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🔑 Renting out or selling your South African home after you emigrate

Rental agents, SARS tax on rent for non-residents, the section 35A withholding tax on sales, CGT, rates, levies and getting your money out of SA.

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Many South Africans keep their house or flat when they emigrate, either as an income property or until the market suits a sale. Both options work well from abroad, but only if the paperwork, tax and people on the ground are sorted out properly. This guide covers renting it out, selling it as a non-resident, and the traps that cost people money.

1. Rent or sell?

A few questions help you decide:

  • Do the numbers work? Add up rates, levies, insurance, the bond, agent fees (often a percentage of the rent for full management) and an allowance for maintenance and vacancies. Compare the net figure with what the capital would earn if you sold.
  • Currency. Rent arrives in rands. If you'll spend it abroad, a weaker rand reduces it in real terms. If you might return one day, a property at home can be a useful anchor.
  • Tax in two countries. Your new country probably taxes residents on worldwide income, so rent and any eventual gain may have to be declared there too, with credit for South African tax under a double tax agreement.
  • How hands-on can you be? Tenants call about geysers, gate motors and leaks. From another time zone you will rely completely on your agent.

2. Setting up a rental from abroad

  1. Choose a full-management rental agent, not just a letting-only service. Check that the agency and the agent hold a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate from the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA). Without one they are not allowed to hold your money or charge commission.
  2. Agree the mandate in writing: tenant vetting (credit, references, affordability), how the deposit is held (the Rental Housing Act requires it to be kept in an interest-bearing account), how much the agent may spend on repairs without asking you, monthly statements, and how quickly rent is paid over.
  3. Use a proper written lease. Rental housing is regulated by the Rental Housing Act and, for residential leases, the Consumer Protection Act, which affects early cancellation. A reputable agent will use a compliant lease.
  4. Tell your insurer and your bank. Homeowner's cover for a tenanted property is different from cover for an owner-occupied one. Your bond agreement may also require notice if you let the property. Your tenant insures their own contents.
  5. Appoint someone you trust (a family member or your attorney) with a power of attorney for urgent decisions the agent can't make, and keep copies of all keys, remotes and compliance certificates with them.
  6. Keep the municipal account in your name and watch it. Even if the tenant pays electricity and water through the agent, the property owner is ultimately liable for municipal debt, and arrears must be cleared before the property can ever be transferred.

3. Tax on rental income as a non-resident

Rent from South African property is South African-source income, so it is taxable in South Africa whether or not you are still a tax resident. There is no withholding tax on rent, so you have to declare it yourself:

  • Keep your income tax registration active (non-residents with SA income still need one) and keep your eFiling profile, address and banking details up to date. eFiling works from abroad, but SARS will usually send one-time PINs to your registered cellphone number, so keep that number live.
  • File an annual income tax return (ITR12). Because rent is not salary, you will usually also need to register as a provisional taxpayer and make two provisional payments a year.
  • You are taxed on net rental income. Typical deductions include rates, levies, insurance, agent fees, bond interest (not capital), and repairs and maintenance. Improvements are not deductible against rent, but they add to the base cost for capital gains tax later, so keep every invoice.
  • Declare the rent in your new country too if it taxes your worldwide income, and claim the credit for SA tax paid there.

A tax practitioner who works with non-residents can file for you each year. It's usually worth the fee.

4. Selling as a non-resident: the section 35A withholding tax

When a non-resident sells South African property for more than R2 million, section 35A of the Income Tax Act requires the buyer to withhold part of the purchase price and pay it to SARS. At the time of writing (October 2026) the rates are:

  • 7.5% of the full price if the seller is an individual
  • 10% if the seller is a company
  • 15% if the seller is a trust

The withholding is on the whole price, not just the part above R2 million. In practice the conveyancing attorney handles it, and pays it to SARS within 14 days if the buyer is a South African resident (28 days if the buyer is a non-resident). It is not an extra tax: it is an advance payment towards your income tax for that year, and you get the balance back when you file your return and SARS assesses the actual capital gains tax.

Reducing it with a directive. Because the actual tax on a sale is often much less than 7.5% of the price (or nothing, if you made a loss), you can ask SARS for a directive allowing the buyer to withhold a lower amount, or nothing. SARS considers whether you are actually liable for tax on the sale, whether your real liability is less than the withholding, and any security you provide. You (or your representative) apply on form NR03, with the deed of sale and your capital gains calculation, and SARS says it takes about 21 business days. Apply as soon as the sale is signed, because the transfer may otherwise register before the directive is issued. The buyer, conveyancer or agent completes the separate declaration, form NR02.

5. Capital gains tax and other selling costs

  • CGT applies to non-residents on South African immovable property. The gain is the selling price less your base cost (purchase price, transfer costs, improvements and selling costs such as agent's commission). For individuals 40% of the net gain is included in taxable income, which gives a maximum effective rate of 18%.
  • Exclusions. The 2026 Budget raised the annual exclusion for individuals to R50,000 and the primary residence exclusion to R3 million, for disposals on or after 1 March 2026 (check the current figures on the SARS capital gains tax pages). The primary residence exclusion only covers the period you actually lived in the home as your main residence. Once it becomes a rental, that portion of the gain is generally apportioned out, although the rules allow some temporary absences. A tax practitioner can work out the split.
  • Exit tax doesn't change this. When you ceased tax residency, South African property was excluded from the deemed disposal, because it stays in the SA tax net. The gain is taxed when you actually sell.
  • Compliance certificates. The seller usually has to provide an electrical certificate of compliance, and depending on the property and municipality, others such as an electric fence, gas, plumbing (Cape Town) or beetle certificate. Your agent or conveyancer will tell you which.
  • Clearance certificates. Transfer can't register until the municipality issues a rates clearance certificate (which needs the account paid up, often for the months ahead too) and, for sectional title, the body corporate issues a levy clearance.

6. Bonds, levies, power of attorney and getting the money out

The bond. If you still have a bond, keep paying it from your SA account. Most banks need around 90 days' notice to cancel a bond without a penalty, so give notice as soon as you decide to sell.

Sectional title. Levies are payable whether or not the unit is let. The body corporate's conduct rules bind your tenants, and some schemes restrict short-term letting, so check before you list on a holiday-rental platform.

Signing from abroad. You don't have to fly home to sell. The conveyancer will send you the documents, including a power of attorney to pass transfer. Documents signed outside South Africa must be authenticated before the Deeds Office will accept them: usually by signing in front of a notary and getting an apostille in countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention, or by signing at a South African mission. Ask the conveyancer exactly what they need before you sign, because a rejected document can delay transfer by weeks. FICA documents (certified ID, proof of address abroad) will also be needed.

Getting the proceeds out. The conveyancer pays the net proceeds into your South African bank account. To transfer them abroad, your bank (an authorised dealer) will want proof that your tax affairs are in order, usually a SARS tax compliance status PIN. If you have formally ceased tax residency, make sure SARS has recorded it, and file any outstanding returns first. Compare a forex specialist's rate with your bank's before converting a large sum (see sending money to and from South Africa).

Common mistakes

  • Not telling the agent and conveyancer you are non-resident. The 35A withholding still has to be paid, and agents and conveyancers can be held liable if they knew or should have known.
  • Applying for the NR03 directive too late, so 7.5% of the full price sits with SARS until your return is assessed.
  • Assuming the full primary residence exclusion applies after years of letting the property.
  • Not filing SA returns for rental income while abroad, then finding SARS penalties and interest when you try to sell or move money.
  • Losing access to eFiling because your old SA cellphone number lapsed.
  • Using an agent without a Fidelity Fund Certificate, or one who doesn't send monthly statements.
  • Ignoring the municipal account until transfer, when years of incorrect billing must be disputed in a hurry.
  • Keeping owner-occupier insurance on a tenanted property.

Official sources

This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Withholding rates, CGT exclusions and exchange-control requirements change, so confirm current figures with SARS and use a registered tax practitioner and conveyancer for your sale.