On Wednesday afternoon, the Law Society of South Africa (‘the LSSA’) published its updated Conveyancing Guideline of Fees (‘the Guideline’). The Guideline, which delineates recommended fees for all conveyancing-related transactions, will apply to instructions received as from 27th May 2024. The Guideline is generally updated on an annual basis, and the adjustments reflect an approximate increase of 4 to 5%.
The amended conveyancing tariff for the transfer of immovable property and the registration of mortgage bonds is set out in the schedule below:
| Value of Property or Bond | Fee |
| R100 000.00 or less | R6 435.00 |
| Over R100 000.00 up to and including R500 000.00 | R6 435.00 plus R1 025.00 per R50 000.00 or part thereof above that |
| Over R500 000.00 up to and including R1 000 000.00 | R14 635.00 for the first R500 000.00 plus R1 985.00 per R100 000.00 or part thereof above that |
| Over R1 000 000.00 up to and including R5 000 000.00 | R24 560.00 for the first R1 000 000.00 plus R1 985.00 per R200 000.00 or part thereof above that |
| Over R5 000 000.00 | R64 260.00 for the first R5 000 000.00 plus R5 000.00 per R1 000 000.00 or part thereof above that |
Notably, the LSSA has, for the first time, recommended fees in connection with the collating, preparing, and signing of documents to facilitate compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (‘FICA’). Under FICA, law firms are defined as ‘accountable institutions’, which are responsible for ascertaining and verifying the identities of parties to a financial transaction to combat money laundering and the potential financing of terrorist activities. Per the Guideline, the LSSA recommends that conveyancers charge a fee of R350.00 for every individual and R700.00 per entity, such as a trust, company, or close corporation – with three or fewer trustees, directors, or members, respectively – involved in the transaction.
Further, the Guideline specifies that where at least four individuals, directors, shareholders, members, trustees, or beneficial owners are involved in the transaction then conveyancers are empowered to charge a fee commensurate with the time spent on scrutinising complex commercial structures to satisfy the objectives of risk assessment. To that end, the LSSA acknowledges the onerous statutory obligations placed on law firms to comply with the provisions of FICA.
To align with the amended tariff, our Property Cost Leaflet and Cost Calculator, which provides sellers, purchasers, agents, and mortgage bond originators with a useful tool to calculate conveyancing-related costs via the STBB Direct app, will be duly updated to reflect the fee increases.
For more information or legal assistance, kindly contact us at info@stbb.co.za.
