People cannot simply be removed from their homes because they are regarded as unlawful occupiers or because a landlord, municipality or property owner believes they have the right to do so.
The Johannesburg High Court has dismissed the City of Ekurhuleni's bid to appeal an order restoring about 570 people to an informal settlement near Benoni after the municipality accepted that they had been illegally evicted.
The ruling is the latest in a series of judgments reinforcing one of the key principles of South African property law: people cannot simply be removed from their homes because they are regarded as unlawful occupiers or because a landlord, municipality or property owner believes they have the right to do so.
Under the Constitution, no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without a court order after all the relevant circumstances have been considered. It also prohibits arbitrary evictions.
That constitutional protection is given effect through several pieces of legislation, depending on the circumstances.
