Dr Samantha Smith holds a BSocSci, LLB, LLM, and PhD (Law) from the University of Cape Town. Skilled in socio-legal analysis, critical thinking, and creative and technical writing, she previously worked in investigative legal research, with a special focus on animal law and environmental policy. As the firm’s chief content writer and editor, Samantha handles all STBB content, including social media, newsflashes, newsletters, articles and advertisements for publication in magazines and online portals, tenders and proposals, legal updates and presentations, webinar and podcast advertisements, biographies, brochures, information sheets, content for special projects, and various digital publications.
Tabled before Parliament in 2022, the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill (‘the Bill’) was passed earlier this year and finally assented to by President Ramaphosa last week. Designed to modernise and streamline the administration of deeds registration processes and procedures, the Bill introduces numerous amendments to the Deeds Registries Act (‘the Act’), which regulates the registration of deeds in South Africa.
The amendments, which are predominantly technical in nature, provide for the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development to appoint the Chief Registrar of Deeds, Deputy Registrar of Deeds, and Assistant Registrar of Deeds in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Act.
Intended to promote uniformity, the Bill aligns the Act’s definitions of ‘attorney’, ‘conveyancer’, and ‘notary’ with section 1 of the Legal Practice Act. Crucially, it expands these definitions to include attorneys, conveyancers, and notaries employed by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development in transactions related to state-owned land.
Moving towards implementing an electronic deeds registration system and formalising all land ownership, the Bill amends the Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Act (‘the EDRS Act’) to incorporate the electronic recordal of existing and future land tenure rights in communal areas. Currently, communal landowners’ tenure rights are not formally recorded in Deeds Registers. Instead, they are administered informally by traditional bodies.
Significantly, the Bill proposes to divest the Deeds Registries Regulations Board (‘the Board’) of the power to make Regulations under the Act. In its place, the Bill empowers the Minister to introduce Regulations governing technical matters upon the recommendation(s) of the Board.
In light of South Africa’s history of land dispossession and racially skewed land ownership, the Bill permits the Minister to regulate the collection of personal information indicating the race, gender, and nationality of landowners for statistical purposes. Per the Bill, any national or provincial department must capture this information in a register for ‘official use’.
Finally, the Bill introduces novel penalty provisions by criminalising mala fide acts or omissions by a registrar, officer, and any party to such ‘collusion’. Upon conviction, such persons will be liable to a fine, imprisonment, or both. Additionally, the Bill penalises the unlawful preparation, execution, or attestation of any deeds or documents by unauthorised persons.