Subdivisions
We have a dedicated property subdivision department which is regularly recommended by the top Town Planners in Gauteng and even by the City of Johannesburg Legal Administration Department. We focus on the final processes of subdividing your property, taking the process forward from the town planning to the final registrations in the deeds office.
Why Subdivide Your Property?
- Get 2 properties for the price of one;
- Transfer a separate property to each of your children to provide security and keep the family close to you;
- Build houses on each subdivision and rent them out to subsidize retirement living expenses;
- Sell subdivisions to boost Retirement funding and savings;
- Retain a more manageable garden size;
- Acquire a new property free of transfer duty.
You Will Need A Town Planner
who will advise you on…
- The municipality’s density requirements in your area – the municipality will not allow a property to be less than a certain size – depending on the area;
- Whether or not the property will need to be rezoned to accommodate the subdivision – if so you will be charged an endowment fee to compensate for the additional load on the municipal grid (depending on the suburb this can be anything from R40 000 to R100 000 or more);
- Whether or not one or more of the conditions of title will need to be removed to accommodate the subdivision.
The Town Planner will then submit an application to the local authority which will then distribute the application to the Engineering, Water, Electricity, Roads and Parks departments for consideration.
If the Local Authority grants its consent, you will then instruct a surveyor to frame the various diagrams which the surveyor will cause to be registered at the office of the Surveyor General.
Then We Start With The Conveyancing
You have 2 choices
- The first is to request the deeds office to issue a Certificate of Registered Title in respect of each new portion of land – this will enable you to sell an individual portion in your own time and the conveyancing process would be relatively quick;
- The second is to transfer one or more portions of land off the existing title deed with reference to the registered subdivision diagrams, immediately, but the conveyancing process might be a little slower than a normal transfer because there are additional requirements.
We may also need to:
- Register a new Notarial deed of Servitude in favour of the municipality or any other person – the municipality will often require a 2 meter servitude for municipal services along “any 2 boundaries”;
- Apply for the removal of conditions from the existing deed;
- Apply for the noting of a caveat against the property in respect of any new condition that may apply but might not yet be registrable (one cannot register a servitude in favour of oneself so the caveat will provide that when the property is transferred the new servitude will have to be registered.)
What Happens Next?
The Local Authority will issue a Regulation 38 certificate which is an indication to the deeds office that the municipality is satisfied that the new portions can be registered.
We should then be in a position to lodge our documents in the Deeds office for registration.
- A rates clearance certificate will be required if there is a transfer of immoveable property to be registered.
- The Consent of the existing bondholder will also be required.
How Long Does The Process Take?
One can expect the whole process to take anything from 1 to 2 years from the first consultation with the Town Planner to the final registrations in the deeds office.
If the municipality requires a rezoning, for example, the process will take closer to 2 years.
If there is neither rezoning nor any conditions of title to be removed, the process might take closer to one year.
Need help with subdivisions?
At Denoon Sampson Ndlovu, we ensure that smooth property transfer processes take place.
Fast forward your property transfer by avoiding potentially costly pitfalls with hands on conveyancing attorneys.