---
title: "Sole mandates in South Africa: the rules, commission and cancelling"
description: "What a sole mandate binds you to, when the CPA lets you cancel on 20 business days' notice, what the Code requires, and when commission is owed."
url: "https://privately.co.za/guides/sole-mandate-estate-agent-south-africa"
country: "South Africa"
updated: "2026-10-20"
published: "2026-08-29"
author: "Chandre Niemand"
source: "Privately"
---

# Sole mandates in South Africa: the rules, commission and cancelling

*Chandre Niemand, Founder, Privately. Published: 2026-08-29.*

## Summary

A sole mandate is a written agreement in which a seller promises not to give another property practitioner a similar mandate before a set date. The estate agents' Code of Conduct requires a calendar expiry date and bars an option to extend. If the Consumer Protection Act covers your mandate, you can cancel on 20 business days' notice, subject to a reasonable penalty; an attorney can say whether it does. Commission on a sale you find yourself depends on your document.

## What a sole mandate commits you to

The Property Practitioners Regulations, 2022, define a sole mandate (regulation 1.39) as a mandate that carries an undertaking by the person giving it **not to confer a similar mandate on another property practitioner** before the expiry of a determined or determinable period. Read that slowly. It is a promise about other agents. On its own terms it says nothing about you.

An agency document can go further than that baseline. A clause that gives the agency the sole and exclusive right to sell, or that makes commission payable on any sale during the mandate period from whatever source, can reach a buyer you found yourself. That difference in wording is the first thing to look for in your document.

The Code of Conduct in the same Regulations says an estate agent may not accept a sole mandate to sell unless they have first explained two things to you in writing: the legal implications if you sell during the mandate, or after it, without the agent's help or through another agent, and the specific marketing obligations the agent takes on (clause 34.3.1.10). If that explanation is in a standard pre-printed or typed document, it must be in lettering not smaller than the rest of the document. An agency that took a sole mandate without it has not followed the Code, and any person may lodge a complaint about a property practitioner's marketing or sale of property with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) (Property Practitioners Act, section 28).

The Code sets duties for the agent. What a breach of one does to a mandate you have already signed is a legal question, so ask an attorney before you rely on it.

One more document comes before the mandate. Under section 67(1) of the Property Practitioners Act a property practitioner must not accept a mandate unless you have given them a fully completed and signed mandatory disclosure form. Our guide to [seller disclosure and voetstoots](/guides/seller-disclosure-and-voetstoots) covers what the form asks and what follows if it is missing.

## What the Code requires in the document

Clause 34.3.1 of the Code lists what an estate agent may not do when taking a mandate, and several of its rules are about the sole mandate in particular. Read the other way round, they are a checklist for the document in front of you. The table sets each of those duties beside wording worth a second look.

These are our plain-language summaries of the Code's text, not an opinion on any clause. Whether a particular wording breaks the Code is for an attorney to say.

**Duties the Code of Conduct puts on an estate agent who takes a sole mandate, and wording to check for**

| What the Code requires | Where | Wording to check for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Every term of the mandate is in writing and signed by you, including by electronic signature as the law allows | 34.3.1.3.1 | A promise about marketing, price or commission that was made in person but is not in the signed document |
| The expiry date is written into the mandate as a calendar date | 34.3.1.3.2 | A term given only as a length of time, or as “until the property is sold”, with no calendar date |
| No provision giving the agent an option to extend the mandate for a further period after it expires | 34.3.1.4.1 | A clause that says the mandate renews or extends unless you object |
| No provision giving the agent a mandate to carry on the same service after the mandate expires | 34.3.1.4.2 | A clause that lets the agency keep marketing the property after the expiry date |
| A written explanation, before the agent accepts the mandate, of the legal implications if you sell during or after the mandate without the agent, or through another agent | 34.3.1.10.1 | No written explanation, or one you were not given before you signed |
| A written explanation of the specific marketing obligations the agent takes on | 34.3.1.10.2 | A general promise of best efforts that names no actual marketing |
| Those explanations, in a standard pre-printed or typed document, in lettering no smaller than the rest of it | 34.3.1.10, proviso | Explanations in print visibly smaller than the rest of the document |
| A power of attorney for the agent to act for you only if its intention and effect are fully explained in the mandate document | 34.3.1.5 | A clause that lets the agent sign or decide for you, with no explanation |

## Sole, joint and open mandates

The Regulations define a mandate (regulation 1.23) and a sole mandate (regulation 1.39). They do not define a joint, dual or open mandate, so for those the meaning in your case is whatever your paperwork says.

The words are used loosely. ESI Attorneys describes a dual mandate as two agencies that each hold exclusive rights, where the first to secure a buyer earns the commission. Property24's seller guide treats open and dual as one thing, with no duty to share the commission, and calls the split arrangement a multi-listing mandate. ooba describes a dual mandate as authorising just two agencies. All three were read on 19 October 2026.

The table sets out common usage, not defined terms: what you give up under each and where the risk sits. None is better in every case.

- **Commission is negotiable.** We know of no legislated rate, and the Code bars an estate agent from telling you that commission is prescribed by law, by the PPRA or by an association of agents (clause 34.6.2). The 5% to 7.5% plus VAT at 15% that we use in our examples is a working range, not a rule or a quoted market rate. On a R2 000 000 sale it comes to R115 000 to R172 500 including VAT, and a quoted 5% is 5.75% of your price in practice. The only rate in the Wakefields judgment below is six per cent of the price, which the parties accepted would apply in that 2005 sale. It is one old case, not a market rate.
- **The commission terms belong in the written document.** The percentage, whether VAT is included and when commission falls due are all matters for your mandate. Our guide to [what selling costs](/guides/cost-of-selling-a-house-in-south-africa) puts commission beside the other costs of a sale.
- **Exclusivity is something you give.** It is fair to ask whether the rate or the term changes in return. The answer is whatever you agree in writing.
- **An open mandate ties you to nobody**, which can feel safer. The risk it carries is the one in the Wakefields case below: two agencies each saying they found the buyer, and a seller left paying both.

**Three mandate structures as sellers are commonly offered them (common usage, not defined terms)**

| Mandate | What you give up | Who earns the commission | Your main risk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sole (exclusive) | The right to appoint any other agency until the expiry date | The mandated agency, on the terms of your document | An agency that does little with the listing, and an expiry date still weeks away |
| Joint or dual (usage varies) | The right to appoint agencies outside the named pair | Depends on the written agreement: a split between the two, or whichever of them finds the buyer first | A split or first-to-sell term you never saw, argued over after the sale |
| Open (multiple) | Nothing. Any number of agencies may market the property | Whichever agency was the effective cause of the sale | Two agencies each claiming to be the effective cause, and you paying both |

## How long a sole mandate runs, and the automatic roll-over

The length is whatever you and the agency agree, and it is negotiable. We found no law that sets a usual length for a sole mandate. ooba says that in most cases a sole mandate expires after 90 days, and ESI Attorneys says typically 3 to 6 months. Neither cites a source, so treat any figure you are quoted as the agency's proposal, not a standard. What the Code does require is that the expiry date is written into the mandate as a calendar date (clause 34.3.1.3.2). A length of time on its own is not a calendar date.

The Consumer Protection Act (the Act) may add rules, if it covers your mandate. The section on ending a mandate below explains that question. Regulation 5(1) of the Act's Regulations sets the longest fixed term at 24 months from the date you sign, unless a longer period is expressly agreed and the supplier can show a demonstrable financial benefit to you, or another regulation or an industry code provides differently.

The Act also sets the expiry mechanics. The supplier must notify you in writing of the impending expiry not more than 80 and not less than 40 business days before the expiry date (section 14(2)(c)). On expiry the agreement is automatically continued on a month-to-month basis, unless you expressly direct the supplier to terminate it on the expiry date or agree to a renewal for a further fixed term (section 14(2)(d)).

A business day is not a calendar day. The Act counts them by leaving out the day of the first event, counting the day of the second, and leaving out any Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in between (section 2(6)). That makes 40 business days about 8 weeks and 80 about 16, with public holidays adding to that.

A worked example, on an expiry date we chose for the purpose: Wednesday 30 June 2027. Counting back 80 weekdays gives Wednesday 10 March 2027, and counting back 40 gives Wednesday 5 May 2027. On that count the agency's notice would have to be given somewhere between those two dates. The count leaves out Saturdays and Sundays but not public holidays, because we do not hold a holiday list. Public holidays in that stretch move the dates earlier, so treat them as a guide. An attorney's count of your own mandate governs.

Notice may not reach you, or may reach you late. A seller can note the expiry date, write to the agency before it saying whether the mandate is to end on that date, and keep proof that the letter was sent. How the Act's roll-over fits with the Code's bar on a built-in extension (clause 34.3.1.4) is a question for an attorney.

## Selling privately during or after a sole mandate

This guide covers the contract. Whether a private sale beats using an agent for you is on our [selling privately versus an estate agent](/compare) page, and [how to sell your house privately](/guides/how-to-sell-your-house-privately-in-south-africa) walks through the sale itself. The question here is narrower: you have signed with an agent, or did once. Do you owe commission on a buyer you found yourself?

Two questions get mixed up, and it helps to keep them apart. The first is what your signed document says about a sale you make yourself. The second is whether the agency can claim commission as the effective cause of the sale, whatever the document says. The next section covers the second.

**While the mandate is running.** The regulation's definition is only a promise about other agents. If your document says no more than that, and the buyer had nothing to do with the agency, we read it as not covering a sale you make yourself. If it gives the agency the exclusive right to sell, or makes commission payable on any sale from whatever source, you promised not to sell without the agency, and selling anyway could be a breach. The agency could then claim the commission the mandate sets, or damages. That is how we read the wording, not a ruling on your document. The Code requires the agent to explain these implications to you in writing before taking the mandate (clause 34.3.1.10.1), so that explanation is the first place to look.

**After it has expired.** The exclusivity ends on the expiry date, but a claim built on the agent's earlier work can outlive it. The usual question then is whether the agency's introduction was the effective cause of the sale, which is the subject of the next section. Read the document for anything that says it applies after the end date.

**If the clause is harsh.** Where a clause makes the full commission fall due simply because you sold yourself, it may be a penalty stipulation. Section 3 of the Conventional Penalties Act 15 of 1962 says a court may reduce a penalty that is out of proportion to the prejudice the creditor suffered, to the extent it considers equitable. Section 4 treats a clause that makes a party forfeit the right to get back what they performed, or stay liable, after they withdraw from an agreement in the circumstances it sets out, as if it were a penalty stipulation. Whether a clause is a penalty, and whether a court would reduce it, turns on the facts and on what the agency actually did, so this is a point for an attorney. The sums are large: at 5% plus VAT, a R2 000 000 sale carries R115 000 of commission.

Before signing, an attorney reading the document would usually check whether the exclusivity covers a buyer you find yourself, with no involvement from the agency, or only other agents, and whether the answer is written down. In short, three things decide whether you owe commission on a sale you found yourself:

- **What your document says about sales by you.** An exclusive right to sell, or commission on a sale from any source, is the wording that matters.
- **Whether the agency had anything to do with the buyer.** If it introduced them or showed them the property, the effective cause question comes into play.
- **Whether the mandate was running when you sold.** After the expiry date the exclusivity has ended, but an earlier introduction can still count.

## Effective cause and the double commission risk

Outside the four corners of the mandate, a claim for commission is usually tested on two questions: did the agent have a mandate, and was the agent's work the **effective cause** of the sale that actually happened? Those were the two issues in the case below (Wakefields, paragraphs 1, 2 and 12), and an attorney can confirm what else a court would look for. In Wakefields an introduction counted for more than writing up the offer, but the court decided on its own facts, and other facts can come out differently.

Wakefields Real Estate v Attree (666/10) [2011] ZASCA 160, decided by the Supreme Court of Appeal on 28 September 2011, is the case to know. At least three agencies had a hand in selling one Durban North house. In March 2005 an agent from Wakefields took the eventual buyer to see it, twice. Five weeks later a second agency, whose agent had learned of the buyer's interest by chance, phoned her once the price came down, arranged another viewing and drew up the offer, which the sellers accepted. A third agency held the sole mandate when the sale was concluded. The sellers had given it that mandate two days earlier (they wrongly thought it would start the following Monday) and had still told other agents about the lower price. They paid R150 000 in commission, which the second agency shared with the third.

The court looked back along the chain of events. But for the Wakefields introduction, the second agency would not have known the buyer was interested in that house, and the court said that agent “reaped where she had not sown”. It held Wakefields to be the effective cause and ordered the sellers to pay it R232 560 plus interest at 15.5% a year from 11 October 2005 to the date of payment, and costs, on top of the commission they had already paid. The only commission rate the judgment mentions is six per cent of the price (paragraphs 5, 12 and 23), which the parties accepted would apply if Wakefields was owed commission. The offer was R3 400 000.

The court also quoted an older Appellate Division case, Webranchek v L K Jacobs & Co Ltd 1948 (4) SA 671 (A). There the judge said, without deciding the point, that where the efforts of two agents cannot be told apart a seller may owe commission to both and has only himself to blame, because he should protect himself against that risk. In Wakefields the court said the sellers' liability to more than one agent was of their own making. The practical lesson is to keep records when more than one agency is involved. Whether a court would see your facts the same way is for an attorney.

Wakefields was decided in 2011 on a sale made in 2005, before the current Act and the 2022 Code. The test the court applied came from older court decisions such as Webranchek (1948), which it quotes, so an attorney can say whether anything has changed since.

The Code has rules of its own on commission and on more than one agent. An estate agent may not introduce a buyer to a property if they know, or have reason to believe, that another estate agent has already introduced that buyer and that there is a likelihood you may have to pay commission to more than one agent if the sale goes through their intervention (clause 34.6.3). They may not ask for or take commission on a sale that is subject to a suspensive condition until the condition has been fulfilled (clause 34.6.1.1). They may not include in a mandate, or accept the benefit of, a clause that makes commission payable whether or not the buyer is financially able to carry out the sale (clause 34.6.4). Those are duties of the agent. What a breach of one does to a commission claim is a question for an attorney.

On a R2 000 000 sale at 5% plus VAT, paying twice costs R230 000 instead of R115 000. The [selling cost calculators](/calculators) show what one commission, and two, would come to on your own price.

- A seller who keeps a dated written record of every buyer each agency introduced, and who introduced them first, has evidence if a dispute comes.
- Checking a new offer's buyer against that record before signing shows quickly whether a second agency may have a claim.
- Where two agencies both claim the same buyer, sellers commonly say so in writing to both and take an attorney's advice before paying either.

## Ending a sole mandate

Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act deals with fixed-term agreements. It does not apply to transactions between juristic persons (section 14(1)), a term the Act defines to include a body corporate, a partnership or association, and a trust. We read that as leaving a mandate you sign as an individual homeowner inside section 14. Whether an estate agency mandate is a consumer agreement under the Act is a legal question, though, and a company-owned or trust-owned property is a separate one. Ask an attorney before you rely on any of what follows.

Where section 14 applies, the consumer may cancel despite any provision of the agreement to the contrary (section 14(2)(b)). On expiry, cancellation is without penalty or charge. At any other time the consumer may cancel by giving 20 business days' notice in writing or another recorded manner and form (section 14(2)(b)(i)). Either way the consumer stays liable for amounts owed up to the date of cancellation (section 14(3)(a)). Only an early cancellation can carry a penalty: the supplier may impose a reasonable cancellation penalty for goods supplied, services provided or discounts granted in contemplation of the agreement running its full term (section 14(3)(b)). The section also runs the other way: the supplier may cancel 20 business days after giving the consumer written notice of a material failure by the consumer to comply with the agreement, unless the consumer has put the failure right within that time (section 14(2)(b)(ii)). If section 14 applies to your mandate, an agency can use that route against a seller it says is in breach.

How those words apply to an agency that is paid only when a property sells is a question for an attorney. Regulation 5(2) of the Act's Regulations says a charge may not exceed a reasonable amount, taking into account, among other things, the amount you are still liable for, the duration of the agreement as first agreed, the length of notice you gave and the general practice of the industry. Regulation 5(3) forbids a charge that would negate your right to cancel.

A separate rule, section 16(3), lets a consumer rescind a transaction resulting from direct marketing, without reason or penalty, by notice in writing or another recorded manner and form within 5 business days after the transaction was concluded. The Act defines direct marketing as approaching a person, in person or by mail or electronic communication, to promote or offer goods or services (section 1). Whether the way an agent came to you counts, and whether section 16 applies to a mandate at all, are legal questions. Section 16(1), for one, leaves out transactions covered by section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. The window is short, so an attorney is worth asking straight away if you think it applies.

These steps help whichever route is taken. The table after them sets out five routes.

- **Notice in writing, with proof of delivery.** The Act asks for notice in writing or another recorded manner and form. An email with a read receipt, or a letter that can be shown to have been sent, leaves a record. A verbal cancellation that cannot be proved leaves none.
- **The introduction list.** Sellers commonly ask for a dated written list of every buyer the agency introduced in the same letter. It is useful evidence if a commission claim arrives months later.
- **One mandate at a time.** Overlapping mandates are how sellers create the double commission problem for themselves, so an attorney would usually want the first mandate shown to have ended in writing before a second is signed.
- **Cancelling ends exclusivity going forward, as we read it.** It does not erase a claim by an agent who had already found the buyer you end up selling to.
- **Different forums handle different things.** A complaint about the agent can go to the PPRA, which may refer it to mediation (Property Practitioners Act, sections 28 and 29). An agent's own claim against you for commission can end up in court, as it did in Wakefields, so take advice before you simply refuse to pay.

**Five ways out of a sole mandate**

| Route | What it takes | What it can cost you |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Let it expire | Write to the agency before the expiry date saying the mandate ends there and does not continue | Nothing for ending it on its date, though a claim for the agent's earlier work can remain |
| Cancel early under the Act | 20 business days' written notice, at any time, whatever the mandate says, if section 14 applies to your mandate | Amounts already owed, plus a reasonable cancellation penalty |
| Cooling off after direct marketing | Written notice within 5 business days of concluding the mandate, if section 16 applies to it | Nothing, if section 16 applies to your mandate |
| Cancel by agreement | The agency releases you in writing | Whatever you agree. Get it in writing |
| The agent's breach | Where the agency has not done what the mandate or the Code requires of it, such as the marketing it set out in writing (clause 34.3.1.10.2), an attorney can say whether that lets you end the mandate at once. A dated letter setting out the failure leaves a record | Depends on the document and the facts. An agency that lacked a Fidelity Fund certificate when it acted is not entitled to remuneration for the acts section 56(1) of the Property Practitioners Act lists, which include selling property for someone else, and a complaint about the agent can go to the PPRA (sections 28 and 29) |

## Fidelity Fund Certificates

A property practitioner may not act as one without a Fidelity Fund Certificate (Property Practitioners Act, section 48(1)). Section 48(2) extends that to every director of a company, member of a close corporation, trustee of a trust and partner of a partnership.

Section 56(1) goes further. A property practitioner is under no circumstances entitled to any remuneration or other payment for the acts it lists, which include selling property or negotiating its sale for someone else, unless at the time of the act the practitioner held a certificate. For a company that includes every director, and for a close corporation every member.

Section 48(4) adds that a person who acts without the certificate must, immediately on receiving a written request from a relevant party, repay any amount received in respect of or as a result of any property transaction during the contravention.

A seller can ask the agency to show its certificate before signing. The PPRA is the regulator that issues them, and the body to ask if you want one confirmed. We could not confirm the steps for checking a certificate on the PPRA's website for this guide, so follow the instructions on its current site.

## When a sole mandate suits a seller, and when it does not

A sole mandate is neither good nor bad in itself. The question is whether the terms in front of you are fair for your sale, and you can only answer that from the document.

**The case for it.** One agency knows that if the property sells during the mandate it earns the fee, which gives it a reason to spend its own time and money on marketing. The Code makes the agent state in writing what marketing it will do in return for the exclusivity (clause 34.3.1.10.2), so you can hold it to that. A seller who lives in another city, is winding up an estate or is selling during a divorce may also want one agency handling viewings and buyers.

**Points a seller can raise.** The agency's Fidelity Fund certificate first, and then three terms, not one: the rate, the term, and whether the exclusivity binds you as well as other agents.

What each route leaves in your pocket is worth working out before you sign. The [selling cost calculators](/calculators) and our guides to [what selling costs](/guides/cost-of-selling-a-house-in-south-africa) and [selling privately](/guides/how-to-sell-your-house-privately-in-south-africa) set out both sides of that arithmetic. Once a mandate has ended, you can [list your property](/signup?role=seller) on Privately. If you want someone to read a document with you, you can browse [attorneys on Privately](/attorneys), and our guide to the [conveyancing and transfer process](/guides/conveyancing-and-the-transfer-process) explains what happens once a sale is agreed.

None of this is legal advice, and mandate wording differs between agencies. If a mandate is already signed and a commission claim is on the table, ask an attorney to read the document before you pay or refuse.

The main downsides, stated plainly, are in the table.

**The main downsides of a sole mandate**

| Downside | In plain terms |
| --- | --- |
| You cannot appoint another agency until the expiry date | If the agency does little, you wait for the date or cancel on notice, and cancelling early can carry a reasonable penalty |
| The document may bind you as well as other agents | A clause giving exclusive selling rights, or commission on any sale from any source, can reach a buyer you found yourself |
| An agent can claim for earlier work | Cancelling ends exclusivity going forward. It does not remove a claim by an agent whose introduction was the effective cause of the sale |
| It can roll over | If the Consumer Protection Act covers your mandate, it continues month to month after the expiry date unless you expressly direct the agency to end it |
| Wording differs between agencies | Rates, terms and exclusivity clauses are not standard, so read the document and ask an attorney about anything you do not follow |

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a sole mandate?

It is a written agreement in which a seller promises not to give another property practitioner a similar mandate before a set date. That is the definition in regulation 1.39 of the Property Practitioners Regulations, 2022. It is a promise about other agents. Whether it also stops you selling the house yourself depends on the wording of your document.

### Can you cancel a sole mandate in South Africa?

Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, a consumer may cancel a fixed-term agreement at any time on 20 business days' notice in writing or another recorded manner, despite any provision of the agreement to the contrary. You stay liable for amounts already owed, and the agency may impose a reasonable cancellation penalty, but not one that negates your right to cancel. Section 14 does not apply to transactions between juristic persons, and whether it covers your mandate is a legal question, so an attorney is worth asking before you rely on it.

### Can I sell my house privately after listing with an estate agent?

It depends on whether the mandate is still running and what it says. If your document gives the agency the exclusive right to sell, or makes commission payable on any sale from whatever source, selling yourself during the mandate could be a breach. If it only holds you to not appointing another agent, we read it as not covering your own sale. After the mandate expires the agency can still claim commission if its introduction of the buyer was the effective cause of the sale. Ask an attorney to read the clause.

### Can you sell your house privately if you have an agent?

It depends on what you signed. A sole mandate that grants exclusive selling rights, or commission on any sale from whatever source, can cover a buyer you find yourself. One that only promises not to appoint another agent may not. Under any kind of mandate, an agent whose introduction of the buyer was the effective cause of the sale can claim commission. Read the document, and ask an attorney about the clause that matters.

### Do I have to pay estate agent fees if I sell privately?

Not if you never appointed an agent and no agent introduced your buyer, because there is then no agent to pay. If you did sign a mandate, it depends on your document and on whether the agency's work was the effective cause of the sale. A clause giving the agency exclusive selling rights, or commission on any sale from whatever source, can reach a buyer you found yourself. A court may reduce a penalty that is out of proportion to the harm done (section 3 of the Conventional Penalties Act). An attorney can read the clause.

### What is the difference between a sole mandate and an open mandate?

Under a sole mandate you promise not to appoint another property practitioner before the expiry date. Under an open mandate any number of agencies may market the property, and the commission goes to whichever one was the effective cause of the sale. The Regulations define the sole mandate and do not define a joint, dual or open mandate, so for those the meaning is whatever your paperwork says, and agencies and websites use "dual" in different ways.

### How much is commission on a sole mandate?

It is whatever the mandate says: commission is negotiable, and we know of no legislated rate (the Code bars an agent from saying it is prescribed by law, clause 34.6.2). Our working range for examples is 5% to 7.5% plus VAT at 15%, which on a R2 000 000 sale is R115 000 to R172 500 including VAT. That range is our own working figure, not a rule or a quoted market rate. The only rate in the Wakefields judgment is six per cent of the price, accepted by the parties in a 2005 sale. The percentage, whether VAT is included and when it falls due are matters for the written mandate.

### How long can a sole mandate last in South Africa?

The length is whatever you and the agency agree, and we found no law that sets a usual one. ooba says most run about 90 days and ESI Attorneys says typically 3 to 6 months, neither citing a source. The Code of Conduct requires the expiry to be recorded in the mandate as a calendar date. If the Consumer Protection Act covers your mandate, regulation 5(1) sets the longest fixed term at 24 months from signature, unless a longer period is expressly agreed and the supplier can show a demonstrable financial benefit to you, or another regulation or industry code provides differently. The Act also asks the agency to give notice of expiry 80 to 40 business days before the date, and the agreement then continues month to month unless you expressly direct it to end.

### What does effective cause of the sale mean?

It is the question a court asks when an agent claims commission: was the agent's work the cause of the sale that actually happened? In Wakefields the dispute turned on that and on whether the agent had a mandate. The court there followed the chain of events back to the agent whose introduction started it, rather than the one who wrote up the offer, and decided on the facts of the case. An attorney can say what else a court would look for on yours.

### Can two estate agents claim commission on the same sale?

Yes, it can happen. In Wakefields Real Estate v Attree [2011] ZASCA 160 the sellers had already paid R150 000 in commission, shared between two agencies, and the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered them to pay a further R232 560 plus interest to the agency whose earlier introduction of the same buyer was the effective cause. On a R2 000 000 sale at 5% plus VAT, paying twice costs R230 000 rather than R115 000. Letting several agencies work the same property without records is a way sellers walk into this.

### Can an estate agent claim commission after the mandate has expired?

Possibly, if they had a valid mandate when they introduced the buyer and that introduction was the effective cause of the sale that followed. Expiry ends the exclusivity, not the causal history. What the Code of Conduct bars is a sole mandate that contains an option to extend after expiry or a mandate to carry on the same service afterwards (clause 34.3.1.4).

### What happens if the estate agent has no Fidelity Fund Certificate?

Section 56(1) of the Property Practitioners Act says a practitioner is under no circumstances entitled to any remuneration for the acts it lists unless, at the time, they and (for a company) every director or (for a close corporation) every member held a Fidelity Fund certificate. Section 48(4) requires repayment of amounts received during a contravention, on written request from a relevant party. A seller can ask to see the certificate before signing a mandate.

### What are the disadvantages of a sole mandate?

You cannot appoint another agency until the expiry date, the document may bind you as well as other agents, cancelling early can carry a reasonable penalty, and an agent's earlier introduction can still found a commission claim. If the Consumer Protection Act covers your mandate, the agreement can also continue month to month after the expiry date. Whether those outweigh the benefits depends on the terms in front of you.

## Sources

- [ooba: Sole mandate, what is it and should you sign one? (commentary, not law; accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.ooba.co.za/resources/sole-mandate)
- [ESI Attorneys: The difference between an open, sole and dual mandate (commentary; accessed 19 October 2026)](https://esilaw.co.za/what-is-the-difference-between-an-open-sole-dual-mandate/)
- [Property24: Understanding the estate agent mandate (commentary; accessed 19 October 2026)](https://www.property24.com/property101/sellers-guide/understanding-the-estate-agent-mandate/15918)
- [Property Practitioners Regulations, 2022 (Code of Conduct), GG 45735, regulations 1.23 and 1.39 and Code clauses 34.3.1.3 to 34.3.1.10 and 34.6.1 to 34.6.4, accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202201/45735pr47.pdf)
- [Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, GG 42746, sections 28, 29, 48, 56 and 67 (gov.za PDF), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201910/42746gon1295.pdf)
- [Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, sections 1, 2(6), 14 and 16 (gov.za PDF), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/321864670.pdf)
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- [Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (the regulator; home page only, because its site refused an automated fetch when we checked and we have not confirmed the steps for checking a certificate)](https://theppra.org.za/)

## 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)
- [What it really costs to sell a house in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/cost-of-selling-a-house-in-south-africa)
- [Seller disclosure and the voetstoots clause](https://privately.co.za/guides/seller-disclosure-and-voetstoots)
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- [How to price your house in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/how-to-price-your-house-south-africa)

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Figures verified 2026-09-28. General information about South African property practice, not legal or financial advice.

Source: Privately, https://privately.co.za/guides/sole-mandate-estate-agent-south-africa