Page 6 - Notes from LRC's Housing Conference

• Local government has a constitutional and statutory obligation to plan for, fund, and implement emergency housing programmes from its own resources.
• Blue Moonlight Case: If the state misunderstands its constitutional and legislative duties to provide housing, it is not a defence in litigation.
• Spatial justice includes the application of SPLUMA Principles in housing litigation.
D) ‘Within available resources’ – the housing crisis
• The housing backlog, unemployment, and related social problems are inextricably linked to decades of applica- tion of the pass laws and ruthless hounding of the homeless and unemployed from urban areas.
• The narratives of ‘land invasion’ and a containment approach by local government (e.g. establishment of Anti- Land Invasion Units) fail to deal with the real problem: the state’s ability to provide adequate housing on a massive scale that requires workable measures for rapid release of serviced and un-serviced land for human settlement.
• Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) project – the first planning Development Facilitation Act contained an interesting provision that SPLUMA repealed. The old provision allowed for a rapid land release programme that would deal with the housing problem at that moment in time. It recognised that people’s living circumstances in informal settlements are sometimes untenable and that they would have to occupy vacant land. It made provision for land to be released quickly to accommodate these people.
• The allocation of housing based on a housing waiting list seems removed from reality – widespread corruption in local government and a waiting list of over 400 000 (estimated at 20 years of waiting) in Cape Town alone. The housing waiting list is not reasonable for short-term needs.
• Context – we cannot separate the current housing crisis from the realities of the past. We need to acknowledge that the long waiting lists, social issues, and untenable living conditions are remnants of the past. People leaving rural areas face worse conditions in urban areas.
E) First consultation: key issues
In PIE cases, the following factors must be considered at the consultation:
• Filing timetable – the eviction application will set out the date when to file the answering affidavit. Filing an answering affidavit in an eviction is not simple when dealing with large numbers of people. Do not feel pressure to comply with the timetable if it is unreasonable. Approach the applicant and advise if more time is needed. The court will not grant an eviction order without all the facts.
• Section 4 notice – has there been strict compliance? Not just substantial compliance.
• Legal representation – in large scale evictions, it is not advisable that people defend themselves. If the matter comes to court with no legal representation, 99% of the cases will be postponed. If they cannot defend, the best advice to the client is to go to court and tell the judge they do not have lawyers and need time to approach a law clinic.
• Community profile – need to understand who you are dealing with and who the clients are. Need to go to the place of eviction and the community – walk around – understand what the place looks like.
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SUMMARY NOTES FROM THE HOUSING CONFERENCE