As part of government’s plan to digitalise the lodgement and registration of deeds nationwide, the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development has published the much-anticipated draft Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Regulations (‘EDRS Regulations’) for public comment.
Earlier this month, sections 4 and 5 of the Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Act (‘the EDRS Act’) came into operation, paving the way for the eventual full-scale implementation of an electronic deeds registration system (‘e-DRS’), which will facilitate the registration of a greater volume of deeds and documents, heighten accuracy, and enhance turnaround times.
Notably, section 5 of the EDRS Act empowers the Minister to create and publish Regulations governing, inter alia, the procedures for the electronic registration of deeds and documents, access for informational purposes, and authorised usage. The publication of the proposed Regulations thus coincides with the operation of the EDRS Act’s key enabling provisions.
Governing some of the more practical components of an e-DRS, the draft Regulations introduce categories of authorised e-DRS users, including primary users, namely conveyancers, notaries, and statutory officers and mandate the registration of authorised users. Going further, the proposed Regulations detail the electronic preparation, lodgement, execution, and registration of deeds and documents. Additionally, the draft document proposes to regulate the electronic storing of records and the manner in which electronic payments are effected.
While the timeline for transitioning from the current manual deeds registration system to an e-DRS is uncertain, the shift is expected to revolutionise a traditionally paper-based system. Indeed, the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill, which gives effect to some of the objectives of the EDRS Act, was signed into law in the same week that sections 4 and 5 of the EDRS Act became operational. The scope of the Regulations is thus critical to the execution of a functional e-DRS.
According to the gazetted notice, interested persons may email written comments on the content of the Regulations to Antoinette.reynolds@dalrrd.gov.za or Carlize.knoesen@dalrrd.gov.za by 29th December 2024.
