Our Viewpoint | Land invasion law amendment
"The challenge facing lawmakers is therefore legitimate. The law must close loopholes exploited by syndicates and opportunists."
The proposed amendments to the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) have exposed one of the most difficult policy dilemmas facing democratic South Africa: How to protect property rights while ensuring that the poor are not punished for the state’s failure to provide housing.
The proposed amendments to the PIE Act seek to give courts greater powers when granting eviction orders, including allowing judges to specify how long municipalities or other organs of state must provide alternative accommodation to unlawful occupiers.
Critics argue that this could make it easier for evictions to proceed even when suitable alternative housing is not immediately available. The bill also introduces penalties, including fines of up to R2 million and possible imprisonment, for people found to have incited or organised unlawful land occupations.
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Housing activists contend that these provisions risk criminalising poverty in a country facing a severe housing shortage.
As one civil society coalition stated: “Occupation is not a choice, but a necessity born of exclusion from land and housing markets that remain structurally inaccessible to the poor and working-class.” Illegal land invasions have become a national crisis.
Across South Africa, organised groups have occupied public and private land, sold plots illegally and profited from the desperation of vulnerable families. The problem extends beyond homeless families seeking shelter.
In many instances, powerful individuals with political connections have allegedly facilitated or benefited from land grabs. Government itself has repeatedly acted against unlawful occupations.
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Eskom has, on several occasions, moved to demolish structures erected on land earmarked for critical infrastructure, warning that uncontrolled occupations threaten electricity projects and public safety. The challenge facing lawmakers is therefore legitimate.
The law must close loopholes exploited by syndicates and opportunists. But legislation alone cannot solve a housing crisis decades in the making. More than 3 million South Africans remain on housing waiting lists.
While tightening the law against unlawful occupation and profiteering, government must dramatically accelerate social housing delivery, expand affordable financing mechanisms and implement the developmental policies already on its books.
