By Akani Nkuna
The Democratic Alliance has taken aim at newly implemented regulations in South Africa’s Deeds Office, calling them discriminatory and unconstitutional.
In a formal letter to Land Reform and Rural Development Minster Mzwanele Nyhontso, the party has demanded an immediate withdrawal of the contentious policy and suspension of its enforcement.
The new rule requires parties involved in a property transfer to declare their race in writing, or risk having their transaction rejected.
The DA has warned that the regulations could undermine property rights, promote racial divisions and erode principles of non-racialism, setting a dangerous precedent for governance and public service delivery across the country.
“The DA strongly believes that these regulations are an invasion and infringement of every property transferee’s right to privacy and personal information. Parties trying to get their transactions through the Deeds Office are understandably raising fears on what this information will be used for,” DA land reform and rural development spokesperson Mlindi Nhanha said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Deeds Office started implementing the new policy earlier this month. It requires all landowners, titleholders and individuals involved in property transfers to submit demographic information, including race, gender citizenship and nationality.
The move is part of a broader effort by the department to enhance statistical tracking of homeownership patterns across South Africa.
Outlined in the Chief Registrar’s Circular N0. 3 of the 2025, the new requirement stems from Amendment 18 of the Deeds Registries Act of 1937, which allows for the collection of demographic data strictly for “statistical and land audit purposes”, according to the circular.
Nhanha said that the party was also seeking legal advice as it prepared to challenge the new rule.
“The DA holds that this regulation is both unconstitutional and beyond the legal powers afforded to the minister under the Deeds Registries Act of 1937. It is unacceptable to subject South Africans to disclose personal information under threat of a ‘denial of service’,” Nhanha added.
The DA claims that property transfers submitted without completed racial classification forms, referred to as “LLL” forms, are currently being rejected by the Deeds Offices and says that the new requirements are already disrupting transactions just days after the policy took effect.
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