---
title: "What it really costs to sell a house in South Africa"
description: "A quoted 5% commission is 5.75% once VAT is added: R115 000 on a R2 000 000 sale. Every other cost a seller pays, who sets it and when it comes off."
url: "https://privately.co.za/guides/cost-of-selling-a-house-in-south-africa"
country: "South Africa"
updated: "2026-10-20"
published: "2026-08-12"
author: "Chandre Niemand"
source: "Privately"
---

# What it really costs to sell a house in South Africa

*Chandre Niemand, Founder, Privately. Published: 2026-08-12.*

## Summary

A seller's largest cost is usually estate agent commission, typically 5% to 7.5% of the price plus 15% VAT, so a quoted 5% costs 5.75%: R115 000 on a R2 000 000 sale. Transfer duty is paid by the buyer. Whether you use an agent or sell privately, you still pay to cancel your bond and for the certificates and clearances the sale needs.

## What the seller pays and what the buyer pays

Sellers and buyers pay different things. [Transfer duty](/guides/transfer-duty-and-transfer-costs) is the buyer's: SARS charges it to the person acquiring the property. In most sales the buyer also carries the transferring attorney's fee and the Deeds Office fees, but the offer to purchase decides that, not the law, so read yours and ask your conveyancing attorney if it is unclear.

The table sets the seller's commission at 5% plus VAT beside the buyer's transfer bill at three prices. The transfer bill is transfer duty (worked from the 2026/27 bands in the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act 3 of 2026), the LSSA guideline fee for the transferring attorney with VAT, and the Deeds Office fees, before the cost of registering a buyer's own bond. The attorney's fee is a guideline and not a tariff, so real quotes differ.

**The seller's commission and the buyer's transfer bill**

| Sale price | Seller: commission at 5% + VAT | Buyer: transfer bill |
| --- | --- | --- |
| R1 500 000 | R86 250 | R48 020 |
| R2 000 000 | R115 000 | R77 982 |
| R3 000 000 | R172 500 | R164 412 |

## Every cost a seller pays

What follows is the seller's side only. Some costs are set by someone else, some depend on who you hire, and a few depend on your bond and your municipality, so the table says who sets each one, what the amount rests on and when it is paid. We give a rand price only where it is computed, comes from a published source, or is labelled as an example. That is why the compliance certificates have no price here: there is no fixed tariff, contractors quote by the house, and any repairs needed to pass come first. Get two or three quotes, and see the [compliance certificates guide](/guides/compliance-certificates-when-selling-a-house) for what each certificate covers.

Some costs sit outside the sale itself and are personal to you: repairs beyond what a certificate needs, moving, and any storage or temporary housing. They are real, but we give no figure for them.

**The seller's costs, who sets them, what the amount rests on and when they are paid**

| Cost | Who sets it | Amount and source | When it is paid |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Estate agent commission | Agreed with the agency; no fixed tariff | 5 to 7.5% of the price + 15% VAT (a market range quoted in published seller guides, not a rule; VAT from SARS) | Normally from your proceeds when transfer registers |
| Bond cancellation attorney | The attorney your bank uses; the LSSA fee guideline is not binding | LSSA Guideline of Fees, Section X item 1(a): R3 375 before VAT (R3 881 with VAT), before disbursements and bank charges | Normally with the bond settlement at registration |
| Early settlement charge on the bond | Your bond contract, within the National Credit Act | Depends on your bond and the notice you give (National Credit Act, section 125); ask your bank for a written figure | Normally with the bond settlement at registration |
| Electrical certificate of compliance | The electrician | A quote; no fixed tariff, and any repairs come first | Before transfer, usually before you list |
| Gas certificate (if gas is installed) | The installer | A quote; no fixed tariff | Before transfer, usually before you list |
| Electric fence certificate (if there is a fence) | The installer | A quote; no fixed tariff | Before transfer, usually before you list |
| Plumbing certificate (only where your municipality asks for one) | The plumber | A quote; no fixed tariff | Before transfer, usually before you list |
| Rates clearance | The municipality | Arrears for the two years before the application (Municipal Systems Act, section 118); some municipalities also bill months in advance, and the excess comes back if transfer is quicker | During the transfer, through your attorney |
| Levy clearance (sectional title) | The body corporate | What you owe it on the unit | During the transfer |
| Capital gains tax | SARS | Nothing where your gain on a primary residence is within the exclusion (SARS) | With your tax return for the year of the sale |

## Commission and VAT

Estate agent commission in South Africa is negotiable. The Property Practitioners Act does not set a rate, and there is no minimum. The 5% to 7.5% range is the market range that published seller guides quote, for example Nedbank's seller guide of 22 August 2025. The percentage and the terms are agreed between you and the agency before you sign. A [sole mandate](/guides/sole-mandate-estate-agent-south-africa) changes who may sell your home and when commission is due, so read that guide before you sign one.

VAT is the part that catches sellers out. Agencies normally quote the percentage before VAT, so ask for the figure in writing and ask whether VAT is included. VAT is charged at 15%, so a quoted 5% before VAT is 5.75% of your sale price. In most sales the conveyancing attorney pays the commission out of your proceeds at registration, so you never handle the money. Your mandate says when commission is earned and due.

Ask to see the agent's Fidelity Fund certificate before you sign. Section 56 of the Property Practitioners Act, as gazetted in 2019, says an agent who did not hold one when acting is not entitled to payment for the sale, and that a conveyancer may not pay an agent without a certified copy of a valid certificate. Your conveyancing attorney can tell you how that applies to your sale.

**What commission actually costs, including VAT**

| Sale price | At 5% + VAT | At 6% + VAT | At 7.5% + VAT |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| R1 000 000 | R57 500 | R69 000 | R86 250 |
| R1 500 000 | R86 250 | R103 500 | R129 375 |
| R2 000 000 | R115 000 | R138 000 | R172 500 |
| R3 000 000 | R172 500 | R207 000 | R258 750 |
| R5 000 000 | R287 500 | R345 000 | R431 250 |

## Bond cancellation: notice, penalty and fee

If you have a bond, your bank's attorney cancels it at registration and you pay that attorney's fee out of your proceeds. The fee is negotiable. The LSSA's non-binding fee guideline, effective 1 July 2026, suggests R3 375 before VAT, which is R3 881 with VAT, for drawing the consent to cancel a bond (Section X, item 1(a)). That is before disbursements and bank charges, and which item a bank's attorney applies is for that attorney to say, so ask for a written quote.

Many bond contracts ask for 90 days' written notice that you intend to settle. The Act itself lets you settle at any time, with or without notice, but if you give less notice than your contract asks for, the bank may add an early settlement charge (the Act calls it an early termination charge). Section 125 of the National Credit Act limits that charge: for a variable-rate home loan it is no more than the interest for the gap between three months and the notice you gave. With two months' notice, for example, the gap is one month. A fixed-rate bond is treated differently. We read the Act as gazetted in 2005 and later amendments may apply, and your bond contract matters too, so ask your bank for the figure in writing and ask your conveyancing attorney to check it.

Our guide to [selling a house with a bond](/guides/selling-a-house-with-a-bond-south-africa) covers notice, the settlement figures and what happens if you owe more than the sale price.

## Rates and levy clearance

Before the Deeds Office registers a transfer, the municipality must certify that what is owed on the property has been paid (section 118 of the Municipal Systems Act). We read the section as gazetted in 2000, which looks back two years from the application. It has been amended since, so the current wording is for your attorney. Your conveyancing attorney applies for the figures and you pay them. Many municipalities also bill in advance: Property24 (22 July 2024) says two to six months of rates, and that the municipality refunds the excess if registration happens sooner. Ask your attorney what your municipality bills.

A sectional title unit also needs a levy clearance from the body corporate for what you owe it on the unit, and a freehold home in a security estate may need the homeowners association's consent as well, depending on the estate's rules. How each works, and why clearances delay transfers, is in our [rates and levy clearance guide](/guides/rates-clearance-certificate-south-africa).

## When each cost is paid

Costs arrive in three stages. The first two are normally paid before the balance of the price reaches you, and the third is normally taken from the proceeds. When the balance reaches you, and what the conveyancer does at each step, is in our [conveyancing guide](/guides/conveyancing-and-the-transfer-process).

- **Before transfer, usually before you list:** compliance certificates, and any repairs needed to obtain them.
- **During the transfer:** rates and levy clearance figures, paid through your attorney, then reconciled afterwards.
- **At registration:** commission, the bond settlement and the cancellation attorney's fee, normally taken from the proceeds before the balance reaches you.

## Worked examples at three prices

Three sales, with an agent at 5% plus VAT and sold privately. The certificate and cancellation amounts are example inputs, the same in every column, and not quotes: yours will differ. The R3 000 for certificates is a round example, not a typical cost, because there is no fixed tariff. The R5 000 for the bond is set above the LSSA guideline's R3 881 with VAT to leave room for disbursements and bank charges, which the guideline does not include. The only line that changes between the two sales is the commission, so the gap between the last two rows is the commission.

Selling privately adds one cost the table leaves out on purpose: the Privately listing fee, R199 a month while your listing is live. It is a flat running cost and not a share of the price, and it is not taken from your proceeds at registration, so it sits outside the proceeds rows. Privately also charges a once-off account fee and has free tiers; the [pricing page](/pricing) has the current terms. You still need a conveyancing attorney to transfer the property, and you can find one in our [attorney directory](/attorneys).

**Seller's proceeds before bond settlement, with an agent and sold privately**

|  | R1 500 000 | R2 000 000 | R3 000 000 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Agent commission incl. VAT (agent sale only) | − R86 250 | − R115 000 | − R172 500 |
| Compliance certificates (example input, not a typical cost) | − R3 000 | − R3 000 | − R3 000 |
| Bond cancellation fee and charges (example input) | − R5 000 | − R5 000 | − R5 000 |
| **Proceeds before bond settlement, with an agent** | **R1 405 750** | **R1 877 000** | **R2 819 500** |
| **Proceeds before bond settlement, sold privately** | **R1 492 000** | **R1 992 000** | **R2 992 000** |

## Selling privately: what you pay at each step

A private sale takes out the commission and nothing else in the cost table. In order, the money moves like this. Whether an agent is worth the commission is a separate question, covered in [selling privately compared with using an agent](/compare).

- **Price and plan.** Work out what you would keep with the [what you keep when you sell calculator](/calculators/what-you-keep-when-you-sell), using your own price, base cost and years lived in the home, and price the home so it does not sit on the market longer than it needs to: see [how to price your home](/guides/how-to-price-your-house-south-africa).
- **List.** The Privately listing fee is R199 a month while the listing is live. There is also a once-off account fee, and the [pricing page](/pricing) has the current terms. Compliance certificates are normally arranged before you list.
- **Agree an offer.** You receive offers and accept one in writing. No commission arises, so the saving in the worked examples starts here.
- **Nominate the transferring attorney.** As seller you normally nominate the attorney, and the [attorney directory](/attorneys) lists them. The buyer normally pays the attorney's fee, but your offer to purchase decides.
- **Transfer.** Rates and levy clearance figures are paid through the attorney. If there is a bond, your bank's attorney prepares its cancellation.
- **Registration.** The bond is settled and its cancellation fee is paid, and the balance reaches you. The listing fee stops when the listing is no longer live.

## Capital gains tax

If the property is your primary residence, SARS's capital gains tax page lists a R3 000 000 exclusion on the gain and a R50 000 annual exclusion on your total gains for the year, up from R2 000 000 and R40 000 after the Budget 2026 changes. A gain within the exclusion is not taxed. SARS's page gives the new figures but no start date: the 1 March 2026 we use comes from press reports of the Budget, and the legal footing of the increase was still being confirmed when we last checked, so ask a registered tax practitioner which figure applies to your sale.

The date that counts is generally when the sale agreement became unconditionally binding, not when transfer registers, so a sale agreed before the start date may be tested against the older figures. Above the exclusion, or on a property that is not your primary residence, part of the gain is included in your taxable income. What you can prove you spent on the property reduces the gain, so keep those records. The exclusion belongs to the home, not to each owner: SARS says it is apportioned when more than one person has an interest in the residence, so spouses who own half each share one exclusion. (That SARS page still shows the earlier R2 000 000 figure.) Confirm how it applies to your sale with a registered tax practitioner. Our [capital gains tax guide](/guides/capital-gains-tax-property-south-africa) works through it, and a registered tax practitioner can work out your own figure.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much do estate agents charge to sell a house in South Africa?

Typically 5% to 7.5% of the sale price, plus 15% VAT. Commission is negotiable and not fixed by law. A quoted 5% before VAT works out to 5.75% of the sale price once VAT is added, or R115 000 on a R2 000 000 sale.

### What fees does a seller pay when selling a house in South Africa?

Estate agent commission (if you use an agent), the bond cancellation attorney's fee and any early settlement charge if you have a bond, the compliance certificates the sale needs, rates and levy clearance payments, and capital gains tax if your gain is above the exclusion. Transfer duty is the buyer's.

### What are the hidden costs when selling a house in South Africa?

The ones sellers miss are VAT on commission (5% before VAT is 5.75%), an early settlement charge if you give your bank less notice than your bond asks for, repairs needed before a compliance certificate will be issued, and the amount a municipality may bill in advance for rates clearance, of which only an overpayment comes back to you.

### What are the legal costs when selling a house in South Africa?

If you have a bond, you pay the bank's attorney to cancel it. The LSSA's non-binding guideline, effective 1 July 2026, suggests R3 375 before VAT (R3 881 with VAT) before disbursements and bank charges. The transferring attorney's fee is usually the buyer's, but your offer to purchase decides, so check it and ask your conveyancing attorney.

### Is estate agent commission negotiable in South Africa?

Yes. There is no legislated commission rate and no minimum. The percentage, and whether VAT is included in the quoted figure, are both matters of agreement between you and the agency before you sign a mandate.

### Who pays the estate agent, the buyer or the seller?

The seller, under the mandate they sign. The conveyancing attorney normally pays the commission out of the sale proceeds at registration. Ask to see the agent's Fidelity Fund certificate first: under section 56 of the Property Practitioners Act, an agent without one is not entitled to payment, and a conveyancer may not pay one.

### When is estate agent commission payable?

Your mandate decides. Commission is commonly paid from the sale proceeds when transfer registers at the Deeds Office, but whether it is earned earlier, or at all if the sale falls through, depends on the mandate, the wording of the offer to purchase and who caused the sale to fall through. Read both before you sign, and ask a property attorney about your own case.

### Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell my house in South Africa?

Not on a gain within the exclusion. SARS's capital gains tax page lists a R3 000 000 exclusion on the gain from selling a primary residence (raised from R2 000 000 after the Budget 2026 changes, which we date from 1 March 2026). The exact start date and the legal footing of the increase were still being confirmed when we last checked, and a sale agreed before the start date may be tested against the older exclusion. Gains above the exclusion, and any gain on a property that is not your primary residence, are partly included in your taxable income. A registered tax practitioner can work out your own figure.

## Sources

- [SARS: Primary residence, capital gains tax (last updated 20 March 2026; accessed 20 October 2026)](https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/capital-gains-tax/transactions-between-connected-persons/primary-residence/)
- [Property24: Calculating the costs of selling your home (22 July 2024; accessed 20 October 2026)](https://www.property24.com/articles/calculating-the-costs-of-selling-your-home/32298)
- [SARS: Value-Added Tax (accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/value-added-tax/)
- [SARS: Transfer Duty (accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/transfer-duty/)
- [SARS: Capital Gains Tax rates and exclusions (accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.sars.gov.za/tax-rates/income-tax/capital-gains-tax-cgt/)
- [Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act 3 of 2026, GG 54446, 1 April 2026 (SARS, accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.sars.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/Legal/AmendActs/Legal-LPrim-AA-2026-01-Rates-and-Monetary-Amounts-and-Amendment-of-Revenue-Laws-Act-3-of-2026-GG-54446-1-April-2026.pdf)
- [LSSA: Guideline of Fees, Conveyancing, effective 1 July 2026, net of VAT (accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CONVEYANCING-FEE-GUIDELINES-2026-FINAL.pdf)
- [Deeds Registries fees, GN 7180, GG 54225 (gov.za, accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202603/54225gon7180.pdf)
- [Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, as gazetted 3 October 2019: no commission rate is set, and section 56 on remuneration and the Fidelity Fund certificate (gov.za, accessed 20 October 2026)](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201910/42746gon1295.pdf)
- [Nedbank: What will it cost you to sell your house? A bank's seller guide, published 22 August 2025, quoting the usual commission range (not a primary source, accessed 20 October 2026)](https://personal.nedbank.co.za/learn/blog/cost-of-selling-your-home.html)
- [National Credit Act 34 of 2005, section 125, as gazetted (gov.za, accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a34-050_1.pdf)
- [Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, section 118, as gazetted (gov.za, accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a32-000.pdf)
- [Local Government Laws Amendment Act 19 of 2008, section 19, which amends section 118 of the Municipal Systems Act after its 2002 substitution (cogta.gov.za, accessed 20 October 2026)](https://www.cogta.gov.za/cgta_2016/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/LG-Laws-Amendment-Act-01-12-2008.pdf)

## Related guides

- [How to sell your house privately in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/how-to-sell-your-house-privately-in-south-africa)
- [Transfer duty and transfer costs in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/transfer-duty-and-transfer-costs)
- [Conveyancing and the property transfer process](https://privately.co.za/guides/conveyancing-and-the-transfer-process)
- [Selling a house with a bond in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/selling-a-house-with-a-bond-south-africa)
- [Capital gains tax when you sell property in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/capital-gains-tax-property-south-africa)

---

Figures verified 2026-10-19. General information about South African property practice, not legal or financial advice.

Source: Privately, https://privately.co.za/guides/cost-of-selling-a-house-in-south-africa