I sold my house, what compliance certificates are required?

Sellers are often unaware of the compliance certificates that are required when selling a house. A deed of sale can provide for up to five different compliance certificates to be issued. Herewith a summary of the different types of compliance certificates and the legal requirements pertaining to each of them.

Certificates of compliance:

1 Electrical Compliance Certificate

In terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the owner or lessor of an electrical installation has to be in a possession of an original, valid Electrical Certificate of Compliance. It is obligatory to obtain an electrical certificate where ownership changes. Only a duly registered electrical contractor can provide such a certificate after examining the property.

An ECOC is valid indefinitely provided that no alterations are made to the installation. It can be transferred to the Purchaser of the property provided it is not older than two years. If the ECOC is older than two years or if alterations or additions were made a new one will have to be obtained before transfer of the property.

Although the onus is on the seller to obtain this certificate and pay for repairs, this obligation can be shifted to the purchaser by way of agreement.

2 Electrical Fence Compliance Certificate

Governed by the Electrical Machinery Regulations which were promulgated in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, this certificate is compulsory when an electrical fence system is installed, altered or extended. The purpose of requiring an Electrical Fence Certificate is to ensure that the installation is safe.

Unlike the electrical compliance certificate, there is no fixed period for validity for this certificate. A certificate can therefore be transferred from one owner to the next provided that no alterations or extensions were made.

The certificate is required when there is a change of ownership of a property with an electric fence after 1 October 2012. It is also required if any alteration or modification to an electrical fence was made after 1 October 2012.

These requirements also apply to sales of sectional title units if there is an electrical fence situated on the common property.

3 Gas Certificate of Compliance

The gas installation regulations to the Occupational Health and Safety Act require that every owner of property on which there is a gas installation must have a Certificate of Conformity and any seller of the property must deliver a certificate to the purchaser prior to occupation or transfer. The seller will generally be responsible for obtaining such a certificate and the banks are often requesting such certificates as a condition of any bond that may be registered to finance the property where gas is applicable.

A Certificate of Conformity should be treated in the same fashion as an Electrical Compliance Certificate. The only difference between the two is the period of validity. Given that the situation is unclear on the period of validity of a gas compliance certificate, the recommended option is to obtain a new certificate whenever a property is sold.

4 Beetle certificate

There is no requirement in law for an owner of property to have a certificate confirming that the property is free of wood destroying beetles. It is however customary to include such a requirement in the deed of sale, especially when the property is situated in a coastal area. If the agreement of sale does not require a beetle certificate but it is a condition imposed by the purchaser’s bank as a bond condition, the purchaser would need to obtain and pay for the certificate.

5 Plumbing Certificate

A certificate of Compliance of Water Installation must be submitted to the City Council before any property in Cape Town can be transferred to a new owner. This requirement is only applicable to properties situated within the jurisdiction of the City of Cape Town. The by-law requires the seller to submit the certificate to the City Council and not to the buyer. It has become commonplace to include a provision in the deed of sale that a copy will be provided to the purchaser. The certificate can only be completed by a City of Cape Town registered plumber and is submitted online by the conveyancing attorney.

The document certifies that:

• There are no plumbing defects;

• The water meter is working;

• There are no storm water connections running into the sewer system;

• There are no cross-connection between drinking water and grey water, recycled water or ground –water systems; and

• The water installation conforms to the national building regulations and local by-laws.

It is important that purchasers be made aware that this is not a full plumbing check. There are only seven checks that are currently performed during the inspection and as long as the plumbing installation complies with these seven points, the inspector is obliged to issue a certificate.

The seven pre-requisites are set out below:

1. The hot water cylinder is plumbed correctly, PRV of the correct value, vacuum

breakers correctly installed, emergency overflow installed with a metallic pipe, all

overflows to be plumbed to the outside and discharge to atmosphere.

2. The water meter registers when a tap is open and stops completely when all taps

are closed.

3. None of the terminal water fittings leak when they are in the OFF position, and they

are correctly fixed in position.

4. No storm water is discharged into the sewerage system.

5. There is no cross connection between the potable supply and any grey water

system which may be installed.

6. The private isolating valve is in place and functioning.

7. The water pipes in the plumbing installation are properly supported.

Conveyancers attending to the transfer of a property will ensure that the necessary compliance certificates are obtained prior to registration of the transfer in the Deed’s Office. It is best that the inspections and remedial work are done as early as possible to prevent delays in the registration process, and most banks now request a copy of these certificates before lodgement of the documents at the Deed’s Office.