LEGAL MATTERS
SPONSORED BY STBB
The dreaded Department of Agriculture letter for the opening of a township register
IMAGE BY JOSEPH BARRIENTOS | UNSPLASH
By Gert Minnaar
One of the final hurdles a township developer in the Gauteng and North-West Provinces must negotiate before the stands in a township become registrable , is the opening of the township register at the Deeds Office in Pretoria in terms of Section 46 of the Deeds Registries Act , 1937 ( No 47 of 1937 ).
At this stage of the township establishment process the land on which the township is laid out gets converted into a township , with stands and streets as represented on the General Plan for this township . These stands can then be disposed of in terms of the provisions of the proclamation notice which will afterwards be published in the Provincial Gazette , stating that this township is now an approved township .
The title deed for the land affected by this township establishment , the General Plan and small scale diagrams for the township and proof of compliance with the preproclamation conditions of establishment are the chief documents which must be submitted to the Deeds Office when a township register gets opened . However , on 7 May 2002 the Chief Registrar of Deeds announced an extra obligation requiring a letter issued by the Department of Agriculture declaring that the land on which the township is established , is not agricultural land , to be submitted to the Deeds Office too .
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE , LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The Department of Agriculture , Land Reform and Rural Development administers the Subdivision of Agriculture Land
Act , 1970 ( No 70 of 1970 ) which controls the subdivision , and in connection therewith , the use of agricultural land . This Act was enacted to prevent the fragmentation of agricultural land into small uneconomic units .
The aim of the Directorate : Land Use and Soil Management in the Department of Agriculture , Land Reform and Rural Development is to promote , regulate and co-ordinate the sustainable use of natural resources ( land and soil ).
This department approached the Chief Registrar of Deeds way back in 2002 with concerns that certain subdivisions of agriculture land have been registered in the Deeds Office only on the basis of consents granted by municipalities , and without the permission of the Minister as required . The department was of the view that this non-compliance could have serious economic implications , especially when prime agricultural land is involved .
WHAT IS ‘ AGRICULTURAL LAND ’?
The legislation The definition of ‘ agricultural land ’ in Sections 1 ( a ) to ( f ) in the Subdivision of Agriculture Land Act , 1970 ( No 70 of 1970 ) is set out in terms of exceptions . This means that ‘ agricultural land ’
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