LEGAL MATTERS
SPONSORED BY STBB
The importance of a conveyancer ’ s certificate in the township establishment process
By Gert Minnaar , STBB
The process to establish a township is in essence the conversion of raw land into a proclaimed township with streets , stands and parks as depicted on a General Plan , with conditions of establishment in the proclamation notice controlling the use of the stands in the township .
There are a myriad of Acts , Ordinances and By-laws
which affect and regulate the use of land in South
Africa . This makes the township establishment process a difficult and time-consuming process which is best left to the bravest of the brave developers , who have the required resilience and endurance for the engagement with the long drawn-out process which governs the implementation and execution of the applicable legislation .
The good news is that the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act , 2013 ( No 16 of 2013 ) commenced on 1 July 2015 with one of its objects to establish a uniform , recognisable , and comprehensive system of spatial planning and land use management throughout the Republic to maintain economic unity , equal opportunity , and equal access to government services .
THE LAYOUT PLAN
Whatever the legislation applicable , the design of the proposed township is determined by the information supplied by the various professionals like environmental consultants , engineers , land surveyors and conveyancers to the township and urban development planners .
The contributions of all these professionals are essential , but the input of two specific professionals at the start of the project is especially intertwined . The conveyancer checks the records of the Deeds Office to produce a conveyancer ’ s certificate dealing with all the title conditions and servitudes recorded against the title deed for the raw land . The land surveyor checks the records of the Surveyor-General to produce a servitude certificate dealing with the cadastral information and boundaries of the registered and unregistered servitudes .
The information from these two certificates gets integrated into a base plan prepared by the land surveyor , which reflects the cadastral boundaries , servitudes , a grid , and road proclamations for the raw land . This base plan , together with information received from the other professionals incorporated into it too , is then used by the town planner to design the layout of the new township .
THE SERVITUDE CERTIFICATE BY THE LAND SURVEYOR
This certificate identifies the following two categories of servitudes :
• servitudes already registered and noted against the title deed for the raw land as title conditions .
• servitude diagrams approved by the Surveyor-General , but the servitudes for these diagrams have not been registered yet in the Deeds Office .
The land surveyor will also compare the information in the conveyancer ’ s certificate to the cadastral information and where discrepancies are found this will be addressed to determine the correct factual situation .
THE CONVEYANCER ’ S CERTIFICATE
The conveyancer ’ s certificate is prepared by a qualified conveyancer , an attorney who also passed the conveyancing exam , and deals in principle with the following seven issues relating to the raw land :
• the description of the land on which the proposed township establishment will take place .
• the various title conditions contained in the title deed relating to the land on which this township will be established .
• the way in which these title conditions must be disposed of for township establishment purposes .
• the particulars of the registered owner of the land .
• the particulars of the township applicant .
• the particulars of the local authority .
• conveyancing steps to be followed before or simultaneously with the opening of the township register .
The identification of the applicable title conditions in respect of the raw land and advice on how these title conditions must be disposed of for township establishment purposes are probably the most important aspects of this certificate .
18 MARCH - APRIL 2021 SAAffordHousing saaffordablehousingmag SA Affordable Housing www . saaffordablehousing . co . za