News & Updates

WHAT IS A CONVEYANCERS CERTIFICATE, AND WHEN WOULD I NEED ONE?

Nov 30, 2022

It has become common practice for municipalities to call for a Conveyancers Certificate upon submission of a Land Use Management (LUM) application. Such an application could be for a regulation departure on submission of building plans, an application for subdivision or rezoning of a property or an application for a particular consent use (eg to run a swimming school or child-care facility). The purpose of this Conveyancers Certificate is to confirm that there are no title deed conditions that are restrictive in relation to the proposed development/use of the property in question.

The City of Cape Town has created a pro-forma template for the certification required, and set out a Standard Operating Procedure in respect of the preparation of these Conveyancers Certificates. The conveyancer preparing the certificate must have regard not only to the holding title, but also to the so-called “pivot deed” and historical title deeds.

From the above, it is clear that the conveyancer will work in conjunction with the architect or town-planner tasked with submitting the Land Use Management Application, and advise on the origin, nature and purpose of the conditions that may be relevant. In some instances, it may be necessary that title conditions be either removed from the title deed or relaxed in order that the LUM Application may proceed.

It is important that a Conveyancers Certificate is correctly prepared and narrated to avoid delays in approval of the municipal application.

The conveyancers at FHA have extensive experience in this area of practice. Feel free to contact us should you require any advice or assistance with your proposed LUM Application.