Tenure Support Case Study: Unwinding informal cash sales and unlocking security of tenure

The Tenure Support Centre (TSC) has been operational since July 2018 and since then has seen over 2000 clients with various property-related issues. The most common issue relates to problems with title deeds.  This case study is about Ms Duma (not her real name) and her experience of buying a house through informal channels and having to defend her purchase when the seller came back to claim the property. Ms Duma is one of the TSC’s many successful informal cash sale regularisation case studies. Her story illustrates the very real risks buyers face when property transactions are not formally registered but also how informal mechanisms such as street committee letters, police affidavits and witnesses can work to validate a buyers claim to a property. Her story further reiterates the value that is unlocked when informal cash sales are regularised.

This case study is also available on the TSC’s website: https://titledeed.org.za/unwinding-informal-cash-sales-and-unlocking-security-of-tenure/