Constitutional Court orders the Govan Mbeki Municipality to halt any further evictions

The Constitutional Court handed down a judgement in the application for leave to appeal against a judgement and order of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division Pretoria (High Court). The High Court had set aside a rule nisi granted against the applicants for the removal of some 200 families from a tract of municipal land, but proceeded to order ordinary eviction proceedings in terms of section 4 of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation Act (PIE).
 
In 2013 the Govan Mbeki Municipality sought two separate eviction orders, and evicted occupiers from properties that it owns and zoned as agricultural land. The occupiers had erected homes on the land without consulting the Municipality. Most of the occupiers, felt the need to occupy the land as they have been waiting for houses since 2002.
 
Even though the Municipality was granted the evictions orders and evicted the community and demolished the “illegal shacks”, the Municipality did not engage with the occupants sufficiently in order to come up with a reasonable solution.
 
Section 26 of the constitution stately states that the government must take steps to provide housing "within its available resources". This matter has raised important constitutional issues relation to the right to access housing and the eviction of people from their homes under section 26 of the constitution and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation Act.
 
For more information on this, please contact Louise Du Plessis on 082 346 0744 or Carol Mohlala on 061 906 0353