ILLEGAL LAND INVASION: CAUSING CONFLICT AND HOMELESSNESS

Introduction

It has been the despicable as the sight of over 5000 homes getting demolished one by one by the Agricultural Research Council strikes. Despite the community cries, the parents and the young, the ARC does not hear and wants no negotiation but continues to swear on fighting those who illegally occupy land. Violence, homelessness and court battles have enacted from the desperate needs to own homes. The legal conflict is on who holds responsibility as many factors are involved, from the judiciary, the executive down to the legislative.

This has taken place in different provinces in South Africa but more over has affected the Eastern Cape more than the other provinces. The events of demolishing homes have reflected the break in legal steps in land and housing and has exposed the corruption done by the government officials. The question is then whether the illegal landowners are to be held liable or the officials who illegally sell land and the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Developments not enforcing the property and housing legislation.

This article speaks on what illegal land invasion is, how people illegal occupy homes and what leads to eviction and home demolishing. It will outline where legal conflicts stem and oppose human rights which then leads to homelessness. The article analysis on South Africa Law.[1]

Illegal land invasion

What is illegal land invasion?

Everyone who is a citizen has the honour to enjoy the rights, the benefits, the privileges, the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 outlines the right to property and housing. In South Africa, land belongs to the following parties: the people, the municipality and the government. The issue arises between private individuals who are landowners. The private individuals can be general people or the traditional hierarchy leadership which includes kings, chiefs and headmen. Private individuals may or may not follow legal protocol when it comes to land distribution and selling. People are then found to build homes in municipal lands, some forcefully take land without permission just because they see it unoccupied, some are forced by lack of legal protocol education on how one becomes a homeowner and some are deceived by the corrupt into illegal and unlawfully occupying land.

How people fall into trap?

The interviews and findings state that many people are victims of illegal land invasion. Sometimes kings and chiefs sell them municipal land believing that it is their land. Others are drawn into corruption by the municipal officers into illegally selling them land only later to find the land was not up for sale and therefore will be retaken. The question in court battles has been why the government waits until people finish building their homes for them to demolish them and why not they warn the people before they finish building their homes. How has the Minister of Land Reform and Development helped in giving people homes in proper lands and identifying private land?

The legal framework

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998.

This act enables landowners to reclaim land. There are certain rules that are followed before people are evicted from their homes or their homes are demolished. If it has been proven beyond doubt that one is an unlawful occupier, and the owner has provided application to the court, the illegal occupiers may be evicted on reasonable and justifiable measures. Protocol follows being notified, given notice of eviction 14 days prior, attending court hearing and court ruling.

The Act fights to stop those who illegally sell land, receive funds on unlawful occupation and are involved in illegal land and housing dealings.[2]

As much as the act allows application to reclaim property, section 10 of the South African Constitution must be enforced in protecting one’s dignity while in the processing of court proceedings and eviction. The citizens dignity must be protected despite being found in offence. No violence must be constituted in doing this including being prohibited to evict people yourself but by court application and legal help.[3]

Section 25 of property states how no one should be denied the right of owning property, indifference by law general application.[4] Further…

The Constitution in section 26 explicitly states:

“Housing

(1) Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing.

(2) The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.

(3) No one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitrary evictions.”

These two rights have subsequently given people power to own land and the extension to enjoy the benefits of owning land, either by building homes or enacting infrastructure.

Conflict Arising From Illegal Land Invasion

COMMUNITIES

People are desperate for homes as there are long routes taken into owning home. There is high-rate unemployment which lead to crimes that lead to illegal invasion. People are led to homelessness once legal eviction takes place. Riots and strikes take place causing chaos and destroying the less infrastructure we have. People illegally selling each other land causes constitutes as fraud and as punishable by law. The tension begins as rightful landowners take action.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The absence of proper and noble work has been proven and was evidence in the case where the former municipal manager of the Mahikeng Local Municipality, Henry Smith, was facing a lawsuit for the unlawful sale of municipal land which was at the value of 144 million rands.[5] In connection with the case many government officials have been found in fraudulent transactions of land. This limits the trust citizens withhold to government officials as high corruption erupts. This also leads to political conflicts as people believe a certain political party is responsible for the land , property and housing affairs. Officials are also accused and found to offer housing RDP to their relatives or friends and not as per government criteria.

THE STATE AND TRADITIONAL HIEARCHY LEADERSHIP

The government finds itself head on with the kings who own land. The kings and queens in traditional leadership are found in illegal land distribution where they make sell of their own land and exceeds to also make sale of municipal land. The municipalities later face a challenge in explaining to the land occupiers that the land belongs to them and not the kinship. Legally, the municipals are authorised to evict people despite them having title deeds of their homes.

Ulundi Municipality v Mpungose and Others (6551/2020) [2025] ZAKZPHC 73 (24 July 2025)

The case gathered evidence against the Zulu queen in a small town called Ulundi, who made land sale using municipal land. The conflict raised from the Ulundi Municipality against the chiefs of the town. These two have not been able to distinguish the development framework land use schemes and applicable regulations. The chiefs allocates sites without municipal permission which then drags to prolonged court battles. Resulting in the municipal not providing its services and wanting to demolish homes.

LAND OCCUPIERS AND LANDOWNERS

The conflict between the two is that landowners have property rights, both legally and evidently, while also land occupiers show title deeds from the land sale they take. For the avoidance of doubt, landowners are undermined their rights and have freewill to apply for court orders to evict people in their land and have choice in the type of infrastructure they want in their land. With the exception of crime and fraud, the legal evictions lead to land occupiers being homeless and hopeless. Subsequent to that they now suffer the consequences of struggling to find new homes and money loss due to the unlawful land sale and home building which they cannot recover.

COURTS

The target comes from landowners, development, farms and municipal reserves. People face legal battles in fight to prove they are the rightful owners of the land occupied. Eviction applications are made, court interdicts and lawsuits. Moreover, the conflicts lead to another economical issue of having to cover litigation costs. Sometimes the court battles and appeals can take long, and more costs are required.  

CRIME

Illegal home invasion causes many law break, people are involved in fraudulent schemes. People are offered fake title deeds which later they can be put up for imprisonment for illegal home occupying. Government officials get arrested or pay a fine or face imprisonment for unlawful land sales. Illegal land occupiers may find themselves obtaining criminal records. Violence erupts leading to chaos punishable by law. Anger can make people destroy properties. People trespass in cry for the housing department to improve land redistribution. Landowners sometimes take law into their own hands by fighting the illegal invaders causing more conflicts which lead to more crimes than negotiation would’ve prevented. The PIE Act as amended in section 3 states:

(b) by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection: ‘‘(2) Any person who contravenes a provision of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment not exceeding [two] five years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.’’[6]

Evictions leading to homelessness

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Land Occupation Act 19 of 1998 amended in section 4 and section 6 ensures proper and legal steps to evicting illegal invaders.

Landowners take it upon themselves to fight against undermining their property rights. Some evict people themselves and some take the legal route to apply to courts for eviction. The Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act supports the eviction of people from unlawful properties. Landowners apply for eviction, notice is given to the occupiers, a court proceeding takes place. The court may either attempt to negotiate or evict the people. If the court grants the eviction order, eviction takes place. Though it should be granted after careful consideration that it is just and equitable to grant the order. People are then left to be homeless. Although the government tries to give people emergency housing it is not enough as there are many homes demolished and high rate of population left homeless. Due to the fraud of fake title deeds, people are evicted when found to have obtained fake title deeds. Sometimes illegal invaders use land recklessly due to desperation and unemployment. You find huge settlements of shacks in agricultural designated lands. These services lack proper water and electricity services and therefore this forces the government to demolish homes as this affects both land and housing financing.[7]

Even so, the Constitution fights to also protect the rights of the illegal land invaders. It emphasises that courts and landowners should ensure that eviction and the demolishing of homes should not be inhumane but should protect dignity. The Court pleads for a compassionate, reasonable, just, equitable and human manner to deal with as ruled in Port Elizabeth Municipality v Various Occupiers (CCT 53/03) [2004] ZACC 7; 2005 (1) SA 217 (CC); 2004 (12) BCLR 1268 (CC) (1 October 2004)

This approach is human because not only do people lose their homes but also their furniture, their important belongings and a lot of money. An article from Daily Sun exposed the Minister who evicted peoples homes and left people devastated.[8]

Ways to address and avoid illegal land invasion

Land occupiers must ask for proper title deeds and get them confirmed by the relevant department and court.

The government should rework on giving people land and distributing it accordingly.

People should be warned before occupying land that has its own rightful owners.

People should be warned before getting eviction.

The law must be enforced to ensure no more unlawful land sales take place.

The government should provide emergency housing and expand the RDP project. The Constitutional Court emphasized the importance of state resources being made available for such events, in Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v Grootboom and Others (CCT11/00) [2000] ZACC 19; 2001 (1) SA 46 (CC); 2000 (11) BCLR 1169 (CC) (4 October 2000), this was set out that the state should not neglect section 26 despite the circumstances but should make a progressive programme to provide emergency housing and which have proper sanitation.[9]

Land must be analysed and labelled according to the owners and made known to the public.

The housing department must separate between private and public settlements.

There should a funding or budget for emergency housing.

Housing and Land projects must be lawful, fair and fast to avoid illegal invasion.

Proper housing waiting list must be drawn and made available to the public to avoid conflicts.

Housing delivery must be sped up.

There must be educational programs about land invasion and clear communication ways for the public to address this issue.[10]

CONCLUSION

The article has proven that there is land crisis in South Africa. There is a rapid growth daily of illegal land invasion. Despite the practise of demolishing homes people continue to invade other people’s land, It is not just desperation but a serious need. The conflict and homelessness are still going to be an economical and social factors arising from illegal land invasion. Environmental law needs to enforce more legal framework. The existing legal framework is concise but is not enforced properly. This issue does not only affect citizens, but the organs of state as well.

Reference(S):

Cases:

Ulundi Municipality v Mpungose and Others (6551/2020) [2025] ZAKZPHC 73 (24 July 2025)

Port Elizabeth Municipality v Various Occupiers (CCT 53/03) [2004] ZACC 7; 2005 (1) SA 217 (CC); 2004 (12) BCLR 1268 (CC) (1 October 2004)

Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v Grootboom and Others (CCT11/00) [2000] ZACC 19; 2001 (1) SA 46 (CC); 2000 (11) BCLR 1169 (CC) (4 October 2000)

Legislation:

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,1996

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998

Southern African Legal Information Institute

 Secondary sources:

African News Agency ‘Concerns rises as homes are demolished on illegally occupied land”, NOV 22 2025

South African Government News Agency ‘Former municipal manager in court for ‘unlawful sale’ of municipal land.’ OCT 11 2023

Daily Sun News, ‘Kids cry as bulldozers flatten houses,’ by TEMBISA SGQOLANA, 12 September 2025

[1] African News Agency

[2] The Prevention of Illegal Eviction  from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998

[3] Section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996

[4] Section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996

[5] SAnews.gov.za

[6] Section 3 amended of the PIE Act

[7] The PIE Act

[8] Daily Sun News, Kids cry as bulldozers flatten houses, by TEMBISA SGQOLANA, 12 September 2025

[9]Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v Grootboom and Others (CCT11/00) [2000] ZACC 19; 2001 (1) SA 46 (CC); 2000 (11) BCLR 1169 (CC) (4 October 2000)

[10]  Businesstech.co.za https://www.gov.za -services-residents