COMPLETE MODEL ANSWERS
Notarial Practice
�ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
Detail Information
Module Code LPL4805
Assignment 01
Semester 1 2026
Due Date 19 March 2026
Number of Questions Multiple scenario-based questions
QUESTION 1: Notarial Bond Over Multiple Assets
X is the owner of a residential erf in town, but she resides in a town house which she
has been renting from Z for many years. X is also the holder of a usufruct over the
farm Moreson just outside the town where she farms. X borrows money from a
, family member, Y. X instructs you, a notary, to draft and register in the deeds
registry a notarial bond over these three assets in favour of Y as security for payment
of the debt. Fully explain whether you will be able to execute the
instruction. [citations:1]
Analysis of the Three Assets
Asset 1: Residential Erf (Ownership)
X is the owner of this residential erf. A notarial bond is registered only over movable
property . For immovable property like an erf, the correct security instrument is
a mortgage bond, not a notarial bond.
Legal Position: You cannot register a notarial bond over the residential erf. The
appropriate security would be a mortgage bond registered in terms of the Deeds Registries
Act 47 of 1937. A mortgage bond creates a real right over immovable property and
provides the mortgagee (Y) with preferential claim upon insolvency of the mortgagor (X).
Asset 2: Town House (Leasehold)
X resides in a town house rented from Z. This is a lease agreement. Section 82 of the
Deeds Registries Act provides for the registration of a notarial bond over a registered
lease and sublease . However, critical distinctions apply:
Short-term lease (typically less than 10 years): Can be hypothecated by a notarial bond
Long-term lease (10 years or more): Defined as immovable property in terms of section
102 of the Deeds Registries Act and cannot be hypothecated by a notarial bond—it requires
an ordinary mortgage bond
Legal Position: You may be able to register a notarial bond over X's leasehold interest only
if:
1. The lease is a short-term lease (less than 10 years)
2. The lease is registered in the deeds registry
3. The lease is over immovable property
If the lease is long-term (10 years or more) or unregistered, you cannot execute a notarial
bond over it.
Asset 3: Usufruct over Farm Moreson
, X is the holder of a usufruct (a personal servitude). This is a limited real right, not
ownership. A usufruct entitles the holder to use and enjoy another person's property and
take the fruits thereof.
Legal Position: You cannot register a notarial bond over the usufruct for the following
reasons:
1. Nature of the right: A usufruct is a personal servitude—a limited real right that attaches to
the person who holds the usufruct, not to the property itself
2. What is hypothecated: When purporting to bond a usufruct, it is not the usufruct itself
that is being mortgaged but the entitlements of the usufructuary
3. Risk of termination: Should the usufruct lapse (by waiver, death of the holder, or expiry of
the stipulated period), the bond will automatically terminate
4. No claim against the land: The mortgagee (Y) would have no claim to the land or to the
continuation of the notarial bond upon termination of the usufruct
Conclusion
You will not be able to execute the instruction as given for the following reasons:
X's Can Notarial Bond Be
Asset Appropriate Security
Interest Registered?
Residential
Ownership Mortgage bond NO
erf
Notarial bond (if short-term
Town house Leasehold YES, if conditions met
registered lease)
Farm None (cannot be
Usufruct NO
Moreson hypothecated)
Advice to X: To provide Y with security:
1. Register a mortgage bond over the residential erf
2. If the town house lease is short-term and registered, register a notarial bond over the
lease
3. The usufruct cannot be used as security—advise X to offer alternative assets