«The law enforcement authorities, forensic investigators and courts use the Deeds Registration Information as the only valid Information to prove land ownership»
Good morning Carlize, for our readers could you briefly introduce yourself.
Carlize Knoesen started her career as a Deeds Controller in 1985, was transferred to Justice College as a law lecturer whilst she was also writing the South African Deeds Registration Practice Manual and completed it in 1996. Thereafter she worked in the office of the Chief Registrar of Deeds before she was appointed as the Registrar of Deeds: Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa in 2002. It was the first time that a female became a Registrar of Deeds.
In 2014 she was promoted to Chief Registrar of Deeds and again is the first woman in the history of South Africa appointed to the position of Chief Registrar of Deeds. She is also a Deputy Director General in the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development and as such must give strategic input in the country’s policies and legislation relating to all land matters. She holds a National Diploma in Deeds Registration from the University of South Africa, a Baccalaureus Iuris and Baccalaureus Legum Degrees from the University of Pretoria.
The Deeds Registration Trading Entity aims to provide a world – class and secure land registration system and strives to provide security of title through the registration of real rights in land for all property owners. As the Chief Registrar of Deeds, she is responsible for transformative and strategic management of the Branch: Deeds Registration and Deeds Registration Trading Entity which includes eleven Deeds registries across the country, the Deeds Information and Communication technology, Litigation matters, Legislation, programme and project management, corporate support services, uniform application of Deeds practice and procedure and Deeds training of officials from South Africa and its neighbouring countries Registries. She is also the chairperson of the Sectional Titles and Deeds Registries Regulatory boards with power to make regulations on Deeds registration legislation.
She must ensure the Deeds Trading Account is managed within the Public Finance management framework as the Branch does not receive any Government budget allocation (tax payers’ money) and all salaries and expenses are paid from service delivery fees generated.
Ms Knoesen is also a member of the International Property Registries Association and International Centre of Registration Law (IPRA–CINDER).
What is the Registrar of Deeds, how is it organised and what is its scope?
A Registrar of Deeds is the head of a Deeds Registry in South Africa. In South Africa there is a Deeds Registry in each province. Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces have two Deeds registries in each and a second office is in the process of being established in North-West.
In the office of the Chief Registrar of Deeds there is also one Registrar of Deeds overseeing Legal Support and Deeds Training.
Registrars of Deeds all report to the Chief Registrar of Deeds. The Chief Registrar of Deeds must ensure that there is uniformity in practice and procedure throughout the country.
What are the functions of the Registry?
In the Deeds Registries deeds and documents are lodged for Registration and examined and monitored for legal compliance by examiners. If they are legally compliant the Deeds and documents are registered through execution (signing) by the conveyancer in the presence of the Registrar of Deeds. Thereafter the database is updated with the new Registration details, the Deeds and documents are scanned into the system and the registered Deeds and documents finally delivered back to the conveyancer who lodged it. If the Registration however is through the electronic Deeds Registration system, the only valid registered title deeds will be the one in the system and no physical delivery will be done.
The Deeds registries will thereafter provide Information regarding the registered Deeds amd documents to clients on request and after payment of a prescribed fee. It is also the duty of the Registrar of Deeds to safeguard all the records and the systems are maintained.
What is the registry procedure in the processing of a document, for example a purchase and sale?
Usually estate agents assist parties with a purchase of a property and the sale agreement, inspections, compliance certificates etc. The purchaser selects the transfer attorney (called a conveyancer) and all guarentees, payments and compliance certificates will be submitted to the conveyancer. The conveyancer takes responsibility for all the financial arrangements relating to the transaction.
A Deeds of transfer will then be prepared by the conveyancer in compliance with the Deeds legislation and lodged with the relevant Deeds registry with the jurisdiction to register it. Not all documents are accompanying the lodgement since the conveyancer takes legal responsibility for correctness of most information and the compliance certificates as per the bylaws. Where legislation is however clear that a document must be submitted to the Registrar of Deeds, e.g. a Transfer duty Receipt or clearance certificate, it will accompany the lodgement.
Immediately after lodgement data printouts will be obtained for the lodgement and then it is distributed to the junior examiners. The junior examiner will do elementary examination like checking of interdicts, endorsements etc. Therefater the senior examiner will decide whether the lodgement must pass to Registration or be rejected (if not compliant to legistation). Thereafter an Assistant Registrar of Deeds will monitor whether the decisión by the senior exmainer is correct, whereafter the Deeds will move to the preparation for execution desk, if legally compliant.
The conveyancer will have 5 working days to attend to any notes for correction raised by the examiners and get the financial arrangements in order. Once in order, the Deeds will be put forward to execution where the conveyancer appears before the Registrar of Deeds and sign the execution clauses in each others presence. The Deeds are now regarded as registered and will move to be numbered, data captured and scanned and then delivered back to the conveyancer.
If the Deeds were found not to be complaint with legislation by the examiners, it will be rejected and directly delivered back to the conveyancers to redraft. If Deeds are not put forward to execution within the 5 days at preparation desk, it will also automatically be rejected and delivered back to the conveyancers. This is due to the risk that new interdicts might have been received that prevents the registration of the transaction. A registered deed can only be cancelled with an order of the High Court of South Africa.
“The electronic Deeds Registration system was implemented on 1 April 2025 and will in the years to come contiously be maintained and developed. The aim is to move to only electronic Deeds Registration by 2029”
Does the examination or qualification of this document refer to what we could call the extrinsic forms of the document or does it also include the examination of the validity of the transaction?
There are different forms prescribed in the Deeds legislation for the different transactions. The examiner will examine whether the correct form was used but also examine whether the content of the deed complies with the more than 200 pieces of legislation in our country. The conveyancer takes responsibility for the validity of the transaction as stipulated in the legislation.
From this point of view, is the entry in the register sufficient to prove the ownership and to transfer the property, could you comment briefly on this effect of the entry?
The information in the data register will always be compared with the source document for correctness. The original title deed is the prove to court of the ownership and transfer of the property. With manual data capturing there can be a human error in the data base. All data capturing and scanning is verified after capturing and scanning by a different oficial. With electronic Deeds Registration the valid Title Deed will be the one in the system after its registration.
How does the register relate to the land registry: can there be a discrepancy between the registration entry of a property and the cadastral plan?
It can happen with the manual process but the electronic Registration system is suppose to prevent such from happening. The Branch is still doing data cleasing at the moment.
Can you comment on the digitalisation of the register?
The electronic Deeds Registration system was implemented on 1 April 2025 and will in the years to come contiously be maintained and developed. The aim is to move to only electronic Deeds Registration by 2029. Currently the process is dual (manual and electronic) but once a property was dealt with electronically, one cannot revert back to the manual process.
“It will be the first time in its history that South Africa will host an international Property Registration Conference. For us it is an honor and we are proud to receive our international counterparts in our country and also display the work we are involved in”
Have security systems been implemented to protect the registry data from computer attacks?
Yes and the system is continuously audited for compliance with Cyber Security legislation and to ensure improved controls, disaster management and data backups.
What is the relationship between the public registry data and the protection standards?
The law enforcement authorities, forensic investigators and courts use the Deeds Registration Information as the only valid Information to prove land ownership. Registrars of Deeds compile a report to Court to assist the judge with the order to be made by Court. The Deeds system does not direclty communicate with the enforcement agencies. With the interfacing with other government departments, deeds examiners can however on the system see whether a legal practitioner is still allowed to practice or not, whether a person is deceased or not, etc.
The registry is going to host the CINDER, what does this mean for South Africa?
It will be the first time in its history that South Africa will host an international Property Registration Conference. For us it is an honor and we are proud to receive our international counterparts in our country and also display the work we are involved in. It is also important for us to learn and find solutions on certain challenges from other countries.
