Exploring practitioner perceptions of blockchain adoption in South African property transactions

Purpose This paper aims to examine how South Africa’s statutory conveyancing framework influences the adoption of blockchain technologies in property transactions and explore how key stakeholders perceive the legal, institutional and governance implications of digital transformation in a highly regulated property system. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative research design based on 13 semi-structured interviews with conveyancers, attorneys and an estate agent involved in property transfers. Thematic analysis is used to identify perceived enablers and barriers to blockchain adoption, interpreted through established technology adoption perspectives to contextualise stakeholder responses. Findings The findings indicate that blockchain adoption in South African property transactions is constrained primarily by legal misalignment, infrastructural fragility, limited technological awareness and resistance linked to mandated professional oversight. Participants identified the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, particularly its wet ink signature requirement and compulsory conveyancer involvement, as fundamentally incompatible with fully digital or automated transfer processes. While stakeholders acknowledged blockchain’s potential to enhance transparency, accuracy and processing efficiency, concerns regarding legal enforceability, liability, system reliability and consumer protection reduced support for disintermediated models. Hybrid approaches that retain conveyancer oversight while incrementally integrating blockchain functionalities attracted the strongest support. Research limitations/implications The study is context-specific and based on a limited purposive sample. Future research should examine pilot implementations and comparative jurisdictions to test the transferability of hybrid blockchain-enabled conveyancing models. Originality/value The paper contributes practitioner-centred evidence from the South African property sector and highlights how statutory conveyancing requirements, institutional arrangements and accountability structures shape perceptions of blockchain adoption in a developing-country context.