Page 21 - Nexia SAB&T Property and Tax Guide 2025

complaint for mediation. Should a property practitioner have been served
with a compliance notice and has failed to comply, or to pay the fine stated
therein timeously, or mediation has failed, the Board of Authority may cause
a notice of adjudication to be served on that person. Any person aggrieved
by the decision of adjudicator may appeal against such a decision to the
Adjudication Appeal Committee.
◆ Remuneration
◆ In order for a property practitioner to enforce the collection of remuneration
(commission), a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate must be held for all property
practitioners within the agency or business – and failure to have it may require
the property practitioner to refund any commission paid by the seller. Agents
may only receive commission from a property sale on registration (and this
requirement cannot be amended by agreement). A conveyancer may not
pay any remuneration or other monies to a property practitioner unless that
property practitioner has provided the conveyancer with a certified copy of his,
her or its Fidelity Fund Certificate, valid during the period, or on the date of the
transaction to which the payment relates.

THE ELECTRONIC DEEDS REGISTRATION SYSTEMS ACT

The Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Act (19 of 2019) is in full operation as
from 2 April 2025. The Act aims to facilitate the development of an Electronic Deeds
Registration System, known as e-DRS – which will enable the electronic processing,
preparation, lodgement and registration of deeds and documents by conveyancers and
the Registrar of Deeds over the internet.
A dual registration process will be in place over the next five years, allowing for both
manual and electronic lodgement and registration at the discretion of the conveyancer.
Once registration is completed electronically, manual registration will no longer be
permitted. The manual registration procedure will be phased out gradually and will
ultimately be replaced by the electronic system.

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