From 1 July 2026, conveyancing attorney fees in South Africa follow an updated recommended guideline about 3.5% higher than the 2025 scale. The guideline — issued by the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) and corroborated rung-for-rung by industry fee summaries — covers the two attorney charges every buyer budget needs: the transfer fee and the bond registration fee.
The 2026 scale next to 2025
Both years' figures below are quoted exclusive of VAT, as the guideline publishes them. Most firms add 15% VAT on top. All figures as at 9 September 2026.
| Property value / bond amount | 2026 guideline (excl. VAT) | 2025 guideline (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| First R100 000 | R6 875 | R6 640 |
| R100 001 – R500 000 | R6 875 + R1 100 per R50 000 (or part) above R100 000 | R6 875 + R1 060 per R50 000 (or part) above R100 000 |
| R500 001 – R1 000 000 | R15 675 + R2 120 per R100 000 above R500 000 | R15 120 + R2 050 per R100 000 above R500 000 |
| R1 000 001 – R5 000 000 | R26 275 + R2 120 per R200 000 above R1m | R25 370 + R2 050 per R200 000 above R1m |
| Above R5 000 000 | R68 675 + R5 340 per R1m above R5m | R66 370 + R5 160 per R1m above R5m |
The uplift is roughly CPI-consistent: every bracket's base fee and increment rose by between about 3.4% and 3.8%. For context, the guideline fee at a R1 million property or bond is R26 275 excl. VAT in 2026, against R25 370 in 2025.
A worked example: the R1.5 million purchase
Take a home bought for R1.5 million with a bond of the same size. Under the 2026 guideline the conveyancing fee on each side — transfer and bond registration — works out to R32 635 excl. VAT, or R37 530.25 incl. VAT. A year ago the same calculation produced R31 520 excl. VAT: an increase of R1 115, or about 3.5%. On a typical purchase that fee appears twice (two attorneys, same scale), so the guideline uplift alone adds roughly R2 230 excl. VAT — about R2 565 incl. VAT — to the upfront bill before any other 2026 fee changes.
Where the brackets land
Because each step charges per portion (or part thereof) above a threshold, the guideline fee moves in jumps rather than smoothly. At the bracket boundaries the 2026 fee is: R100 000 → R6 875; R500 000 → R15 675; R1 million → R26 275; R5 million → R68 675; and R6 million → R74 015. Crossing a rung by even one rand adds the next increment, so a purchase price just below a threshold can carry a meaningfully lower attorney fee than one just above it — worth remembering when an asking price is negotiated to the nearest fifty thousand, and quick to sense-check on the transfer cost calculator.
A guideline, not a tariff
The LSSA figure is a recommended guideline, not a regulated fee. Attorneys may charge less — and buyers can negotiate, or ask for a written quote before appointing. The transfer attorney is nominated in the offer to purchase (by the seller, though the buyer pays); the bond registration attorney is appointed by the bank. Both draw on this same scale.
The bigger 2026 cost picture
Attorney fees are one line in a wider reset. Deeds Office fees changed on 1 April 2026 under a new gazetted schedule — the bracket-by-bracket figures are in our Deeds Office fees 2026 piece — transfer duty thresholds were confirmed unchanged for 2026/27, and the National Credit Act caps on bank fees still apply. Our breakdown of the full upfront cost stack puts the 2026 lines together on a R1.5 million purchase, and the attorney fees guide explains how to read — and query — your own conveyancer's account.
Fee figures: LSSA recommended conveyancing fee guideline effective 1 July 2026 (2025 scale for comparison), verified as at 9 September 2026. Fees are quoted excl. VAT unless stated; most firms add 15% VAT.