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Bond Attorney Fees South Africa

Bond attorney fees are the costs for registering or canceling a mortgage bond; which often need to occur as part of the process of purchasing or selling a property. Bond fees vary by bond amount and attorney.

Bond Registration Fee Calculator

Enter your bond amount below to estimate the attorney fees (excluding VAT, based on April 2024 guidelines):

Bond registration costs

The Law Society of South Africa in its guideline of fees recommends that the following be charged for the registration of a mortgage bond over an immovable property:

Value of bond	Fee to register bond
R100 000 or less	R6 640
Over R100 000 up to and including R500 000	R6 640 plus R1 060 per R50 000 or part thereof above that
Over R500 000 up to and including R1m	R15 120 for the first R500 000 plus R2 050 per R100 000 or part thereof above that
Over R1m up to and including R5m	R25 370 for the first R1m plus R2 050 per R200 000 or part thereof above that
Over R5m	R66 370 for the first R5m plus R5 160 per R1m or part thereof above that

The above fees exclude VAT. These fees are valid from 1 August 2025.

Negotiating bond attorney fees down

Bond attorneys do not necessarily charge what is recommended by the Law Society, and it is worthwhile to try negotiate all property transfer costs, including bond registration and cancellation costs. The lawyers themselves never initiate a negotiation of transfer fees as there are archaic rules and traditions preventing them from doing so (!), so it's up to the purchaser and seller to open the discussion. Here are some possibilities:

Smaller conveyancing firms might be willing to offer a fixed rate (e.g., R10,000 for bonds under R500,000) to attract clients.
Fixed percentage of the bond amount (e.g., 1%–2%), though this is less common.
If, as is usually the case, the same transfer attorney is handling both bond registration and property transfer, they may offer a combined rate.

Absa bank discount on bond attorney fees

Absa bank will often offer qualifying home loan aplicants a 50% discount on bond attorney fees if you use an attorney on the Absa Panel.

Mortgage Bond vs Home Loan

A mortgage refers to the overarching legal arrangement where a property (e.g. a house) is used as security for a loan. The term reflects its French/Latin roots — "mort" (dead) and "gage" (pledge) — and the pledge "dies" when the debt is settled or if the lender takes the property due to default of the borrower. However, in South African English, "mortgage" is often used loosely to mean the whole home-loan process.

A mortgage bond is the specific legal instrument registered over the property at the Deeds Office. This registration, governed by the Deeds Registries Act, creates a real right in favor of the lender — usually a bank like Standard Bank or Nedbank. It allows the lender to sell the property through a court process if the borrower defaults on loan repayments. The bond is tied to the property’s title deed, and you’ll see it listed there as an encumbrance.

A home loan is the separate agreement between the borrower and the bank, detailing the loan amount, interest rate (often linked to the prime rate), and repayment terms (typically 20-30 years). The loan amount might not match the bond amount as banks often register a bond for more than the loan to cover additional costs (such as bond registrtion fees and property transfer costs) or future borrowing. Click here to get an estimate of what monthly home loan repayments would be for various loan amounts, taking into account the credit risk profile of the borrower.

Property transfer & sale Info

Sellers of property & buyers, speak to a property lawyer before you hire an estate agent!

The property transfer process in South Africa - protect your interests.
Conveyancing lawyers in Cape Town.
- Checklist to help you identify the best conveyancer near you.
- Bellville conveyancing attorneys
- Blouberg conveyancing attorneys
- Milnerton conveyancing attorneys
- Pinelands conveyancing attorneys
- Tableview conveyancing attorneys
Transfer costs calculator for property anywhere in South Africa.
Deeds Registeries Act.
Servitudes
- Usufruct Agreement on Property in South African law.
  - Usufruct value calculator (only one in South Africa)
Land conveyancing
Transfer attorney vs bond attorney.
Commercial Property:
- Transferring property as a going concern.
- Commercial Property conveyancing quote
Marriage/Divorce-related:
- How to transfer property from husband to wife (or vice versa); whilst still married (ie not getting divorced).
  - Donation of property agreement not followed through.
  - When property is erroneously in your spouse's name.
- "Protection" of fixed property using a trust.
- Conveyancers conduct the transfer of property ownership from one spouse to another (or to a third party, if relevant).
- Liquidator to sell property & divide proceeds as part of divorce.
Property sales
- Use conveyancer to guide your private property sale.
- Instead of using real estate agents rather use professional lawyers to sell your property.
- Urgent house sale.
- How to check whether an estate agent is licensed.
- Example of a property sales agreement.
- FLISP Housing subsidies.
- Property practitioner's Act.
- Code to guide conduct of property practitioners.
Property purchases
- Scams property purchasers should watch out for.
- Home loan repayments calculator, with an estimate of the adjustment to prime to reflect the borrower's credit risk profile.
Terminology

Conveyancing & property transfer discussion forum

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