What Does a Property Transfer Really Cost in SA?

Most buyers budget for a deposit and assume the rest of the purchase price is the only real cost of buying a home. Then an offer to purchase is signed, a conveyancer sends through a cost estimate, and the buyer discovers there are several separate bills involved in getting a property registered in their name, none of which are optional and none of which are included in the purchase price itself. With borrowing costs still a significant factor in most buyers' affordability calculations, understanding what these costs are, who charges them, and why they are not all the same thing can prevent an unpleasant surprise a few weeks before the keys change hands.

Transfer duty is a tax, not a fee

Transfer duty is a tax paid to the South African Revenue Service by the buyer, calculated on a sliding scale linked to the purchase price. Under the rates that took effect on 1 April 2025, no duty is payable on the first R1,210,000 of a property's value, after which the rate rises in stages, reaching 13 percent on the portion of the price above roughly R13.3 million. This means most first-time buyers in the lower end of the Gauteng market pay little or no transfer duty, while buyers of higher-value homes pay meaningfully more as the price climbs. Transfer duty is generally due within six months of the date the sale agreement is signed, and interest accrues on late payment. Transfer duty also only applies where the seller is not registered for VAT in relation to that sale. Where the seller is a VAT vendor selling in the course of business, most commonly a developer selling new stock, VAT applies instead, and the two are never charged on the same transaction.

The conveyancer's fee is separate from the tax

The attorney appointed to handle the transfer, usually chosen by the seller, charges a professional fee for preparing the deed, attending to the SARS transfer duty declaration, liaising with the Deeds Office, and seeing the transaction through to registration. This fee is generally calculated on a sliding scale linked to the purchase price and is often quoted against a non-binding guideline tariff published by the Law Society of South Africa, but since the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 came into force, conveyancing fees are not fixed by law and are, in principle, negotiable between attorney and client. It is worth asking a conveyancer for a full written cost estimate before signing an offer to purchase, rather than assuming the fee will match a figure from a generic online calculator, since quotes vary between firms.

A mortgage bond brings its own separate costs

Buyers financing the purchase with a home loan often assume the transfer attorney handles everything, but registering a bond over a property is a distinct legal transaction from transferring ownership, and the bank appoints its own attorney to attend to it, sometimes from the same firm and often from a different one entirely. That attorney charges a separate registration fee, calculated on the loan amount rather than the purchase price, and there is a further Deeds Office fee specifically for lodging the bond. Because these bond costs run in parallel with transfer costs rather than instead of them, buyers who only budget for "transfer costs" as a single number are frequently caught short when the full statement of account arrives, particularly when a large portion of the purchase price is being financed.

The smaller line items that still add up

Beyond duty, the conveyancer's fee and bond costs, a typical transfer account includes a Deeds Office lodgement fee set annually by government gazette and scaled to the property's value, FICA and administration charges, and the cost of obtaining a rates clearance certificate from the local municipality confirming that rates and any other municipal accounts are paid up to date, which sometimes requires the seller to pay several months of rates in advance before the certificate is issued. Where the property is part of a sectional title scheme or a homeowners' association, a levy clearance certificate from the body corporate or association is also required before registration can proceed, and outstanding levies can hold up a transfer just as effectively as outstanding rates.

Getting the real number before you commit

Because so many of these costs depend on the purchase price, the loan amount, and the specific attorneys involved, the only reliable way to know what a transfer will actually cost is to ask for an itemised estimate before signing anything. A responsible conveyancer will set out transfer duty, their own fee, the Deeds Office charges, and an estimate of likely bond costs separately, rather than folding everything into one vague figure. Given how much movement there has been in borrowing costs recently, building a realistic buffer into a home-buying budget, beyond the deposit and the purchase price, is worth doing before an offer is signed rather than after.

If you are buying or selling property and want a clear, itemised picture of what the transfer will cost before you commit to anything, speak to our conveyancing attorneys at Levine and Freedman early in the process so there are no surprises later.