The SPLUMA Act and what property sellers are required to comply with and how to get the certificate in order to sell the property.
According to legislation from 2015, all municipalities were to be compliant with the SPLUMA (Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act) and has been extended to October 2020 to be compliant.
“The certificate from the municipality is to ensure the zoning of the property matches the land use and to determine that all the buildings on the premises are in accordance with approved building plans on record at the municipal offices.
WHY this impacts sellers?
From October 2020 the National Deeds Office will now require a SPLUMA certificate from the local municipality in which a property is located before any property transaction can be concluded.
To obtain a SPLUMA certificate from the municipality, the seller requires the following to be in place:
- An affidavit signed by the seller and filed at the municipality with an application wherein the owner states that the relevant plans pertaining to the property are in order, accurate and have been filed with the municipality.
- All rates and taxes for the property must be paid up to date.
- Building plans for all buildings (including the swimming pool, carports, lapas and boundary walls above 2.4 meters) need to be approved, including ensuring that all building lines are correct, and none have been encroached upon in which case council will be required to approve such.
In the event that there are any changes or additions not on the municipal plans, these will urgently need to be drafted and submitted prior to selling of the property and approved before the sale can be concluded.
- The land use of the property needs to be in accordance with municipal zoning and as stipulated on the title deed.
The SELLER should apply for the certificate as soon as possible when deciding to possible sell their property. Even if the homeowner is not selling their property, they should check with council that their plans are current and up to date and in agreement with their title deeds. By ensuring that plans are correct will save this time-consuming exercise when they choose to sell as this process can take up to three months which could either loose the sale or cause undue delay should something else on the plans be found.
PROPERTY OWNERS should be proactive in this instance with ensuring their plans are up to date as circumstances change very quickly and this will avoid any delays and backlogs that the councils may experience which could inevitable cause a delay in the sale of the property.
Buyers, banks will insist on all the documents so why wait and delay the process, get the documents in order which will ensure a quick and easy sale.
To make this process easier ANCHOR PROPERTY INSPECTORS will offer to do this service for homeowners together with a full inspection of the property of all the LATENT & PATENT DEFECTS that are part of the disclosure form when selling a property and get the architect to update and submit plans on behalf of the owner where required, in order to get the compliancy of the house up to date. (FEES WILL DIFFER DEPENDING ON SERVICES REQUIRED)
This will give the current HOMEOWNER enough time to either fix or repair the items highlighted which will also give the HOMEOWNER a better chance of selling their property for the best market value without buyers reducing the asking price to allow for the repairs.
TO call and make an appointment
087 012 5368 / 083 462 5369
info@anchorsa.co.za