I lost my original title deed. What happens now?

A title deed is the most essential document when it comes to ownership of property. It is a legal document that proves ownership of a property in South Africa, and contains details of the property, conditions of title and the purchase price or value of the property.

As a result, the title deed of the property must be produced when an owner wishes to dispose or sell their property. If the property is acquired free of a mortgage bond, the title deed will be released to the new owner. However, where the property is acquired and there is a mortgage bond registered over the property, the bank will retain the title deed as security until the bond has been settled whereafter the title deed will be released to the owner.

The original copy of the title deed must be lodged in the Deeds Office for purposes of effecting transfer of the property. Without this, the transfer cannot proceed. The question that arises is what happens if the bank or the registered owner has lost the original title deed? Does it mean the transaction cannot proceed? Fortunately, Section 68 of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 provides recourse to owners and addresses this:

Regulation 68(1) provides that –

If any deed conferring title to land or any interest therein or any real right, or any registered lease or sub-lease or registered cession thereof or any mortgage or notarial bond, is lost or destroyed and a copy is required for any purpose other than one of those mentioned in either of the last two preceding regulations, the registered holder thereof or his duly authorized agent may make written application for such copy, which application shall be accompanied by an affidavit describing the deed and stating that it has not been pledged and it is not being detained by any one as security for debt or otherwise, but that it has been actually lost or destroyed and cannot be found through diligent search has been made therefor, and further setting forth where possible the circumstances under which it was lost or destroyed: Provided that where a Registrar is satisfied that any deed mentioned in this paragraph has been inadvertently lost, destroyed, defaced or damaged by him, it shall be competent for him to issue a copy thereof gratis.

If there is a mortgage bond registered over the property, the relevant bank must sign a bondholder’s consent confirming they are not in possession of the title deed and that it has no objection to the application.

The above process was relatively simple however on 1 November 2019, under Government Gazette number 42813, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform published further amendments to Regulation 68 which came into effect on 2 January 2020, wherein the following process must be followed with such an application:

The applicant/ registered owner is required to publish a notice of intention to apply for a certified copy in an issue of a newspaper circulating in the area of jurisdiction in which the property is situated.
Proof of the advertisement must be lodged with the Deeds Office together with a copy of the application.
The documents must lay open for inspection in the Deeds Office for a period of 2 weeks.
Any interested party may object to the issue of such certified copy within the 2 weeks from date of service on the Deeds Office.
Only once the 2 weeks have lapsed, may the application for a certified copy be lodged at the Deeds Office.

Losing your title deed does not mean you have lost your rights of ownership. You will need to apply for a certified copy from the Deeds Office. This is an arduous task that is costly and can delay your property transaction. It is thus crucial you keep your title deed safe once it is released into your possession.