What will it cost to buy?
The deposit is the part everyone knows about. This is the rest — and it is often more.
The purchase
The asking price, and whatever you are putting in yourself.
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Transferring the property into your name
Paid to the transferring attorney, who pays SARS and the deeds office.
| Transfer dutyExact — the SARS table in force from 1 March 2025 | R67 200 |
| Transferring attorney, including VATAn estimate, on the LSSA guideline in force from 1 July 2026. A recommendation, not a price — this one is negotiable and a reduction is rarely offered unless you ask for it. | R49 720 |
| Deeds office feeExact — the gazetted schedule in force from 1 April 2026. | R2 408 |
| Deeds office lodgementExact — charged on each deed lodged. | R52 |
| Postage, petties and FICAAn estimate. | R2 300 |
Registering the bond
Paid to the bond attorney, whom the bank appoints. Nothing to register if you are paying cash.
| Bond attorney, including VATAn estimate, on the same guideline, worked out on the bond amount rather than the price. A separate firm and a separate fee — ask this one too. | R47 282 |
| Deeds office feeExact — charged on the bond amount, off a scale of its own. | R2 408 |
| Deeds office lodgementExact — the bond is its own deed. | R52 |
| Bank initiation feeThe most the National Credit Act allows — 1,15% of the bond, capped at R6 943 including VAT. Some banks charge less, and some let you add it to the bond. | R6 943 |
| Postage and pettiesAn estimate. | R2 300 |
Transfer duty and the deeds office fees below are exact, because they are law — the duty off the SARS table in force and the deeds fees off the schedule gazetted on 27 February 2026. The attorneys' fees are the LSSA guideline, which is a recommendation and not a price: every firm quotes its own and many discount it. Nothing here is a quote.
Why this catches people out
An offer to purchase is signed on a price and a deposit, and those are the two numbers everybody has worked out. Then the transferring attorney's statement arrives with transfer duty on it, and the bond attorney's with the bank's initiation fee on it, and between them they are frequently more than the deposit — due in cash, weeks before anybody moves in, and not something a bond can be increased to cover.
There are two separate sets of costs and two separate attorneys, which is the part that surprises people most. The transfer moves the property into your name and is handled by the transferring attorney, whom the seller appoints. The bond registration registers the bank's security over it and is handled by the bond attorney, whom the bank appoints. You pay both.
Transfer duty is exact. The attorneys are not.
Transfer duty is a published SARS table and the figure above is off the table in force, with its effective date printed beside it. There is no duty below the threshold at all, and above it the duty is charged in bands on the part of the price in each band — not at one rate on the whole price.
Conveyancing fees work differently. There is a recommended guideline and firms quote against it, so the attorney lines here are estimates and are marked as estimates. Ask for the quote in writing as soon as the offer is accepted: it is a reasonable thing to ask for and no attorney will mind.
The attorney's fee is negotiable, and nobody will tell you that
This is the part of a cost statement people treat as fixed, and it is the part that most often is not. The guideline above is a recommendation, not a price. Attorneys' fees are negotiable under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014; the Law Society publishes the scale as guidance to its members and the Legal Practice Council does not enforce it as a floor or a ceiling. Any firm may charge below it, and many will.
The reason almost nobody asks is that you did not choose the firm. The transferring attorney is appointed by the seller and the bond attorney by the bank, so the fee arrives looking like a municipal charge rather than a quote from a business that wants the work. It is a quote. A reduction is very rarely offered unprompted and is often given for the asking.
Ask both firms, early, before the statement is drawn rather than after. Ask the transferring attorney and the bond attorney separately, because they are two different businesses charging two separate fees. And ask in writing, so that what you were told is what appears on the statement.
A new build from a developer is different
A developer registered for VAT charges VAT on the price instead of transfer duty, and the VAT is normally already inside the asking price. So there is no duty to pay — tick the box above and it comes off. You still pay for the transfer itself and for registering the bond.
An estate or a sectional scheme adds its own
If the property sits in a security estate, a golf estate or a sectional title scheme, the body corporate or the home owners' association has to issue a levy clearance before the transfer can be registered, and it charges for it. Some schemes also charge a once-off levy on transfer — called a levy stabilisation fund, a reserve contribution or a community fund depending on the estate — and the buyer pays it.
What is not in the figure above
Rates and levies paid in advance, the rates clearance certificate, an occupational rent if you move in before transfer, moving costs, insurance, and anything your bond requires of you such as life cover. None of these are large individually. Together they are another month of the bond.
Questions
How much cash do I need to buy a house in South Africa?
Your deposit, plus transfer duty if the price is above the threshold, plus the transferring attorney's fee and the deeds office levy to move the property into your name, plus the bond attorney's fee, a second deeds office levy and the bank's initiation fee to register the bond. On a mid-priced house the costs beyond the deposit commonly run into the tens of thousands, and they are due in cash.
How is transfer duty calculated?
Off a published SARS table, in bands. Below the threshold there is none at all. Above it, each band has a fixed amount plus a percentage of the part of the price that falls in that band — so moving just over a threshold costs you the percentage on the excess, not on the whole price. The calculator above uses the table in force and prints its effective date.
Who pays the transfer costs, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer pays the transfer duty, the transferring attorney and both deeds office levies, and the whole of the bond registration. The seller pays the estate agent's commission, the cost of cancelling their own bond, and the rates clearance. The transferring attorney is appointed by the seller but paid by you, which is the part most people find odd.
Do I pay transfer duty on a new build from a developer?
No. A developer registered for VAT charges VAT on the price instead, and it is usually already included in the asking price. You still pay the transfer and bond registration costs. Tick the new-build box above and the duty comes out of the total.
Can I add the costs to my home loan?
The bank's initiation fee, usually yes. The attorneys' fees and the transfer duty, generally no — they are paid to third parties before registration and lenders rarely fund them. Some lenders will grant a bond slightly above the purchase price to help with costs, but it is the exception and it has to be asked for up front.
What does a levy clearance cost in an estate?
It varies by scheme and there is no tariff for it. The managing agent charges a clearance fee, usually one to two thousand rand, and many estates also levy a once-off contribution on transfer — a levy stabilisation fund or reserve contribution — which can run to tens of thousands and is the single largest surprise on a cost statement in an estate. It is not in the figure above because nobody can guess it. Ask the agent what the scheme charges a buyer on transfer before you sign.
Can I negotiate the conveyancing attorney's fees?
Yes, and most buyers never try. Attorneys' fees are negotiable under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 and the Law Society's scale is a guideline its members are recommended to use, not a regulated price — any firm may charge below it. A reduction is seldom offered unprompted, because you did not choose the firm: the transferring attorney is appointed by the seller and the bond attorney by the bank, so the fee looks like a fixed charge rather than a quote. Ask both of them, separately, in writing, as soon as the offer is accepted. On a large transfer a discount of this kind can run to five figures — one real statement at R8 million carries a 20% reduction, given because the buyer asked.
Why is the attorney's fee only an estimate?
Because conveyancing fees are a recommended tariff, not a regulated price, and every firm quotes its own. We would rather show you a figure marked as an estimate than one presented as exact and then contradicted by the invoice. Ask the transferring attorney for a written quote as soon as the offer is accepted.
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