1

Ownership of the majority of property in South Africa is under 'freehold title'.

2

The security of tenure and indisputability of an owner's title is controlled by the Deeds Registration system. This modern system of registration and Title Deeds guarantees the security of property registration.

3

*Only attorneys (solicitors) who are registered as conveyancers are authorised to execute a Deed of Transfer for any change in the ownership of immovable property.

4

A written Deed of Sale, signed by the seller and purchaser (or their agents with written authority) details the contractual obligations between the parties.

5

It is standard practice for the Estate Agents acting on behalf of the client (the seller or purchaser) to negotiate sales and purchases of property. Upon finalisation of the sale, the seller's attorney (the conveyancer) is instructed to pass transfer to the purchaser.

6

The purchaser may choose a conveyancer to manage the conveyance of the property.

7

Registration normally takes between 8 to 12 weeks to finalise.

8

There are no restrictions for non - South African citizens resident abroad to purchase property in South Africa.

9

Non - residents are not restricted from introducing capital into South Africa for the purchase of property.

10

Non - residents who have retained their non - resident status and subsequently wish to sell their property can freely transfer the proceeds of the sale out of the country.

             Immovable property can be held in a number of ways.......

1

in the name of an individual

2

in the name of a partnership ( maximum of 20 partners )

3

in an Inter Vivo Trust

4

in a Closed Corporation ( maximum of 10 members )

5

in a South African registered Private Company

6

in an External Company

7

in an Offshore Trust

1

There is capital gains tax in South Africa levied at c.10% of the profit.

2

At the moment, income derived by a non - resident outside South Africa is not taxed.

3

For South African residents and nationals, the individual's maximum marginal rate of income tax is 40%. It becomes effective when the income reaches R 100,000 pa.

4

A Value Added Tax ( VAT ) of 14% is levied on invoiced goods and services.

Please note:
This above information is provided to give prospective property purchasers an overview of the rules and regulations governing certain aspects of property ownership in South Africa.
These are only guidelines.
More detailed information on Property purchase, Taxation, Exchange Controls, and Immigration are available upon request.

The following costs are payable by the purchaser: -

•

If registered in the name of a company, closed corporation or trust the Transfer Duty (A government property sales tax) is levied at 10% of the purchase price.

•

If registered in the name of the purchaser (a natural person ), the Transfer Duty is a maximum of 8%.

•

The costs of transferring the property - for a property costing R 1m. the transfer costs are approx. 0.6% of the selling price, on R 2m.... 0.36%. This is paid to the seller's conveyancer.

•

The seller pays the Estate Agent's commission. The Institute of Estate Agents recommended tariff is 7% plus VAT ( value added tax @ 14% )