How to buy off-plan in Cape Town: step by step

Buying off-plan in Cape Town means signing a written agreement with a developer for a unit that is not yet built, paying a deposit into a trust account, waiting through construction, and paying the balance when the unit is transferred into your name. In a sectional title building, transfer can only happen after the developer has had the sectional title register opened at the Deeds Office, so the process ends with registration, not with the keys.

This guide takes you through each step in order, with the law and the numbers that matter. It applies to apartments across Cape Town, from the City Bowl to the Atlantic Seaboard. It is general information, not legal advice: have a conveyancer read your contract before you sign.

Step 1: Get your finances in order

Before you reserve a unit, get a bond pre-approval so you know your ceiling. ooba notes that if a bank has already approved the development, funding for your purchase is more likely to be available, and that a pre-qualification certificate supports your application (ooba). Budget for more than the price: transfer costs, bond registration costs and, later, levies and occupational interest.

Step 2: Check the developer before you reserve

You are paying for something you cannot yet see, so the developer's track record is your main protection. Look at completed projects, compare past brochures with what was delivered, and confirm that the builder is registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). Ask for the unit's own enrolment certificate: the NHBRC says the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act requires every new home to be enrolled at least 15 days before construction starts (NHBRC). Also ask whether the seller is a VAT vendor, because that decides which tax you pay. Our guide to where to research a new development in Cape Town shows where to run each of these checks.

Step 3: Reserve the unit

Most developers ask for a reservation deposit to take a unit off the market while the agreement is prepared. Reservation terms differ between projects, so ask in writing whether the deposit is refundable, for how long the unit is held and where the money goes. If you are asked to pay a deposit to the developer or the marketing agent directly, stop and read the next section.

Step 4: Sign the agreement of sale (offer to purchase)

Under section 2 of the Alienation of Land Act, a sale of land has no force or effect unless it is in a deed of alienation signed by the parties or by agents with written authority (Alienation of Land Act). The Act defines a "unit" to include a proposed unit, so off-plan sectional title purchases are covered. Read the whole agreement and look for:

• the price, and a clear statement that it includes VAT (or not);

• the plans and specification of your unit, including finishes and parking;

• the estimated completion and occupation dates, and what happens if they slip;

• occupational interest, levies and who pays the transfer costs;

• what happens to your deposit if the project is delayed, changed or cancelled.

Occupational interest deserves attention. C&A Friedlander explains that you become liable from the occupation date and that it is usually calculated on the full purchase price at the prime rate, depending on your contract (C&A Friedlander). In new sectional title schemes it is typically payable whether or not you physically move in, so check how your contract defines the occupation date.

Can you cancel after signing?

Probably not. Section 29A of the Alienation of Land Act gives a five-day right to revoke, but it does not apply if the price exceeds R250,000 or if the buyer is a trust or company. It also does not apply if you reserved the right to nominate someone else as the purchaser. The Consumer Protection Act has a separate five-business-day cooling-off right, but only where the sale results from direct marketing (Cluver Markotter). Ask your conveyancer whether it could apply to you. Treat your signature as binding.

Step 5: Pay the deposit into a trust account

Section 26 of the Alienation of Land Act says no one may receive payment under a deed of alienation for a unit until it is registrable. There are two exceptions. The money may be held in the trust account of an attorney or estate agent, or the seller may take it if you first receive an irrevocable, unconditional guarantee from a registered bank or insurer to repay it if the unit does not become registrable. If the seller becomes insolvent before then, the money held in trust or guaranteed becomes payable to you at once.

In practice, pay only to the conveyancing attorney named in the agreement, and check the account details by phone with the firm before you transfer.

Step 6: Apply for your bond

If you are financing the purchase, apply once you have a signed agreement. The bank will want the agreement, the unit's price and your documents, and it will assess the project as well as you. Approval is not always the end: lenders re-check your position closer to registration, so avoid new debt while you wait. Our guide to getting a bond for an off-plan apartment in Cape Town covers bonds and interest-rate risk in detail.

Step 7: Construction and the sectional title register

The NHBRC inspects enrolled homes at key stages of construction (NHBRC). Meanwhile the developer must have a sectional plan approved by the Surveyor-General and apply to the Registrar of Deeds to register it and open a sectional title register. The Sectional Titles Act provides that the registrar may not register the transfer of a unit until the sectional title register is open (Sectional Titles Act). Because the plan is drawn from actual measurements, the building must be sufficiently complete first. That is why the completion date in your contract is a target, and why delays in registration can push your transfer date back even when the building looks finished.

Step 8: Snagging, occupation and transfer

Near completion, the development conveyancers collect the balance of the price, transfer costs, occupational interest and levies. C&A Friedlander lists the documents the developer should supply: occupancy certificate, electrical and plumbing compliance certificates, the builder's NHBRC registration, the unit's NHBRC enrolment certificate, approved sectional plans, a structural engineer's certificate, a fire compliance certificate and the development's insurance policy. Ask your conveyancer to confirm they are all in place.

Inspect the unit against the specification in your agreement and list every defect in writing. Your bond is then registered with the transfer, and the unit is registered in your name at the Deeds Office. When the first unit transfers from the developer to a buyer, the body corporate comes into existence and you become a member.

VAT or transfer duty: which tax do you pay?

A property transaction attracts either VAT or transfer duty, not both. SARS's Transfer Duty Guide explains that a taxable supply of fixed property by a VAT vendor is exempt from transfer duty (SARS). A new unit from a VAT-registered developer is normally priced with 15% VAT included, so you pay no transfer duty. Delberg Attorneys point out that this can cost more than duty on a resale, because VAT applies to the full price (Delberg). If the developer is not VAT-registered, transfer duty applies instead. SARS's table for 2026/27 (no change from the previous year) starts at 0% up to R1,210,000, then 3% to R1,663,800, 6% to R2,329,300, 8% to R2,994,800, 11% to R13,310,000 and 13% above that (SARS transfer duty rates). Our costs guide covers the full cost of buying a new apartment.

What the NHBRC warranty covers after you move in

The NHBRC says an enrolled home carries cover for minor defects reported within three months of occupation, roof leaks within one year and major structural defects within five years. You must report them in writing. Note the NHBRC's own caveat: the three-month snag list is not covered by the NHBRC warranty itself. It is the builder's duty to fix, so list defects and send them to the developer in writing inside that window (NHBRC). An enrolment certificate is proof of enrolment, so also check the contract's own defects clause.