What is the Deeds Office

The South African Registrar of Deeds, also known as the Deeds Office, is an indpendent directorate within the Department of Land Affairs. The Deeds Office is a government department responsible for the registration, management and maintenance of the property registry of South Africa. It is part of the department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

South Africa has one of the best Deeds Registry systems in the world providing the maximum protection of property due to the strict processes that are followed in registering a property within the Republic of South Africa.

There are ten (10) Deeds Offices in South Africa with the head office in Pretoria. The ten Deeds Offices are:

• Pretoria Deeds Office (Head Office)
• Johannesburg Deeds Office
• Cape Town Deeds Office
• Pietermaritzburg Deeds Office
• Bloemfontein Deeds Office
• Kimberley Deeds Office
• Vryburg Deeds Office
• Mpumalanga Deeds Office
• King William's Town Deeds Office
• Umtata Deeds Office

Each Deeds Office operates independently of each other and are responsible for the registration and management of Deed information for their specific area.

Information that can be obtained from the Deeds Office includes property information including registered bond amount, owner details, last sale date and price and property history, ordering copies of Title Deed document and Marriage (Antenuptial) contracts, tracking the progress of a property or bond registration and much more.

The deeds registry is open to any member of the public to access information with regard to the following:

• the registered owner of a property;
• the conditions affecting such property;
• interdicts and contracts in respect of the property;
• purchase price of the property;
• rules of a sectional title scheme;
• a copy of an antenuptial contract (ANC), deeds of servitude, mortgage bonds, etc.;
• a copy of a sectional title plan or the rules of a Sectional Title Scheme. (Note: this is not a certified copy; merely a copy for information purposes);
• township establishment conditions;
• information relating to a property or deed; and
• information relating to the tracking of a deed through the registration process.