Buying property in Cape Town as a foreigner: transfer duty, bonds and the real costs
Brits can buy a house or flat in Cape Town outright, but the money side works very differently from buying in Bristol.
The short version
- Foreigners can buy residential property in South Africa and register it in their own name. The FCDO suggests using a South African lawyer [1].
- The buyer pays transfer duty to SARS. On homes up to R1,210,000 (about £54,500) there's none; above that it rises in bands to 13% [2].
- The seller picks the conveyancer (the transfer attorney), and the deal is registered at the Deeds Office, not "exchanged and completed" as in England.
- If you're a non-resident who doesn't live and work in South Africa, banks can usually lend only rand for rand with what you bring in, so roughly 50% of the price [3].
- When a non-resident sells for R2 million or more, the buyer must withhold 7.5% of the price for SARS (individuals) [4].
Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = ZAR 22.20).
Can a Brit buy in Cape Town?
Yes. There's no blanket ban on foreigners owning residential property, and plenty of Brits own homes from Sea Point to Somerset West. You can buy as an individual, jointly, or through a company or trust, each with its own tax consequences.
What matters most is your status, because it decides how you can borrow and how easily you can take money out again:
| Your situation | How banks treat you | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| South African tax resident with the right to live and work here | Normal lending criteria | The 50% rule doesn't apply [3] |
| Foreigner living and working in SA on a visa that allows work | Normal lending criteria | Check your visa actually includes the right to work [3] |
| Non-resident buying from the UK (holiday home, future retirement) | Rand-for-rand lending, roughly 50% | Bring the rest in from abroad [3] |
| Buying through a South African company or trust | Treated as a resident entity for lending | Seek advice; tax rules differ [5] |
Our guide to South African visas for Brits explains which permits include the right to work.
How buying works, step by step
Buying in Cape Town follows a path that's quite different from England and Wales. There's no gazumping once both sides have signed, because the offer is binding.
- Get your paperwork ready. Banks, estate agents and attorneys must check your identity under South Africa's anti-money-laundering rules (people call it "FICA"). Have your passport, proof of address and proof of where your money comes from.
- Sign an Offer to Purchase. In South Africa, a signed written offer that the seller accepts is a binding sale agreement. It often includes conditions, such as getting a bond (mortgage) by a set date or selling another property. Read it with your own lawyer before you sign, not after.
- Pay the deposit. It's usually held in the transfer attorney's trust account.
- Arrange finance. If you need a bond, the bank appoints its own bond attorney.
- Compliance certificates. The seller normally provides an electrical certificate of compliance, and where relevant certificates for gas, an electric fence and, common in the Western Cape, a wood-boring beetle inspection. Check what your offer says.
- Transfer duty. The transfer attorney calculates it, both parties must be registered with SARS, and the duty is paid before lodging [2][5].
- Lodging and registration. The attorneys lodge the documents at the Deeds Office in Cape Town. Once registered, you own it. The whole process usually takes a couple of months.
Most homes are sold voetstoots, meaning "as is". Get a professional survey or home inspection if you want certainty about the roof, damp or the inverter wiring. Our load-shedding and water guide explains why an authorised solar setup matters.
Sectional title, estates and freehold
Many Brits buy a flat in a sectional title scheme, where you own your unit and a share of common property, and pay monthly levies to the body corporate. Others buy in a security estate with its own home owners' association and rules. Ask for the last few months' levy statements, the minutes of recent meetings and the rules on letting, pets and building work before you make an offer.
Transfer duty: the 2026/27 table
Transfer duty is South Africa's rough equivalent of stamp duty. The buyer pays it on the purchase price. SARS's table has applied since 1 April 2025 and was carried over unchanged from 1 April 2026 [2].
| Property value (rand) | Transfer duty |
|---|---|
| Up to R1,210,000 (about £54,500) | Nil |
| R1,210,001 to R1,663,800 | 3% of the value above R1,210,000 |
| R1,663,801 to R2,329,300 | R13,614 + 6% of the value above R1,663,800 |
| R2,329,301 to R2,994,800 | R53,544 + 8% of the value above R2,329,300 |
| R2,994,801 to R13,310,000 | R106,784 + 11% of the value above R2,994,800 |
| Over R13,310,000 | R1,241,456 + 13% of the value above R13,310,000 |
Source: SARS, transfer duty rates [2].
Worked example: on a R4 million (about £180,200) house, transfer duty is R106,784 plus 11% of R1,005,200, which comes to R217,356, or about £9,800.
There's no extra surcharge for foreign buyers, unlike the non-resident surcharge on stamp duty back home in England. If you buy a new-build from a developer registered for VAT, the sale is usually subject to VAT instead of transfer duty, and VAT is normally built into the price. Your conveyancer will confirm which applies.
The other costs of buying
On top of the price and transfer duty, budget for:
- Transfer attorney's fees, plus VAT and Deeds Office fees. The attorneys' profession publishes a fee guideline on a sliding scale by price; ask for a written quote.
- Bond registration costs, if you borrow: the bond attorney's fees and Deeds Office fees, again on a sliding scale.
- Bank charges, such as an initiation fee on the bond.
- Moving money in. Use a South African bank and keep the records of your money arriving. You'll want that paper trail when you sell and send money back out. Our guide to exchange control explains how this works.
The seller usually pays the estate agent's commission, so you won't normally see it on your side of the bill.
Bonds for non-residents: the 50% rule
South Africa's exchange control rules say no one may give financial help to a non-resident without permission, and the Reserve Bank's Financial Surveillance Department sets the limits that banks apply [3]. For a non-resident who doesn't live and work in South Africa, the rule of thumb is that "for every R1 in cash or assets introduced" the bank may lend R1 [3]. On a R10 million (about £450,500) home, that means bringing in R5 million (about £225,250) and borrowing up to R5 million.
Banks can't lend outside these limits unless you fall within a recognised exemption [3]. If you live and work in South Africa, you're assessed like a local [3]. Some people use a UK mortgage or remortgage instead; that's a decision for regulated mortgage advice, and remember your UK lender may not lend against a South African home.
South African interest rates are set by reference to the prime lending rate, and they have usually been well above UK mortgage rates. Run the numbers in rand as well as pounds, because the exchange rate moves both your repayments and the value of your home in sterling terms.
Selling later and the tax side
Withholding on sale. If you're not South African resident when you sell, and the price is R2 million (about £90,100) or more, the buyer must withhold and pay SARS [4]:
- 7.5% of the price if the seller is an individual
- 10% if a company
- 15% if a trust
On a R5 million sale, that's R375,000 (about £16,900) held back for SARS. It's an advance on your tax, not the final bill. You can ask SARS for a lower or nil rate with form NR03, and SARS says directive applications generally take about 21 business days [4].
Capital gains tax. Non-residents pay South African capital gains tax on South African property. A 2022 summary by tax advisers notes that the primary residence exclusion available to residents doesn't apply to non-residents [5].
The UK side. If you're UK resident when you sell, the UK may tax the gain too, with credit for South African tax under the UK–South Africa double taxation agreement. If you're not UK resident, the UK normally won't tax a gain on foreign property. Our guides to the Statutory Residence Test and double taxation agreements explain how this works, and a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case. For South African tax generally, see South Africa taxes for Brits.
Inheritance. A South African home is part of your estate for UK inheritance tax if you're within the UK's scope, and South Africa has its own estate duty. A South African will for South African assets is common. Our guide to inheritance tax for Brits abroad covers the UK rules.
Before you buy, ask around in our community group for Brits in South Africa. Someone will have bought in the same estate or block.
Sources
- GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in South Africa
- SARS: Transfer duty
- Polity (Tax Consulting SA): A foreign buyer's guide to securing a mortgage in South Africa: the 50% borrowing rule (8 January 2026)
- SARS: Non-resident sellers of immovable property (updated 19 August 2026)
- Moonstone: Tax implications of property transactions involving non-residents (June 2022)