Property Ownership Report

Sometimes you need to prove you own property in South Africa. More often, especially once you've moved overseas, you need to prove that you don't. Either way, a foreign tax office, bank or immigration officer isn't going to take your word for it. They want it in writing.

The Property Ownership Report gives you that. We search all 11 South African Deeds Offices against your ID number and send you one report showing every property, sectional title unit and Deeds Office document linked to you, or confirming that nothing is registered in your name anywhere in the country.

What the report shows

• Whether you currently own any immovable property registered in South Africa
• Every property linked to your ID number, Deeds Office by Deeds Office
• Sectional title units (flats, townhouses, complexes) registered in your name
• Marriage contracts (Antenuptial Contracts or ANCs) registered at any Deeds Office
• Other Deeds Office documents linked to your identity

Who orders a Property Ownership Report?

Most of our customers for this report are South Africans living abroad. A few typical reasons:

• Tax residency overseas. A foreign tax authority wants to know what assets you still hold in South Africa.
• Visa, residency and citizenship applications. Immigration departments often ask for a full picture of property you own back home.
• Banks and financial institutions. Opening accounts, applying for a mortgage abroad or passing compliance checks can mean showing what you own, and what you don't.
• Divorce and asset disclosure. A nationwide report settles the question of what's registered in whose name.
• Peace of mind. Sold a property years ago and want to be sure it actually transferred out of your name? This shows you.

Why one Deeds Office isn't enough

Property is registered at the Deeds Office for the area where the property is, not where you live. If you bought a flat in Durban fifteen years ago and now live in Cape Town, a search at the Cape Town Deeds Office won't show it. That's why a proper proof of ownership, or proof of no ownership, has to cover the whole country. This report searches all 11 registries in one go, so there are no gaps for anyone to question.

Deeds Offices covered

• North Gauteng Deeds Registry (Pretoria)
• South Gauteng Deeds Registry (Johannesburg)
• Western Cape Deeds Registry (Cape Town)
• KwaZulu-Natal Deeds Registry (Pietermaritzburg)
• Free State Deeds Registry (Bloemfontein)
• Northern Cape Deeds Registry (Kimberley)
• North West Deeds Registry (Vryburg)
• Eastern Cape Deeds Registry: Qonce (King William's Town)
• Eastern Cape Deeds Registry: Mthatha (Umtata)
• Mpumalanga Deeds Registry (Mbombela)
• Limpopo Deeds Registry (Polokwane)

How it works

1. Request the search. Give us your full names and South African ID number. The ID number is required under POPIA and is what the search runs on.
2. Pay securely online. By card or EFT.
3. We run the search. Through our live API link into the Deeds Office, across all 11 registries.
4. Your report arrives by email. Usually within 1 working day, ready to forward to whoever asked for it.

Tip: if you've changed your surname through marriage or otherwise, include your previous surnames in the request. It helps us make sure nothing registered under an older name slips through.

Price and turnaround

R895 per report, covering all 11 Deeds Offices. Delivered by email within 1 working day.