Each main step and the associated sub-steps are described in detail in the following sections:

Where does the Land and Planning Regularisation Toolkit (Land / Legal Toolkit) find application?

This toolkit finds application to new Housing Projects and to Housing Projects where the transfer of ownership to Beneficiaries has not been effected.

What then is its primary purpose?

• To assist officials and professionals involved in housing projects to systematically address the complexities of assembling land parcels that make up the Project Area including the complex linkages to the Development Rights that must be obtained.

• In the case of ‘blocked’ Projects, to systematically audit the status of such Projects and to formulate a specific strategy (legal and administratively) to ‘unblock’ the Project to enable the transfer of ownership to be effected in the shortest time frame.

How are the procedural steps executed?

The steps proposed may be executed in parallel with each other but certain steps cannot be concluded before other steps are concluded – this is set out in the Toolkit.

How are the costs provided for in the case of ‘blocked’ Projects?

• On completion of the audit a business plan must be prepared in order to determine the funding that will be required ‘over and above’ what is left, if any, of the Project Budget in terms of the the National Housing Subsidy Scheme.

• Then an immediate engagement with the Provincial Department of Human Settlements must commence in order to secure additional funding according to the Business Plan prepared.

The Land and Planning Regularisation Toolkit was developed by Peter Hoffman and Chris Carter from GeoAfrika with funding from the IFC supported by SECO and the World Bank Group.

For feedback on this document please email:

• peter.hoffmann@geoafrika.co.za

Please include the full webpage address that you are providing feedback on.

There are eight sub-steps in the Land and Development Rights Audit phase:

1. Determination of the legal status of the Underlying Land in relation to Project Outside figure

2. Identification of the land and legal constraints including problematic / restrictive title deed conditions and procedural steps to effect land assembly

3. Identification of other constraints inclusive but not limited to environmental, encroachments and competing land rights

4. Review of Development Approval/Consents (SPLUMA, NEMA and Mineral)

5. Identification of Amendments to Development Approval/Consent arising from all of the above

6. Determination of procedures to achieve Development Approval/Consents amendments

7. Determine what rights, if any, must be expropriated and prepare Generic Expropriation Memorandum

8. Prepare a Business Plan in support of a funding application

The objective of this phase is to conduct a Land Audit to identify any land and legal constraints, including problematic and restrictive title deed conditions, and the procedural steps that need to be undertaken to effect the land assembly.

What is a Land Audit?

Having obtained copies of all title deeds and surveyor general diagrams of the POF properties, these must be carefully analysed by the Project Conveyancer and Professional Land Surveyor to determine the legal status of each property.

The outcome of the Land Audit will inform the pre-conveyancing and land survey tasks that must be undertaken prior to effecting the Land Assembly.

What must the Land Audit define for each POF property?

• Who is the registered owner?

• Are there restrictive title deed conditions?

• Are there servitudes (registered and un-registered)? If so how must these be dealt with?

• Are there notarial leases over the property and if so what is the lease period? How should these be dealt with?

• Are there surveyor general diagrams defining, as yet, un-registered sub-division(s) of the property? How should these be dealt with? Withdraw the Diagram(s)?

• Are there mining rights registered over the property? How should these be dealt with? Are there any endorsements including reference to an expropriation and what impact do these endorsements have on the Land Assembly? How should these be dealt with?

• Establish the status of Rates and Service Charges. Establish the outstanding amount owed, if relevant, for the previous two years! As per case law only the last two years of debt may be demanded by the municipality in order to issue a Rates Clearance Certificate.

• Are there bond(s) registered on the property? How must these be dealt with?

• Identification of any other restrictive conditions of title that may hinder or prevent land assembly.

What must the Land Audit Report Address?

Having specific regard to the POF, the Project Layout Plan, the surrounding properties to the POF and other Project related matters, the Land Audit Report must set out what impact each element of the Land Audit may have on the Land Assembly process.

Identification of a set of steps that may be effected either in parallel or in serial succession.

• Set out the legislative processes to be followed to effect the Land Assembly.

• Determine what the ‘common ownership’ legal entity should be for the ‘Consolidated POF’.

• Determine the statutory and legislative steps that must be effected for the legal entity to be formed or for an existing legal entity to assume ‘common ownership’ for the ‘Consolidated POF’.

• Set out any other legal constraints that may have an impact on the Land Assembly.

What is the next step towards Land Assembly?

From the Land Audit report determine a programme of tasks that must be commenced with immediately.

The Programme must be in the form of a ‘Project Plan’ showing dependencies as they relate to the progression of the tasks.

Why is this so important?

• If any critical task is delayed the entire procedure towards Land Assembly is delayed and/or may have a fatal impact on the Project

• Early intervention must be initiated. History has shown that generally, a task that cannot be effected may take up to two years or longer to resolve

• The problems/blockages generally encountered are often beyond the authority of the parties involved in the Project and require extra ordinary intervention, often via other Organs of the State

Give effect to the Programme of Tasks

It is critical to monitor this process to ensure the timelines are met and critical milestones are not missed.

Again the need for early intervention must always be a priority!

What is the Project Outside Figure?

The Project Outside Figure (“POF”) defines what properties, as registered in a Deeds Office, are affected by the Project and must be assembled.

How is the POF shown spatially?

The POF is shown on the Project Layout Plan as prepared by the Project Town Planner and/or Professional Land Surveyor.

This should also be represented on a Plan prepared by a Professional Land Surveyor which includes all properties registered in Deeds Office.

What is ‘Land Assembly’ and what is the outcome?

Land Assembly entails the consolidation and subdivision of properties registered in a Deeds Office and which will result in a ‘newly’ consolidated property being created that defines the POF.

The process of Land Assembly must be concluded prior to the POF and Project Layout being transformed into a Township.

The Township may comprise a number of phases.

What must be collated in reference to the POF?

Obtain copies of title deeds and surveyor general diagrams for the POF properties from the relevant Deeds Office and Surveyor General Office.

Why are these important in the context of land assembly?

Given that the Land Assembly process envisages the possible sub-division and consolidation of land and the possible regularisation of the zoning of the properties within the POF, a SPLUMA application will be necessary.

The SPLUMA application will, inter alia, require that the applicant deal with the above aspects if relevant. Accordingly, the Land Audit must be expanded to determine whether such aspects are present and to what extent they will impact on a SPLUMA application and possibly the Land Assembly.

The programme to address these must be included in the overall Project Plan and must include the tasks and timelines and critical milestones associated therewith.

Why is it necessary to focus on informal and competing land rights?

Many housing projects involve the upgrading of an ‘informal settlement’ situated on the properties within the POF. It is very probable that such occupants and/or parties enjoy rights under the following Acts of parliament:

• Interim Protection of informal Land Rights Act, Act 31 of 1996.

• Labour Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, Act 3 of 1996.

• Extension of Security of Tenure Act, Act 62 of 1997.

• Restitution of Land Rights Act, Act 22 of 1994.

• Legislation and Case Law in the context of

If such rights are not addressed as early as possible in the Project cycle, there is a real risk that the eventual transfer of ownership to the beneficiary of a Project will be materially delayed.

How then are such informal and/or competing rights dealt with?

Most informal rights are generally accommodated in the Project whereby their ‘informal right’ is essentially ‘exchanged’ within the Project for a formal freehold ownership right registered in a Deeds Registry.

Informal Settlements by implication will result in informal rights holders to ‘make way’ for infrastructure (roads, storm water, sewer etc.), public open space, education facilities, health facilities, environmentally sensitive regions, flood line regions etc. This may result in having to find alternative accommodation elsewhere or compensation paid in monetary terms and may include court applications for eviction.

Competing Land Rights such as Land Claims in terms of Act 22 of 1994, if determined, may also result in restitution in monetary terms.

What is the relevance of encroachments?

This normally implies that an owner has encroached onto the neighbour’s property. In the case of the properties within the POF, such encroachments are un-common. These are generally encroachments by an adjoining informal settlement, agricultural or commercial activities. Other encroachments occur where an informal settlement has encroached into a road reserve, bulk infrastructure servitudes, environmentally sensitive areas, areas with 50% flood line etc.

How are encroachments dealt with?

Encroachments that cannot be accommodated into the planning of the Project must be relocated. This may require court application to enforce a relocation.

Given that encroachments, such as commercial activities, have in most instances been in existence for a long period, the procurement of suitable alternative land will be major initiative in its own right.

It is obvious therefore that the existence of encroachments must be determined and a solution(s) initiated very early on in the Project Cycle given the timelines involved therewith. It is imperative that Municipal Building Regulation Departments should be consulted to ensure that any further building encroachments are avoided.

The budgeted implications in this regard may also be extensive and may render the Project un-feasible until such additional funding has been procured.

Step 4 (Review of Development Approvals/Consents) will generally have identified issues, problems, omissions, impediments and conflicts with and between the different approvals/consents such as SPLUMA, NEMA etc. and conflicts between applicable Municipal Departments such as Environment, Town Planning and Building Control.

These may give rise to the specific approval/consent to be amended.

The above is not a ‘quick fix’ and may take many months to effect. It must also be supported by the relevant professionals such as the Professional Land Surveyor, Professional Planner and Conveyancer.

Any amendment that will give rise to a registration in a Deeds Office will require careful scrutiny by a conveyancer to ensure that such condition is indeed registrable.

All existing development approvals and/or consents need to be reviewed in the context of the outcome of the Land Audit undertaken thus far.

What then are the most common issues which then prohibit the opening of a Township Register?

• The conditions of approval cannot be effected as these conditions do not accord with the underlying property(s) title deed conditions.

• The conditions of approval do not adequately address the constraints other than title deed conditions of the underlying property(s).

• The are conflicting conditions of approval arising from the SPLUMA consent.

• The Approval/Consent issued do not accurately reflect/record the legal parameter(s) of the properties contained and/or affected by the POF.

• The Conditions of Approval/Consents do not correctly record the title deed conditions that must be registered with the Certificate of Consolidated Title defining the POF.

• Municipal Departments are not willing to sign off on existing/historical Planning Conditions due to issues such as encroachments into environmentally sensitive areas etc. (Ie: the actual position on the ground and the position provided for in historical planning conditions differ materially and can no longer be achieved).

Where land and any other rights in land cannot be acquired/accommodated by negotiations then such rights may be expropriated.

What are the 'Show Stoppers’?

• Lack of support from the Municipal Council and/or Expropriating Authority.

• The compensation payable, if not budgeted for by the developing authority, generally the Municipality.

• Lack of alternative accommodation where the form of compensation is alternative housing/accommodation.

• Unresolved land claims.

Given that in most instances the approvals/consents were issued some time ago, the relevant authority must be consulted in order to agree the procedures and documents to be submitted to effect an amended approval/consent. However, there are several "Show Stoppers" that may create delays in this process.

What are the potential 'Show Stoppers'?

• An amendment that will first require the intervention of a court.

• Land rights, generally informal, that have not been addressed and acquired if such rights cannot be accommodated in the proposed development.

• Servitudes that must be cancelled where the owner of the servitude is not traceable or refuses such cancellation.

• Leases that have not been cancelled.

• Any other right or condition of title that cannot be removed in terms of an administrative procedure e.g. Cancellation of a Deed Grant.

• The amendments are of such material extent that the public process must be ‘re-done’.

• ‘Licenses’ for certain activities, generally in reference to Bulk Infrastructure requirements, must be commenced from ‘scratch’.

• Encroachments (especially into environmentally sensitive areas or service corridors or roads).

How does one achieve the above where there are two or more organs of state affected and who must give their comment and/or approval?

• Consideration must be given to concluding an Implementation Protocol in terms of Section 35 of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, Act 13 of 2005.

• The conclusion of certain Service Level Agreements between the relevant organs of state and between internal Municipal Departments.

• Seek ‘political’ interventions.

What is this Business Plan?

The outcome of the Land and Development Rights Audit must be converted into a financial business plan that:

• Is an extension of the original Project Budget

• Provides for funding requirements to action all legal and administrative tasks identified by the Development Rights Audit and which cannot be funded from the original Project Budget

• Provides a detailed timeline project plan, inclusive of critical milestones, for all tasks that must be undertaken to ultimately achieve the transfer of ownership to individual beneficiaries

NB! To include all interventions, for example:

• Expropriation Compensation

• Compensation for informal land rights

• Court Orders

• Land Assembly – Land Surveying and Conveyancing costs

• Costs associated with and to comply with amended Development Consents and Conditions of Establishment, etc.

To whom is this Business Plan directed at?

• The Provincial Department of Human Settlements

• The National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, if necessary

• Any other organ of state that will be required to assist/intervene in order to address the actions identified by the Land and Development Rights Audit

Under who’s authority is the Business Plan submitted?

The Municipality.

There are four sub-steps in the Registration of Underlying Land and Township Establishment phase:

What are the headings that will guide the briefs?

Land and Development Rights Audit – (the ‘Audit’).

• Whilst it is very likely that the Land Surveyor and Conveyancer were involved and/or was/were the authors of the Audit, this may not be the case, and accordingly the outcome of the Audit will essentially form the basis of their briefs.

• The briefs should be a single ‘brief’ where both the Land Surveyor and the Conveyancer will extract their respective tasks that they must perform or have attended to.

Interventions Required and By Whom?

• The Land Surveyor and Conveyancer must establish as to whether there are tasks/actions that require specific interventions/resolutions to be taken by the Municipality and/or other organs of the State.

• They must prepare a detailed memorandum in this regard so that the relevant official is then able to ‘take through’ the procedural steps within the Municipality and/or organ of the State to obtain the necessary intervention.

Correlation by Land Surveyor and Conveyancer with regards to all Diagrams, General Plans and other Registrable Documents.

• This is to ensure that there is absolute alignment between what diagrams and general plans the Land Surveyor has framed and what the Conveyancer will require to effect the Land Assembly, to open the Township Register(s) and to effect transfer of erven and other rights.

Detailed Scope of Work.

• Assistance from the Land Surveyor and Conveyancer may be prudent in defining the full scope of for both of them to ensure no omission is made that may ‘block’ the eventual transfer of ownership with regards to individual even in the Township(s) developed.

• It is extremely important that the Sales Administration documentation also includes a valid ‘will’ of the approved housing subsidy beneficiaries in order that the Conveyancer may effect ‘succession transaction(s)’ should this be necessary.

Cancellation of other Competing Land Rights.

• The Audit may identify other land rights as outlined in Step 1 that cannot be accommodated in the Township Development.

• These must be adequately dealt with which must include a formal process via the Council to confirm these land rights (formal and informal) have been effectively cancelled.

Effect the Expropriation of Land Rights.

• The Audit outcome will have identified land rights (formal and informal) that must be expropriated.

• Having regard to the expropriation procedure that follows in this tool kit, the Land Surveyor and Conveyancer must give effect to the expropriation via the relevant authority(s).

• The Land Surveyor to prepare the necessary expropriation plans that define ‘what’ is being expropriated.

• On issuing of the Expropriation Notice(s), the Conveyancer to effect the Expropriation Transfer(s) and/or formalisation of an expropriation of an informal land right(s).

Fees and Other Costs

• It is important that all aspects that must be given effect to, by the Land Surveyor and Conveyancer are costed and budgets made available.

• The above must make provisions for costs associated with interventions by the Municipality and/or Organs of the State, including the obtaining of a Court Order if required.

What is the role of the Town Planner in this regard?

The Town Planner should be briefed to co-ordinate the tasks, collection of certificates and any other SPLUMA Approval/Consents that, when all are in place, the Municipality is able to issue the Section 53 Proclamation Certificate. The assumption is made that a SPLUMA Approval/Consent has been obtained.

The SPLUMA Approval/Consents includes a set of Conditions that must be fully satisfied and in some instances require various relevant authorities to confirm compliance with one or more conditions by way of an official letter and/or certificate.

What must be done?

Generally every condition will require the Applicant to undertake a set of tasks that once completed must be adjudicated by the relevant authority responsible therefore before that authority is able to certify full compliance with that condition

What generally are the main conditions and who is the authority?

• Bulk Sanitation System installed – the Municipality Waste Department and in some instances where a Waster Works must be installed by the Applicant, Certificate from the Provincial Environmental Authority.

• Bulk Water System installed (including reservoirs) – the Municipality Water Department. There may also be a necessity for certain licenses to be obtained and/or amended/renewed.

• Major Access Roads installed – the Municipality Roads Department, the Provincial Roads Authority and SANRAL (if required).

• Internal Infrastructure Services installed – the relevant internal Municipal Departments.

• Internal Electricity Reticulation installed – the Municipal Electrical Department and Eskom (if required).

• Service Contributions to be paid – the Municipality.

• Service Level Agreement (SLA) – the Municipality, the Provincial Authority (if required) and SANRAL (if required). Such SLAs are generally required where the specific design specifications, handover and maintenance of assets are recorded prior to installation of such infrastructure service.

• Community and/or Public Amenities Installed – the Municipality and other organs of state responsible for such an amenity. An SLA may be concluded with such authority if this will only be installed at a point in the future life cycle of the township e.g. a Clinic. The township has reached 500 property owners and their houses have been built and occupied.

• Provision of, and registration of, Servitudes to protect the bulk infrastructure either installed or in existence – the Municipality and/or other relevant organs of state responsible for such bulk infrastructure.

• Encroachment Agreements concluded if necessary – the Municipality and/or relevant organ of state or private individuals affected by an encroachment.

• Provision of Site Development Plan(s) – the Municipality and/or relevant organ of state. This aspect may be included in a SLA where a SLA is concluded.

• Phasing of Township and Infrastructure (Bulk and Internal) provision – the Municipality and/or relevant organ of state. Provision therefore may be made in a SLA if such SLA is concluded.

The Town Planner's Brief?

The above will essentially make up the Town Planner’s Brief. NB This will include making amended SPLUMA application(s).

The Brief should include a period related project plan in which critical milestones and/or tasks are recorded.

The critical milestones and/or tasks, by implication, will move the entire process ‘out’ if not met within the date or period specified.

Early intervention must be initiated by the Town Planner if a Critical Milestone and/or Task is likely not to be met.

Expropriation process

(by Municipalities for Housing Development in terms of Section 9(3a) and 9 (3b) of the Housing Act (Act 107 of 1997) read together with the Expropriation Act 63 of 1975)

• Identify and inspect properties for expropriation (failed negotiations; unable to contact landowner/s; landowner not willing to sell and property is a critical requirement for the Priority Housing Project area)

• Submit an application to the strategic management committee for permission to expropriate.

• Submit an application to exco for permission to expropriate.

• Submit an application to full council for a resolution to expropriate.

• Have an Intention to Expropriate Notice published in two Local Newspapers: one Zulu and one English Newspaper ***

• Objection period of 30 days is to be entertained while waiting for objections from landowners ***

• Co-ordinate an objectors meeting with the facilitators and the Municipality.

  • Negotiate where possible (sale agreement can be signed if appropriate)

  • Request heirs to attend on the masters office and report estates.

• Submit application to the MEC Housing for approval to expropriate. all objections and outcomes are to be attached to the application.

• Designate properties to be expropriated to LTAC’s (d\Department of Rural Development & Land Reform) [must be attended to with enough time to still publish the notice of expropriation (para 9) within 6 months of permission granted by the MEC : Section 9 (3a) (iii) of the Housing act 107 of 1997] ***

• Once properties have been designated to the Land Titles Adjustment Commissioners, Notice of Expropriation is to be published in two Local Newspapers: one Zulu and one English Newspaper [this must be done within 6 months of permission granted by the MEC : Section 9 (3a) (iii) of the Housing Act 107 of 1997].

• Provide the Deeds Office with a schedule of properties expropriated showing information as per 31(6)(a) of the Deeds Registries Act, No. 47 of 1937; together with two SG diagrams (Expro Diagrams) of each property and a certified copy of the Expropriation Notice. This must be on a Municipal Letterhead.

• Appoint a Conveyancer to attend to the Expropriation Transfers.

Why is such an intervention necessary?

The underlying land to the POF may comprise of land parcel(s) owned by a ‘deceased estate’ and which estate has not been reported, accordingly there is no ‘seller’.

The above means that for such parcels of land to be acquired by the state/organ of state, the property would need to be expropriated which is a lengthy process.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Law of Succession there may be other competing rights to such parcels of land.

The occurrence of the above will cause a major delay to concluding the Land Assembly Process and ultimately the Township Establishment Process

What is the Purpose?

The purpose is to regulate the allocation of certain land in respect of which one or more person’s claim ownership, but who do not have registered title deed(s) in respect thereof.

• The Act inter alia contemplates a deceased estate and where the heirs and other claimants do not have title to that land.

• The Act provided for the appointment of a Commissioner who, on appointment becomes the ‘Seller’ of the land.

• The State and/or Organ of the State is then immediately in a position to deal with the land and to acquire same without having to expropriate the land.

What are the ‘Pitfalls’?

• The Act is a National Act.

• The Act is administered by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

• The process to date of the appointment of a Commissioner(s) has been a protracted one and accordingly the objectives of the Act have generally not been met.

What is the solution to effectively utilise this Act?

• The Constitution of the RSA requires that all spheres of Government co-operate with one another in order to achieve the objectives of the State as a whole.

• The above constitutional obligation was codified by the promulgation of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, Act 13 of 2005. This Act provides, at Section 35, for spheres of Government and/or State Departments to enter into an Implementation Protocol (IP) to define such co-operation and bind each other to collectively achieving the set out objectives.

• The Municipality should conclude such an IP with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and to prepare ‘Work Plans’ as defined and contemplated by Act 13 of 2005.

• The conclusion of IPs has had a material and positive impact on addressing the issue of State Departments and the different the spheres of government operating in ‘silos’.

There are two sub-steps in this phase:

The Land and Development Rights Audit (the ‘Audit’).

The Audit will have fully identified the conditions that must be fully complied with prior to the SPLUMA Section 53 Proclamation Certificate (the ‘Proclamation Certificate’) being issued. The assumption is made that a SPLUMA Approval/Consent has been obtained.

The Audit will also have identified whether the SPLUMA and/or NEMA RoDs require to be amended.

Whilst the professional land Surveyor and conveyancer would have in confirmed what interventions, if any, may be required by the Municipality and/or Organ of State under step 2, it is the Development Project Manager(s) that must give effect to the RoDs.

The focus of this step is to deal with any RoD conditions that have been identified as ‘not yet’ complied with.

These must be budgeted for and urgently given effect to.

Once all SPLUMA Approval/Consent (this includes an amended approval/consent) conditions have been satisfied the process to obtain the SPLUMA Section 53 Proclamation Certificate may commence as per step 4.

What is the Relevance of the NEMA RoD?

Whilst the Land Assembly and Township Proclamation is informed by the SPLUMA RoD, the NEMA RoD determines the conditions under which all activities that will give rise to the Township Development are subject to.

The individual certificates that the Municipality and/or other Organs of State will be required to issue in relation to each infrastructure service will only be issued by the Municipality and/or Organ of the State if satisfactory proof is provided that the NEMA RoD has been fully complied with.

The Development Programme:

Under the earlier STEPS a Project Plan is recommended to be compiled which identifies ‘Critical Milestones and Tasks’.

This Project Plan will play a material role at this point in the eventual procurement of the Proclamation Certificate.

Careful scrutiny of any existing or new town planning order is required (it is recommended that the project land surveyor and conveyancer be included to give input on this process).

The above will then clarify which conditions of establishment of the new or existing town planning order are required to be fulfilled/complied with before the Designated Officer of the Municipality’s town planning department will issue a Section 53 (SPLUMA) certificate.

The Section 53 (SPLUMA) certificate is the certificate, issued by the Municipality, which confirms that the conditions of establishment have been fulfilled and that registration of individual transfers can thereafter proceed in the applicable Deeds Office.

The Section 53 (SPLUMA) certificate is required by the Deeds Office for lodgement of transfers (or even the opening of the township register) and hence this is a critical step.

Often, the Section 53 (SPLUMA) certificate will only be issued once the Municipality’s designated officer is supplied with the appropriate “B certificates” which, in turn, confirm that services (ie: roads, water, electricity, stormwater, sanitation) have been properly installed. This will therefore also involve the project engineer.

Conditions of establishment differ with respect to conditions required to be fulfilled before a section 53 certificate is issued, hence, careful scrutiny and guidance by the project land surveyor, town planner, conveyancer and engineer is of critical importance.

There are two sub-steps in this phase:

What are these Transfers?

On Proclamation of a Township(s) the erven numbered and zoned ‘Public Open Space/Places’ and ‘Transportation’ (Roads) vest in ownership with the Municipality and/or Organ of State where relevant.

Whilst the vesting of ownership occurs on date of Proclamation of the Township(s), such erven must be ‘removed’ from the ‘Parent Title’ of the Township(s) and a title deed created under the registered name of the Municipality and/or Organ of the State.

The Land Assembly Process and Proclamation of the Township(s) process will have identified all such erven that require a ‘vesting transfer(s)’ to be effected.

When must these Vesting Transfers be effected?

In terms of relevant Municipal legislation and legislation governing an Organ of the State and their respective asset registers these must be updated as soon as possible as is reasonably possible after the date of ownership of such immovable asset has passed to the Municipality and/or Organ of the State.

The Conveyancer must register such ‘vesting transfers’ simultaneously or immediately after the opening of the Township Register, provided the SPLUMA Section 53 Certificate has been issued by the Municipality. However, the actual time-frame (if any) for the vesting of roads and other Municipal infrastructure will often be set out in the SPLUMA Approval/Consent. Hence, careful scrutiny and guidance from the project conveyancer is critical.

What other legal instruments have a bearing?

Other than the SPLUMA RoD, the other legal instruments that have a bearing on such vesting transfers are:

• In certain cases, infrastructure services, in particular roads and improvements developed on Public Open Spaces such as ‘Sport Facilities’ etc. will have been confirmed via SLA.

• Other National Legislation e.g the SANRAL Act.

Will there be a need to formalise more in future?

There will be a need to formalise more in future for the Institutional Mechanisms that govern the future management and maintenance of such Public Places. For example:

• Community facilities are often developed on Public Open Spaces and these must be operated, maintained and managed in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003 and/or the Public Finance Management Act, Act No 1 of 1999 in the case of a Municipality and Organ of the State respectively.

• Further formalities and legal contracts may need to be put in place where private entities (including NGOs) operate, manage and maintain such facilities.

What is ‘Project Close Out’?

This entails a number of legal, administrative and procedural tasks that will confirm the completion of Subsidized Housing Project in terms of all legislative provisions governing a Municipality and where relevant an affected Organ of the State.

This process also enables the effective ‘shifting’ of the Township under the operational responsibility of the Municipality under each relevant department within the Municipality and where it is captured into the Municipality’s annual operational budget(s).

What then confirms the Project ‘Close Out’?

On conclusion of all registrations, vesting transfers and related formalities associated with the Project, a full submission must serve before the Municipal Council.

The Council then by resolution formally recognises the completion of the Project, its full compliance with all legal, administrative and procedural aspects and passes operational responsibility onto every relevant department within the Municipality.