Deeds office ‘chaos’
‘It is shockingly designed; there is so much dissatisfaction.’ RAISE MANY PROBLEMS ABOUT NEW BUILDING IN PRETORIA
Conveyancing attorneys are up in arms about operational problems at the new R1.88 billion department of agriculture, land reform and rural development (DALRRD) head office campus where the Pretoria Deeds Office is now located.
One irate conveyancer told Moneyweb the new deeds office building “is a total bloody disaster” because it does not cover all the deeds registration processes.
He claimed the building is not fit for purpose. “They have got ridiculous rules and are making everyone’s life a misery. You have to remove every of paper you bring into the deeds office when you go. You can’t leave anything there. Why did they change the deeds prep [preparation] system?”
The conveyancer said the Pretoria Deeds Office has preparation tables for deeds but some get held over for a few days when they come up for preparation before lodgement. He said at the old Pretoria Deeds Office, documents could be left there.
Now conveyancers have to remove everything and there is no place to put the documents. “It’s inconceivable how someone designed this. They did not consult with conveyancers in putting this [building] together. You have 300
to 400 firms going in on a daily basis. It is shockingly designed. There is so much dissatisfaction you cannot believe,” he said.
Other complaints include:
There is no cellphone reception in the building and conveyancers have to walk outside the building to make a call;
Access to examiners is not directly allowed and conveyancers have to call them to come out of their offices;
There are insufficient pigeon holes at the building for the various functions or processes performed by the deeds office prior to the lodgement of deeds for the registration of a transfer of ownership of a property; and
The new “hot seat” approach
towards deeds office staff at the new building means it is extremely difficult for conveyancers to find the person who was previously dealing with their transfers.
The complaints follow a hiccup when Pretoria Deeds Office registrar Audrey Gwangwa notified conveyancers on April 5 that the office “would be closed indefinitely with effect from April 6. 2023 until further notice”.
This notice was contrary to the arrangements the DALRRD had communicated about the relocation of the office. It led to the Pretoria Attorneys Association (PAA) giving the department’s director-general an ultimatum to communicate with it on the closure by a set deadline or face legal action.
The DALRRD backtracked and
apologised, and said operations would now resume on April 17 at the new premises, as previously communicated.
PAA property committee chair Donald Mokgehle confirmed on Friday he had received a few complaints from conveyancers. “Obviously, with a new office there will always be some operational issues, but we will meet with the deeds office management to discuss the issues raised.
Anton Theron, of the property committee of the PAA and Gauteng Attorneys Association, said on Monday: “We are functioning as well as can be expected... and the deputy registrar and staff are giving us very good cooperation.”
Attempts to get comment from the DALRRD were unsuccessful.