Conveyancing for property in Cape Town
Buying or selling in Cape Town while living in Gauteng, elsewhere in South Africa or abroad? We attend to Cape Town transfers from start to registration.
Cape Town property transfers
We act on transfers of houses, apartments and sectional title units across the Cape Town metropole, including the Atlantic Seaboard, City Bowl, Southern Suburbs and Northern Suburbs. Many of our clients are Gauteng-based families buying or selling a second home in Cape Town, or executors dealing with a Cape Town property in a deceased estate.
Transfers are registered at the Western Cape Deeds Registry in Cape Town. Where physical lodgement is required we work with a correspondent conveyancer in Cape Town, while Julian Bartlett remains your point of contact throughout.
Points specific to Cape Town transfers
- Water installation certificate. The City of Cape Town's water by-law requires a certificate from an accredited plumber confirming the water installation complies, before transfer of the property. This is in addition to the usual electrical certificate.
- Beetle (entomologist) certificate. Offers to purchase for coastal Western Cape property commonly require a certificate that the property is free of wood-destroying beetles. This is a contractual requirement, so check your agreement.
- Rates clearance. We apply to the City of Cape Town for the rates clearance certificate as soon as we have the figures.
- Sectional title and HOA. Apartment and estate transfers need a levy or HOA clearance, and some estates have their own approval requirements.
Signing without travelling
You do not need to travel to Cape Town or to our office. Documents can be signed in the presence of a local attorney or commissioner of oaths, or before a notary public if you are abroad. We arrange the logistics with you.
How we handle a Cape Town transfer
- Quotation and instructionWe send a written quotation and, once instructed, open the file and check the title deed and offer to purchase.
- Figures and clearancesWe request bond cancellation figures and compliance certificates, apply to the City of Cape Town for rates clearance, together with any levy or HOA clearance, and liaise with the bond cancellation attorneys.
- Signing wherever you areYou sign at our Johannesburg office, near where you live, or before a notary abroad.
- Lodgement and registrationDocuments are lodged at the Western Cape Deeds Registry in Cape Town, registered, and the proceeds paid out on registration.
Please note: Bartletts Inc. practises from Johannesburg. We do not have an office in Cape Town; we attend to Cape Town transfers remotely and through correspondent conveyancers where physical lodgement is required.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Cape Town conveyancer for a Cape Town property?
No. Any South African conveyancer may attend to the transfer. The documents are lodged at the Western Cape Deeds Registry, through a correspondent where physical lodgement is needed.
Which certificates does a Cape Town seller need?
Usually an electrical certificate of compliance and the City of Cape Town water installation certificate, plus gas, electric fence and beetle certificates where applicable or required by the offer to purchase.