BRIEFING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS on the issuing of Title Deeds

1. BRIEFING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS on the issuing of Title Deeds PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS 26 May 2010

2. Presentation will focus on the following… • Introduction and Background • Legislative Mandate • Township Establishment process • Deeds Registration offices • Key Role-players in the Title Deed registration process • Process of title deed document at the Deeds registration office • Monitoring of Deeds registration process by the National Department: Human Settlements • Challenges • Conclusion

3. Introduction and Background • The registration of ownership and the handover of a Title Deed to a beneficiary of a subsidy in the State’s Housing programme is the ultimate step in the process leading to home ownership; • The efficient completion of registrations of Title are sometimes compromised as a result of delays in the other processes leading up to this last step; • There are several role-players: all three spheres participate and several government departments are central to the process; • There are legislations that govern the process; • Once a title deed has been registered, it cannot be reversed without a court order.

4. Legislative Mandate (Key Acts) • The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa • The Deeds Registries Act, (Act 47 of 1937 and its Amendments & relevant regulations • The Housing Act (Act 107 of 1997) and The Housing Code (as updated) • Development Facilitation Act • Less Formal Township Act

5. Legislative Mandate Constitution of republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996): Chapter 2: Bill of Rights Section 25: Property • The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis. • A person or community whose tenure of land is legally insecure as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices is entitled, to the extent provided by an Act of Parliament, either to tenure which is legally secure or to comparable redress.

6. Legislative Mandate… The National Housing Code (as amended) (legislated by the Housing Act) Volume 4:  Incremental Interventions: Integrated Residential Programme: 1.1.1 SECURITY OF TENURE In line with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan to ensure that housing should be an asset, persons under this Programme will only qualify for a housing subsidy and/or other benefits where they acquire the secure right to occupy, use or own a property in terms of a tenure form which can be registered with a competent authority.

7. Township Establishment Process • It is also useful to remember that effect can only be given to any legal process pertaining to land ownership, including the registration of Title, after the official proclamation of the opening of a Township Register • Among the documents documents required to open a township register are: • The Original title deed of the property on which the proposed township is to be established • Approved conditions of establishment • An approved General (Township Layout) Plan • Section 70 of Act 1970 • Section 110 Certificate (where township applicant is the Municipality)

8. Deeds Registration Offices: Offices are situated in: • Pretoria • Cape Town • Johannesburg • Pietermaritzburg • Bloemfontein • King WillamsTown • Kimberley • Vryburg • Umtata

9. Deeds Offices and areas of Jurisdiction LP MP NW GP FS KZN NC EC WC

10. Key Role-players Beneficiary Provincial Department Developer & Surveyor-General Conveyancer Local Municipality Deeds Office National Department: Human Settlements – Policy; Funding & Monitoring Preparation of Deeds and Documents Adapted from Deeds Office (Pretoria) PPT

11. Process followed for houses constructed after 1994 • Identification of beneficiaries by Municipalities – approval if qualify – allocated to a site in project - construction of house • Completion of registration forms by the Service Provider (Conveyance Firm) & signing of Power of Attorney • Conveyancer submits forms to the Owner (Municipality and the Provincial Department) for authorisation • Clearance certificate/s issued by Municipality • Conveyancer lodges Title Deed documents for registration with the Deeds Office

12. Process followed for houses constructed after 1994 • Deeds Examiners verify Township information • Issued Title Deeds are endorsed by the Deeds Office to prevent beneficiaries from selling, letting and alienating properties for a period of eight (08) years as per section 10 (a) and (b) of Housing Act 107 of 1997 as amended • Title Deed processed in batches, and if all in order – returned to conveyancer (within 3-4 months if no issues are identified) • Conveyancer updates database records • Conveyancer delivers title deeds to registration initiator Province/Municipality (or the Project Manager if applicable) • Calling Letters sent out to beneficiaries to collect Title Deeds • Title Deeds issued to registered owner/s

13. Deeds monitoring Process conducted quarterlythe National Department: Human Settlements • Export beneficiary data from National Housing Subsidy Database (NHSDB) • Beneficiary ID number, Name • Beneficiary Spouse ID Number, Name • Export beneficiary data from Housing Subsidy System (HSS) • Beneficiary ID number, Name and status • Compare NHSDB and HSS data sets to extract only unique IDs from both datasets • Match Combined HSS and NHSDB data set against Deeds register using 13 digit ID number (complete ID) then first 10 Digits of ID for non-matching records.

14. DHS Beneficiary match against Deeds Data Beneficiary IDs match against deeds register: • Full 13 Digit ID search • First 10 digit ID Search National Housing Subsidy Database (NHSDB) Combined database of Unique Beneficiary IDs National Deeds Register DHS Beneficiary with Title Deed Unique beneficiary ID’s Match Housing Subsidy System (HSS) X 9

16. Example: Municipal Initiative to accelerate acquisition of Title Deeds by beneficiaries: • Advocacy campaign to create awareness among citizens • Establishment of regional centres close to housing developments • Administrative process to easily locate title deed document and hand over to title holder

17. Municipal Initiative to accelerate acquisition of Title Deeds by beneficiaries: • Tracking instrument put in place to record handing over of Title Deed

18. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration – Project implementation • Township establishment blockages: • The process itself is heavily administrative with prescribed documents from role-players, that need to be signed and made available • Land ownership issues are not resolved • Construction has proceeded before township has been established • General plan approval delayed / halted for amendments or failed altogether • Illegal occupation of demarcated sites in the township • “Mix-up” in sites occupied by approved beneficiaries

19. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration – Project implementation • Township establishment blockages: The Less formal Township Act and the Development Facilitation Act were passed to speed up the process of township establishment - in reality they do not. The same documents that cause delays in an Ordinance township are required with Less Formal and DFA townships – they just have different names. These two types of townships do not required proclamation after registration in the deeds office. Proclamation can be done in five days after receipt of the letter of confirmation of registration from the deeds office and as such does not make a considerable difference in speeding up the process.

20. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration – Project implementation • Case in point: Blocked Township Register: • Attridgeville Extension 17 – dating back to 1997 – land bought by then Town Council from Iscor; • Design of township completed and submitted; • Flaw: a portion included in the design was land owned the province – result was that ownership was not consolidated -which is a requirement. • 700 houses have been built and occupied, but there is no Township Register to facilitate registering of Title Deeds.

21. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process As a result of the long delay between the beneficiary receiving an approved subsidy, being allocated a stand and the registration of transfer, the following occurs: • Upon allocation, the approved beneficiary cannot be found • If found and allocated, upon registration of title, the beneficiary may have sold or rented his house or is deceased • In some projects it becomes necessary to conduct an occupation audit prior to registration • Illegal occupants are either evicted (takes 3 years or more) or regularised depending on the approach of the municipality • Title deeds could not be handed over to the occupant of the site (could also be a result of informal change (selling) of “ownership”)

22. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process • Several stakeholders raise the matter of a backlog in registrations at Deeds Registry Offices • Delays in the delivery of the documents after registration to the project management team or Municipal/Provincial office from Deeds office and/or from the conveyancing firm • Documents that are lodged at the Deeds registry being incorrect or incomplete – returned to conveyancer but lies inactive rather than being amended / updated and re-lodged because of capacity and resource issues – documents reportedly rejected up to 4 times!

23. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process • Failed registrations not being re-lodged by conveyancer seeking additional payment • A complication in the arrangements is that the developer could have been the municipality, province or an appointed private developer/ Project Management Service provider

24. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process • Registered title deeds being with-held by the conveyancer because of non-payment of fees by the project owner (province/Municipality/Project manager) • Lapses & defaults in payments to be made by project managers for services rendered - outstanding amounts quoted in millions of rands • Deeds office fees increased to R70 per erf • Municipality confirms to conveyancer that they would pay for opening of township registers • However, no written confirmation that they will pay for registration of transfers – work done on risk

25. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process • Consequence of “delinking” sites from top structures from 2003/04 - If the site is not transferred at the time of handover of the site, ownership is not fixed, and the site changes hands unofficially many times before the top structure phase is reached years later. • Flaws in site allocation lists provided by the Municipality who advises to which erf the beneficiary must be registered: - Beneficiaries allocated to more than one stand • Same stand allocated to two different beneficiaries • Stands allocated to beneficiaries whose subsidies had been rejected • A husband and wife are allocated to two different stands (next to each other)

26. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process There are significant delays between the beneficiary receiving an approved subsidy, being allocated a stand and the registration of transfer, the following occurs: • Upon allocation, the approved beneficiary cannot be found • In cases, when traced and allocated, upon registration, the approved beneficiary has sold or rented his house or is deceased

27. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process • The practice of provinces using state attorney is proving too slow, and in these cases private conveyancers should be appointed • Project managers delay payments further by: • Not forwarding invoices to the Department upon completion of work by the consultant • Not making payment to the consultant upon receipt of funds from the Department • The reality is that the all inclusive transfer cost is approximately R400 each (if there are no surveyor-general matters outstanding) and additional funding is required to conclude the process.

28. Challenges that slow down or hinder the title deed registration and issuing process • Difficulty in tracing of Title holders • During visits to houses, other persons are in occupation of the specific house • Households substitute the originally approved beneficiary • Unresolved diseased estates issues • During visits to houses, other persons are in occupation of the specific house • Beneficiary apathy in responding to calls to collect Title deed • Capacity and funding constraints within Municipalities and Provincial Departments in dealing with land administration issues

29. Conclusion • There has been significant progress with the registration and issuing of Title Deeds to beneficiaries of State subsidised houses in several provinces in the last 2 – 3 years; • There are still refinements that need to be made to the processes and functions of role-players to expedite the issuing of title Deeds; • In the beneficiary administration process, measures need to be implemented to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information captured in respect of the beneficiary to support the integrity of the Title Deeds registration process. • There is a need to develop uniform and effective instruments / systems / processes to record, and report on the Title Deeds Registration process and the handing over of title deeds to the owners of subsidised houses. ..issues that prevent us from implementing our plans..

30. THANK YOU

31. For NDHS noting purposes: The presentation was compiled with inputs and information from: • Deeds Registry Office, Pretoria (Dept. of Rural Dev & Land Reform • The City of Tshwane (Deeds section) • Western Cape Dept: Human Settlement • Northern Cape Dept: Human Settlement • Eastern Cape Dept: Human Settlement • Gauteng Dept: Human Settlement • Limpopo: Dept: Human Settlement • Private Conveyancing company (Claudia Noble from Ntuli & Noble) • The SIMS team (soliciting & gathering information)