The introduction of a fixed-fee conveyancing model by Joubert Galpin Searle (JGS) has generated significant discussion within South Africa’s legal and property sectors; a conversation the Eastern Cape law firm believes is worth having.
JGS introduced its fixed-fee structure to give property sellers and buyers greater certainty around the professional legal fees associated with transferring a property.
Rather than calculating professional conveyancing fees according to the value of a property, JGS introduced four clearly defined professional fee tiers based on property value bands.
The move challenged a long-established approach to conveyancing fees and prompted considerable reaction from within the legal profession.
Now, following the public debate around fixed-fee pricing, the South African Legal Practice Council (LPC) has issued a notice clarifying the current legal position regarding conveyancing fees and fixed-fee pricing models.
The LPC confirmed that the conveyancing fee guidelines currently used by the profession are guidelines rather than statutory tariffs and do not prescribe binding minimum fees. It further confirmed that there is currently no provision in the Legal Practice Act, Rules or Code of Conduct prescribing minimum conveyancing fees or prohibiting a legal practitioner from charging below the guideline tariffs or adopting a fixed-fee pricing model.
JGS welcomes this clarification and, more importantly, the broader conversation taking place around transparency in legal fees.
“We knew that challenging a traditional pricing model would generate discussion,” says Warren Parker, Managing Director, Joubert Galpin Searle. “Our intention was never simply to offer a lower price for the service. It was to make the professional fee associated with a property transfer easier for clients to understand and anticipate from the outset.” The LPC notice also emphasises that, regardless of the pricing model adopted, legal practitioners remain bound by the same professional obligations and standards. Advertising must be accurate and transparent, while the quality and standard of professional services may not be compromised because of the fee charged.
These principles are central to JGS’s approach.
“Fixed fees should never mean compromised professional service,” says Parker. “The expertise, care and professional responsibility involved in a property transfer remain exactly the same. What changes is the client’s ability to know the professional fee upfront.”
JGS believes the discussion also raises a broader question for the legal profession: as consumers increasingly expect greater pricing transparency and certainty from professional service providers, how should the legal profession respond?
For JGS, the answer is greater clarity.
The firm’s fixed-fee conveyancing model is built around four professional fee tiers:
- Properties below R1.2 million: R10 000*
- R1.2 million to below R3.5 million: R15 000*
- R3.5 million to below R10 million: R25 000*
- R10 million and above: R35 000*
JGS emphasises that these amounts relate to its professional transfer fees and that clients receive information setting out applicable costs and exclusions. Other costs associated with a property transfer may include VAT, transfer duty, Deeds Office fees, rates and other disbursements or statutory charges, where applicable.
“Property transactions already involve significant financial commitments and, for many people, considerable stress,” says Parker. “We believe knowing what your conveyancing professional fee will be from the start removes one area of uncertainty.”
Rather than being discouraged by the reaction to its new pricing model, JGS believes the debate demonstrates the importance of having an open conversation about how legal services are priced and communicated.
“If introducing greater certainty around conveyancing fees has started a wider conversation within the profession, we welcome that conversation,” concludes Parker. “Transparency should ultimately benefit the consumer, and that is what this model is designed to achieve.” Transparent Conveyancing, Clearly Better.
Warren Parker
Managing Director Joubert Galpin Searle
