In a bid to clear up the confusion surrounding buying and selling property, Johannesburg's Revenue Department has published handbooks on exactly what is required.

The Property Handbook

For more information on how to buy and sell property in Johannesburg,
click here [PDF: 1Mb].

AS anyone who has bought a house can tell you, buying and selling property is a minefield of contracts and murky legal language.

Now, the City is publishing a series of handbooks that will contain everything one needs to know about buying or selling residential and commercial property. The first [PDF: 1Mb] in the series is already available, and it contains vital information that many people who are looking at selling or purchasing property, simply do not know.

Written clearly and simply, the book pays special attention to the City's requirements, like getting rates clearance certificates and opening and settling municipal accounts. The changes in the clearance certificate and refunding processes are also covered.

"Many of our customer queries are as a result of not understanding one or the other aspect of the municipal requirements in regard to property transactions," said Mandy Jean Woods, the spokesperson for the City's Revenue and Customer Relations Department. "In particular, it addresses the specific steps in the property transaction process required by the City."

The handbook also contains a glossary of terms and samples of the forms that need to be filled.

"One of the main problems we experience is that customers often don't have all the information we require when doing one or the other of the transactions required for buying or selling property. We hope that by providing sample copies of the forms to be submitted, customers [can] easily identify all information required when submitting forms."

The property handbook is available from the Revenue and Customer Relations Department or the customer service centre at Thuso House, 61 Jorissen Street, in Braamfontein.

Copies of the book are also available at People Centres across Johannesburg, at the Metro Centre and at estate agents.