The deeds registry has never heard of 12 Main Road. It knows Erf 456, Portion 2, Somerset West, and if you hand it a street address it has nothing to match that against. This is the single most common reason a property search comes back empty, and it is entirely fixable in about two minutes once you know what the registry is actually looking for.
How the register identifies land
A registry description has up to four parts, and which parts apply depends on what kind of property it is.
For a freehold erf in a town or suburb, the description is the township, the erf number, and a portion number if the original erf was later subdivided. Erf 456 Somerset West and Erf 456 Portion 2 Somerset West are two different pieces of land, and a search that omits the portion will either miss or return the wrong one.
For a unit in a sectional title scheme, the description is the scheme name, the scheme number and year, and the unit number. The street address of the building is not the identifier; the scheme is. Two schemes in the same suburb can share a street.
Farms and agricultural holdings work differently again, using a farm name and number with a registration division, or a holding name and number. The principle is the same: the registry files by its own description of the land, not by the way the post office finds it.
Where to find the erf number
You probably already have it, in one of these places.
- Your municipal rates account. The erf number and township appear on the account, usually near the account number and often labelled "property description". This is the fastest source and the one most people overlook.
- The title deed. If you have a copy, the description is in the opening paragraph, before the conditions. The article on what a title deed records walks through the rest of the document.
- Your municipal valuation notice. Sent when the general valuation roll is updated, and it carries the same description as the rates account.
- The sale agreement. A conveyancer will have used the registry description, not the street address, because the transfer could not have been registered otherwise.
What to do when you have none of them
Start from the map. An instant property search lets you place a pin on the property and works back from the position to the registry description, which means you can search a property you can find on a map but cannot describe. This is the right route when you are looking at a property you do not own: a house you are considering buying, a neighbouring erf, a vacant plot with no number on the gate.
The other route is from the person. If you know who owns it, an instant person search lists every property registered to them across all eleven deeds registries, with the registry description of each. One search then tells you both that they own it and what the registry calls it.
Getting the description right
A few specifics catch people out repeatedly.
Township names are registry names. The registry may hold a suburb under a name nobody local uses any more, or under an extension number, so "Extension 12" is part of the township rather than a note on the end of it. If a search fails on a suburb you are certain about, try it without the extension and with it.
Portion 0 and no portion are the same thing. An unsubdivided erf has no portion. If a form asks for one, leaving it blank is correct.
Sectional scheme numbers carry a year. SS Tamboti 42/1998 is not SS Tamboti 42/2008. If you have the scheme name but not the number, search the scheme rather than guessing the year.
The registration division matters for farms. Farm numbers repeat across divisions, so a farm number on its own is ambiguous in a way an erf number in a named township is not.
When the description is not enough
Identifying the property gets you the ownership record. It does not get you the boundaries. If what you actually need is where the pegs are, how long each boundary runs and where the beacons sit, that is the Surveyor General's diagram rather than anything the deeds registry holds, and the instant SG diagram download returns it against the same property description.
And if what you need is the deed itself rather than a report about it, the article on getting a title deed online covers the difference between an information copy and a certified one, which is the next question most people ask.
Common questions
Can I search by street address alone?
Not directly, because the registry does not index by street address. You can start from a street address by locating the property on the map, which resolves it to the registry description the search needs.
Is the erf number the same as the rates account number?
No. The rates account number is the municipality's reference for your account. The erf number is the registry's reference for the land. Both usually appear on the same statement.
What if the erf has been subdivided since I bought it?
Then the original erf number now covers more than one piece of land and you need the portion number to say which one. A property search against the erf will show what exists under it.
Do I need the erf number to find out who owns a property?
No. Either the map or the owner's name will get you there. The erf number is the fastest route when you already have it, not the only one.