Page 7 - Litigating Land and Housing in South Africa: Lessons and Reflections

LITIGATING LAND AND AND AND HOUSING IN IN IN SOUTH AFRICA  LESSONS AND AND AND REFLECTIONS
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Africans do not enjoy secure tenure to to their homes and and the the the the land they use – rendering them vulnerable vulnerable to to unfair eviction ESTA ensures that if vulnerable vulnerable occupiers are evicted from land land there is compliance with a a a a a a a a a a a fair process and and and landowners obtain an an an an an an eviction order which considers the the full circumstances of the the occupiers Despite the the above legislation unlawful eviction and threats to to security of tenure persist At the the same time access to to basic services such as as water sanitation and refuse removal remain a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a dream for many South Africans despite the the constitutional and statutory obligations placed on on on on on municipalities to to to provide these services services and and to to prioritise provision of services services in in in their planning and and budgeting processes LRC has over the the years acted on behalf of of communities to ensure security of of tenure prevent homelessness and hold municipalities accountable for their duty to to provide access to to basic services LRC has worked on on several land land reform cases This includes legislation and and and and policy dealing with land land restitu- tion tion tion redistribution and and and and and and projects aimed at at uplifting com- munities and and and and enabling access to land and and and and resources Some of these cases cases are detailed in in this publication Over the the the past 10 years LRC cases cases have not only con- tributed to the the the development of of South Africa’s housing and and and land jurisprudence but but have changed the the lives of of of thousands of of ordinary South Africans who benefit from the the the developments in in in in case law Through this litigation the the the LRC has acquired insight into the the the challenges that lawyers may face when litigating complex housing and and and and land cases and and and and that paralegals and and and and community advice officers may encounter when they work with affected clients and communities The LRC also provides institutional support to other legal legal practitioners paralegals and and and community mem- bers who assist those with land and and and housing problems The purpose of this publication is is is thus to provide infor- mation and and insight on on on selected cases litigated by LRC over the past 10 years to share our understanding of the challenges successes and strategies used in some of the LRC cases Land and and housing cases often involve large commu- nities with competing interests and expectations that are complex to navigate the management of large volumes of of information and the involvement of of several stakeholders The judgment no matter how detailed can never reflect the the challenges and the the difficulties that clients and and legal teams face when preparing and and litigating these cases It is also important to consider the the impact that the the litigation has both before and after judgment and this publication aims to provide some in- sight into these aspects Many of the the LRC’s cases have changed the the lives of our clients while other judgments have have been difficult to to implement and monitor or or have have had unintended consequences for the clients In this publication we attempt to tell some of the stories behind the judgments Cases that relate to to land and and and housing and and and in in particular PIE ESTA spatial justice the provision of basic services land reform or or any other issue relating to tenure security or evictions have been selected and for each case study the legal principles established and the creative legal strategies employed are discussed In particular there is is a a a a focus on the clients’ involved in in each selected case with discussion on on difficulties that may have arisen within communities and and the relationship between clients and and their legal team and some detail on strategies other than litigation that assisted the the success of the the case Finally an an analysis of of the impact of of each judgment on the the the clients themselves is conducted and the the the successes and failures in in implementing judgments are analysed The purpose of this publication generously funded by Comic Relief is to provide interested practitioners paralegals and community workers with real-life case studies presented through the the eyes of the the LRC lawyers The idea is to to share perspectives to to learn from obsta- cles and build on successes