South African Deeds Journal - Minister of Rural ...

1 DEPARTMENT: land AFFAIRSCHIEF REGISTRAR OF DEEDSJUSTICE COLLEGEI ntestate Succession ofBlack Estates A new EraThe RegisterabilityofContingent Usufructs andRelated MattersNEWSLETTERM arch 2005 African Deeds JournalSUUMCUNIQUETRIBUEREMr. Sam LefafaandDr. Nozizwe MakgalemeleChief Registrar of DeedsDeputy Director GeneralNEWS Beware of turning a blind eye!! ..NEW LEGISLATION A Brief Overview in respect of New Legislation and an update on TheRegistrars Conference, 2004 .. 3 - 4 PROPERTY LAW UPDATE The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 The Impact on Examination of Deeds .. 5 - 7 The Registrability of Contingent Usufructs and related matters .. 7 - 8 Calculation of Stamp Duty: Duties of Public Officers .. 8 Amendments to the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937.

2 9 New Schedule of Fees of Office .. 10 - 11 Clarity and Legibility of Deeds and Documents with reference toRegulation 20(1) of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 .. 12 Covert Sales and Donations in Re-Distribution Agreements .. 13 - 14 Endorsement in terms of section 40 of the Administration of EstatesAct (Act 66 of 1965) Lodgement of bonds for disposal or consentof bondholder .. 15 Intestate Succession of Black Estates .. 16 - 17 May a Permission to Occupy serve as security under a NotarialMortgage Bond? .. 18 Section 13 of the Sectional Titles Act, 1986 and the Examination of Deeds .. 19 Subdivision of the Common Property in a Sectional Title Scheme Part II .. 20 - 21 CASE LAW All the cases you must take note of and how to read a court case .. 22 - 27 RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND RESEARCH References to all relevant published articles and legal research.

3 28 - 29 BOOKS A list of books relevant to the field of property law .. 29 OTHER FEATURES Let us get to know our neighbouring registrars and their offices better . 30 - 32 Interview with Mr. Jodwana A previous Registrar of the Ciskei DeedsOffice .. 14 & 26 Interview with Ray Kretzmann (Former Registrar of Deeds Cape Town) .. 33 - 34 Did you know? .. 34 - 35 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Attachment against fixed property Beware the Judgment Creditor .. 36 - 37 Response to Letters to the Editor on Sectional Title .. 37 - 38 ADVERTISEMENT LEAD:PRACTITIONERS GUIDE TO CONVEYANCING AND NOTARIALPRACTICE Seventh Edition .. 40 This being the first issue for 2005, it is trustedthat you have had a well-deserved rest overthe festive season and are all geared andready to approach the new year with all the outset, a word of congratulations to PogisoMesefo for his appointment as Registrar of Deeds ,Pretoria.

4 We all know that it is going to be a challengingtask, but knowing Pogiso he will take up his challenge,as he did as law lecturer, and make the best of the October issue, letters from an anonymousconveyancer were published to which Mr. GeorgeTsotetsi responded in detail in the previous , it has now come to the fore that the letterswere not from a conveyancer, but from Mr. OzzieWade of the Deeds Registry in Pietermaritzburg. Theletters were sent to the office of the Chief Registrar ofDeeds for comment. These concerns were alsoaddressed at the Sectional Titles Regulations BoardMeeting held during October this issue, interviews were held with two formerRegistrars, Mr. Jodwana and Mr. Kretzmann. Insubsequent issues of this Journal , we expect tointerview other former Registrars, to determine theirwhereabouts and what they are now doing aftertheir year s challenge for Deeds registries and theDepartment of land Affairs is the implementation ofthe communal land rights Act 11 of 2004.

5 Theregulations are in the process of being all the persons who contributed to this issue, mysincere thanks and appreciation. Keep up the goodwork!Allen West - EditorCONTRIBUTORSG eorge Tsotetsi, Tania Shawe, Allen West,Marie Grove, Wiseman Bhuqa, P J Weideman,Henry Lourens, Magda Deetlefs, Delcia Watermeyer, Warren Hamer, Ozzie Wade, A LombaardContributions may be sent to the Editor via e-mail or PRIVATE BAG X659, PRETORIA, 0001 The newsletter is also published in the Department of land Affairs website: West -Justice College (Editor) Alwyn van Jaarsveldt -UmtataGert Hattingh- Office of the Chief Registrar of DeedsJoanne Dusterhoft-King William s TownIsaak Ngake-BloemfonteinMagda Deetlefs-VryburgHennie Geldenhuys-Office of the Chief Registrar of DeedsDudley Lee -Cape TownPogiso Mesefo-PretoriaZandr Lombaard-Justice College (Scribe)Marissa Greeff -Directorate.

6 External CommunicationMarie Grove-Justice CollegeTania Shawe-PietermaritzburgAlan Stephen-JohannesburgLevina Smit-KimberleyGeorge Tsotetsi-Office of the Chief Registrar of DeedsGustav Radloff-Attorney MacRobertEDITORIAL COMMITTEEINTRODUCTIONThis article provides a brief discussion of theCommunal land rights Act, 2004 (Act No. 11of 2004) and of a few resolutions of theRegistrars Conference, communal land rights ACTThis Act will come into operation on a date tobe determined by the President by procla-mation in the Gazette. The regulations to theAct are in the process of being drafted, and theAct will therefore impact on the Deeds office atsome future date. As a Chief Registrar sCircular will be issued in due course, only ageneral discussion is provided Act is designed to obtain tenure securityfor the benefit of persons and communitiesthat occupy or would occupy communal landin the areas to which the Act applies.

7 Thus, communal land will vest in the name of acommunity and a communal land right willvest in a person or persons. In order toaccomplish its objectives, the Act makesprovision for the endorsement of existing titledeeds to vest ownership of communal land ina community and the registration of what isreferred to in the Act as a deed of communalland right to vest a communal land right inthe name of a person or persons. As regardscommunal land rights , the Act makesprovision for the opening of a communal landregister. The communal land rights , subject tothe approval of the community, may beconverted into full ownership. A suitablyqualified official of the Department of LandAffairs may prepare the Deeds that conveycommunal land is worth mentioning that the Act will effectcertain amendments to the Deeds RegistriesAct 47 of 1937, with one such amendmentconcerning the definition of Person.

8 Finally, it is important to note that the mainintention of discussing the Act is to make thereader aware of the presence of the CONFERENCE, 2004 The Registrars Conference was held from 17to 18 November 2004. The 2004 conferenceresolutions are all straightforward. I willdiscuss a few of them to highlight certainpractical aspects of the topics dealt with bysuch resolutions. I will first quote the relevantresolution in full and then discuss its 1 OF 2004, RCR 8 OF 1969:EXPROPRIATIONS / RATESCERTIFICATES: (BLOEMFONTEIN ANDLEGAL SUPPORT)In view of section 118 of the LocalGovernment Municipal Systems Act 2000 (ActNo. 32 of 2000) as amended, it appears thatthe abovementioned resolution can bewithdrawn. Expropriation transfers are nolonger exempt from the lodgement of aclearance terms of section 118 of Act No.

9 32 of 2000,read in conjunction with section 20 of theExpropriation Act 63 of 1975, a clearance isrequired for the registration of an expropri-ation transfer. RCR 8 of 1969 is order to discuss this resolution, it is neces-sary to describe the circumstances that leadto the para-statals have expropriated cer-tain properties and attempted to register suchproperties in their name without lodging ratesclearance certificates, relying on RCR8/1969. Therefore, the Conference wasrequested to review RCR 8 must be noted that RCR 8/1969 washandled prior to the Expropriation Act cominginto operation and the Conference thusresolved that such a resolution cannot standin the face of the clear and unambiguous3By:George TsotetsiOffice of the Chief Registrar of DeedsABRIEF OVERVIEW IN RESPECT OF NEW LEGISLATIONAND AN UPDATE IN RESPECT OF THE REGISTRARS CONFERENCE, 2004 4provisions of section 118 of the LocalGovernment.

10 Municipal Systems Act 2000(Act No 32 of 2000) and section 20 of theExpropriation Act, 18/2004 SERVITUDE OVERAGRICULTURAL land (JUSTICECOLLEGE)Where a servitude over agricultural land is notdepicted on a diagram, but is described ingeneral terms, the route will bedetermined at a later stage, must the consentof the Minister , as contemplated in terms ofsection 6A of the Subdivision of AgriculturalLand Act 70 of 1970, be insisted upon?RESOLUTIONThe consent must be insisted upon or proofmust be provided that the provisions of ActNo. 70 of 1970 are not being has transpired that in some Deeds offices,the consent of the Minister for Agriculture isnot insisted upon for the registration of aservitude in general terms over agriculturalland.