SI 76 of 2025: what title deed securitisation actually means for property owners

Statutory Instrument 76 of 2025 introduced the Title Deeds Validation and Digitisation Programme. It is the most significant change to the way immovable property is recorded in Zimbabwe in a generation, and it carries a deadline: registered title deed holders are required to validate and securitise their properties within a 24-month window from enactment.

Why the state introduced it

The paper deeds system has two structural weaknesses. The first is duplication — more than one deed, or more than one claimant, attaching to the same piece of land. The second is forgery. A convincing forged deed is not difficult to produce, and by the time it surfaces the fraudster has usually sold the property to an innocent purchaser, leaving two people with an apparently good claim and a long, expensive fight ahead of them.

Digitisation attacks both. Every validated deed is tied to a verified owner, captured biometrically, and recorded in a central electronic registry. Where a deed previously stood alone as a piece of paper, it now points back to a registry entry that can be checked in seconds.

What the process involves

The mechanics are less onerous than most owners expect. You appear personally before a registered conveyancer with your original printed title deed and a valid national identity document or passport. The conveyancer verifies your identity against the Deeds Registry record, captures your biometric details, takes the original deed for verification of the ownership chain, and lodges the matter.

Once processed, you receive a new securitised deed. It is issued electronically and as a physical copy carrying a QR code linked to the national digital registry, watermark authentication, microtext, guilloche patterns, ultraviolet elements, a holographic Zimbabwe Bird and a unique serial number.

The cost

The all-inclusive fee is US$215.50, made up of a Deeds Office fee of US$30.00, a system administration fee of US$70.00, a conveyancer fee of US$100.00, and VAT of US$15.50. Fees are payable on lodgement. Additional disbursements arise only in particular cases — for example where the original deed has been lost and a certified copy must first be obtained.

What happens if you do nothing

Nothing, at first. That is precisely the risk. The consequences of non-compliance surface at the moment you need the deed to work: when you sell, when you transfer to an heir, when you offer the property as security to a bank. At that point you may face ownership disputes, delays in transfer, administrative complications at the Registry, and difficulty obtaining financing. Deadlines of this kind also tend to produce a queue in their final months.

Cases that need a little more thought

• The deed is lost. An application for a certified copy must be made before securitisation.
• The registered owner has died. The estate must be dealt with first — the property is transferred through the estate, and securitisation follows the correct owner.
• The property is held by a company or trust. The duly authorised representative attends, with the resolution or trust deed establishing that authority.
• The property is bonded. The bondholder’s position must be considered before the original deed leaves your hands.
• The deed reflects a former name. Marriage certificates, change-of-name documents or affidavits will be required to link the record to you.

Practical advice

Do it early, and do it once. Bring the correct documents to the first appointment so the consultation, identification, biometrics and lodgement are completed in a single visit. If any of the complications above apply to your property, raise them with your conveyancer before you travel — a five-minute telephone call usually saves a wasted trip.