Digitisation and Securitisation of Title Deeds in Zimbabwe: A Legal Analysis of the Deeds Registries Regulations, 2025, Statutory Instrument 76 of 2025.
The Deeds Registries Regulations, 2025 Statutory Instrument 76 of 2025 was promulgated under the Deeds Registries Act [Chapter 20:05] and introduces two reforms; namely;
(a) The validation of title deeds which involves the verification of the authenticity of each title deed while ensuring that it complies with the Deeds Registries Act. An owner of a property submits the original paper title deed and the Registrar verifies the ownership and confirms the accuracy of the property details.
(b) The digitisation or securitisation of a title deed through the issue of an electronic title deed that is recorded in a new digital or electronic deeds registry. An electronic and securitised deed is issued to an owner whose title deed has been successfully validated.
The main objective of the digitisation and securitisation process is to replace the manual paper based title deed with a more secure securitised title deed, alongside the creation of an electronic registry
It is hoped that the vices of fraudulent and irregular title deeds, including duplicate title deeds, unauthorized property sales and other manipulations that were common to the paper title deeds will be greatly minimized through the introduction of a system with enhanced security against forgery and uttering.
Furthermore, in the event of physical loss and destruction of documents, the replacement process will likely become less tedious and less time consuming as the replacement copies can easily be printed from a readily accessible electronic registry.
Other inconveniences of the manual paper based system included the slow processing of property transfers mainly as a result of the difficulty of verifying the ownership status of some properties. Loss and misplacement of documents were common with the result that inordinate delays were experienced in the registration of property transfers or mortgage bonds and the cancellation or upliftment of caveats.
The performance of the above stated commercial activities, it is hoped, will be greatly enhanced.
Other obvious advantages of the new system are the introduction of a more secure digital storage of property records, allowing for easier and faster verification of ownership, easier electronic tracking of transactions and general improved accessibility to registry records.
What Property Owners should do?
Property owners have twenty four months from the 18th July 2025 when the Regulations were promulgated within which to attend to the process of having their deeds validated and securitised. The deadline for completion of this process is therefore the 18th July 2027. As of the end of March 2026, the Registrar of Deeds is still in the preparation phase of the process and has not yet started the process of validating and issuing of digital deeds.
It is advisable to constantly check with that office as well as one’s legal practitioners to ensure that there is compliance before the deadline. Failure to do so may create the risk of paper deeds being rejected for property related transactions such as transfers and mortgages.
The benefits of an effective implementation of the above reforms include greater confidence in the property registration system, a more stable investment climate and improved ease of doing business transactions involving properties.
Disclaimer
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need any assistance or have any inquiries regarding the issues discussed, kindly call us or email us at info@gmachingambilegal.co.zw
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