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SECURING LAND TENURE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE KEY PROVISIONS OF THE DEEDS REGISTRIES AMENDMENT BILL<\/strong><\/p>\n The Deeds Registries Amendment Bill (\u2018the Bill\u2019) is currently awaiting presidential assent. The Bill, which was first tabled before Parliament in late 2022, is expected to be signed into law shortly. Designed to advance the realisation of secure land tenure under section 25(6) of the Constitution, the Bill introduces numerous amendments to the Deeds Registries Act (\u2018the Act\u2019), which governs the registration of deeds in South Africa. These amendments, which are largely technical in nature, are intended to modernise and improve the implementation of the Act by streamlining the administration and registration of deeds. This article briefly considers some of these key changes.<\/p>\n The appointment of Deeds Registry officials\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Pursuant to the efficient administration and registration of deeds, clause 1 of the Bill expressly provides for the appointment of the Chief Registrar of Deeds, Deputy Registrar of Deeds, and Assistant Registrar of Deeds by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (\u2018the Minister\u2019) in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Act. During parliamentary deliberations, the Minister indicated that this amendment shall enable government to better regulate the membership, composition, duties, voting powers, and remuneration of members of the Deeds Registry.<\/p>\n Expanding the definition of a legal practitioner<\/strong><\/p>\n Clause 12 of the Bill provides for the insertion or amendment of various definitions. For one, it aligns the Act\u2019s definition of \u2018attorney\u2019, \u2018conveyancer\u2019 and \u2018notary\u2019 with the definitions contained under section 1 of the Legal Practice Act. To that end, a \u2018conveyancer\u2019 is understood as \u2018any practising attorney who is admitted and enrolled to practi[c]e as a conveyancer in terms of [the Legal Practice] Act\u2019. Significantly, the Bill broadens these definitions to include attorneys, conveyancers, and notaries in the employ of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (\u2018DALRRD\u2019) in respect of transactions related to state-owned land. Elaborating on these proposed amendments, the Minister highlighted the importance of enabling DALRRD\u2019s legal practitioners to perform the duties of other attorneys, conveyancers, and notaries concerning state-owned land.<\/p>\n Moving towards an electronic deeds registration system<\/strong><\/p>\n The Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Act (\u2018EDRSA\u2019), which provides for the development, introduction, and maintenance of an electronic deeds registration system, was promulgated in 2019. Much of the statute\u2019s provisions, however, are not yet in force. Intended to modernise a traditionally paper-based process, EDRSA facilitates the \u2018electronic preparation, lodgement, registration, execution, and storing of deeds and documents.\u2019 In the process of establishing a fully computerised registration system, the Bill invests the Chief Registrar of Deeds with the responsibility to maintain and streamline the current registration system<\/p>\n Pursuant to its core objective of enabling security of land tenure, clause 13 of the Bill amends EDRSA to incorporate the electronic recordal of existing and future land tenure rights in communal areas. Currently, communal landowners\u2019 tenure rights are not formally recorded in Deeds Registries. Instead, communal land is administered informally by traditional bodies. To that end, the Bill conceives of a \u2018land tenure right\u2019 as right which is \u2018created or confirmed by legislation\u2019. Acknowledging the economic, political, and socio-cultural importance of formalised land ownership, parliamentarians note that these amendments are crucial to formalise the recordal and registration of land tenure under a single system.<\/p>\n The power to regulate\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bill proposes to divest the Deeds Registries Regulations Board (\u2018the Board\u2019) of the power to make Regulations under the Act. In its place, the Bill empowers the Minister to introduce Regulations upon the recommendation(s) of the Board. Clause 5 of the Bill, read with section 10 of the Act, indicates that the Board may make recommendations related to the determination of fees, the manner and form of preparing, lodging, executing and registering deeds, and the prerequisites for conducting searches at the various Deeds Offices. Although the Board may freely offer advice to the Minister, she is under no obligation to implement said advice.<\/p>\n In its submission on the Bill during the public enquiry stage, the Law Society of South Africa (\u2018the LSSA\u2019) suggested that the Board \u2013 composed mostly of experienced conveyancers and Deeds Registry officials \u2013 is currently \u2018best suited\u2019 to regulate technical matters connected with the registration of deeds. Rejecting the proposed amendment, the LSSA emphasised that, given the \u2018procedural nature\u2019 of Regulations, the Board is in a better position than the Minister to amend such instruments \u2018quickly and on short notice\u2019 pursuant to the effective application of the Act.<\/p>\n Collection of personal data<\/strong><\/p>\n In light of South Africa\u2019s history of colonisation, land dispossession, and racially skewed land ownership, clause 6 of the Bill permits the Minister to regulate \u2018the manner and form in which personal information relating to race, gender, citizenship and nationality of landowners in South Africa may be collected for statistical and land audit purposes\u2019. Per the Bill, this information shall be captured in a register for \u2018official use\u2019 by any national or provincial department. During parliamentary debates, the Minister stressed that the collation of this statistical data will enable the state to measure the extent to which it is meeting its constitutional obligation to facilitate equitable land reform and rural development. Mindful of the existing statutory obligations placed on conveyancers, the LSSA does not object to this proposed amendment \u2013 provided only that conveyancers are not further burdened with the responsibility of collating and supplying this information beyond current requirements.<\/p>\n