Opening of a township register
The main purpose with the opening of a township register is to convert the land on which the township is to be established into streets and erven as depicted on a General Plan.
We will require the conditions of establishment, approved General Plan and approved small scale diagrams as well as the title deeds for the affected land portions to draft the conveyancing documents and present it for signature to the township applicant.
The signed conveyancing documents can only be lodged at the Deeds Office for registration if the relevant authority has issued a letter to the Registrar of Deeds confirming that the pre-proclamation/registration conditions of establishment have been complied with .
The conveyancing documents will be lodged and registered by a firm of attorneys who lodge their conveyancing documents at both the Pretoria and Johannesburg Deeds Offices. If a township file must be transferred from the Pretoria Deeds Office to the Johannesburg Deeds Office after the opening of the township register, we will assist with the administration of this formalization process.
Assistance is also rendered with the rest of the normal administrative process after the opening of the township register until the stands in the township become registerable , and if assistance with the issuing of services certificates is needed you can be referred to an efficient service provider.
The administrative services for the most basic township register where the township is established on 1 farm portion will cost R35 000 plus R1 500 disbursements to be opened. If several properties are involved and the opening of the township register will require the subdivision and/or consolidation of land, removal of title conditions, registration and/or cancellation of servitudes as well as the updating of the vesting in existing title deeds a formal quotation based on the complexity of the matter must be obtained.
Gert Minnaar is a specialist conveyancer focusing on township establishment. He worked at the Pretoria Deeds Office from 1985 until 1989 and after becoming a Senior Examiner left to qualify as an Attorney and Conveyancer in 1992. He founded Sebenza Township Administrative Services in 2012 and entered in 2014 into a consultation agreement with STBB. Gert manages the Gauteng Development Law Department at STBB’S office in Illovo, Sandton where this department attends to all aspects of development conveyancing
Gert enjoys finding practical solutions to complicated conveyancing problems. He serves on the committee of the South African Affordable Residential Developers Association (SAARDA), a body representing the interests of developers and other stakeholders in the affordable housing development sector which necessitates regular collaboration with government and municipal officials.