Deeds registry finds new home after inferno rips through Botha Sigcau building

The Mthatha deeds registry is expected to resume operations on Monday from a temporary office after a fire that gutted the historic 11-storey Botha Sigcau building, which housed the registry and many other government departments. The department of land reform and rural development has assured the public that efforts are under way to secure a new permanent location for the deeds registry. In the meantime, services will continue at the temporary office at 40 Blakeway Road in Mthatha, about a kilometre from the Botha Sigcau building.

This was announced by Jabu Maphomolo, Eastern Cape registrar of deeds, on Saturday. The department of land reform and rural development offices are located at 40 Blakeway Road. The fire, which broke out at about 7pm on March 24, destroyed a significant portion of the deeds office and is believed to have damaged or destroyed some of the registry’s physical records and equipment.

The estimated damage to the building is still being assessed. The incident is expected to have a significant impact on the local property market. “The department is pleased to inform the public and those requiring deeds services in the Mthatha and surrounding areas that, due to the electronic deeds registration system (eDRS), all paper records of deeds regarding registered land have been digitised and are available on the eDRS,” Maphomolo said.

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“In the unlikely event that it is discovered that there are registered deeds that are not available in the deeds registration system, as well as those lost by the holder of the deed, section 38 of the Deeds Registration Act allows for the recreation of the deed.” There were fewer than 100 deeds being processed between lodgement for registration and delivery at the time of the fire. The affected law firms have been informed, and the deeds will be recreated and relodged for registration within five working days, Maphomolo said.

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