencars can assist you with obtaining any bondholder’s consent and registering a Title for the new property by a Certificate of Consolidation.
Greyvensteins Attorneys can assist you to register various changes in land us and Title and will give you expert advise and guidance. Contact us in Gqeberha, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
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