Case Law[2022] ZAGPJHC 256South Africa
Umnungwane Trading and Projects (Pty) Ltd v Polongwane and Others (2019/10429) [2022] ZAGPJHC 256 (13 April 2022)
Judgment
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## Umnungwane Trading and Projects (Pty) Ltd v Polongwane and Others (2019/10429) [2022] ZAGPJHC 256 (13 April 2022)
Umnungwane Trading and Projects (Pty) Ltd v Polongwane and Others (2019/10429) [2022] ZAGPJHC 256 (13 April 2022)
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#### REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
####
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG)
Case
No: 2019/10429
REPORTABLE:
YES/ NO
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES:YES/NO
REVISED.
13/04/2022
In
the matter between:
UMNUNGWANE
TRADING AND PROJECTS (PTY) LTD
Applicant
(REGISTRATION
NUMBER: 2017/511533/07)
and
POLONGWANE,
DUDU
First Respondent
MBULAWA,
NTOMBIFUTHI PERSEVERANCE
Second Respondent
MPHUMLA,
MORLEY (Deceased)
Third Respondent
MBATHA,
NTOMBIFUTHI ELIZABETH
Fourth Respondent
MADI,
MBONGENI Z
Fifth Respondent
KHOZA,
B
Sixth Respondent
AWIKI,
PETIT
Seventh Respondent
MWANZA,
ALBERT
Eighth Respondent
MAFOTA,
MONIQUE
Ninth Respondent
THE
OCCUPIERS OF UNIT 418
Tenth Respondent
THE
FURTHER UNLAWFUL OCCUPIERS OF
ROCKVIEW
HEIGHTS
Eleventh Respondent
CITY
OF JOHANNESBURG
Twelfth Respondent
JUDGMENT
TLHOTLHALEMAJE,
AJ
Introduction and
background:
[1]
The
applicant, a duly registered company, approached the Court in terms
of the provisions of the Prevention of Illegal Evictions
from and
Unlawful Occupation of Land Act
[1]
,
("the PIE Act"), to seek an order evicting the First –
Eleventh Respondents (‘The Occupiers’) from
residential
premises situated in Yeoville, Johannesburg (The property)
[2]
.
[2]
The Occupiers were initially represented by
Precious Muleya INC Attorneys. They together with Adv. Mpho Sebopa,
withdrew after having
filed the answering affidavit and the written
heads of argument. The Occupiers at these proceedings were
self-represented, and
upon an enquiry from the Court, they had
submitted that they stood by the papers and heads of argument filed
on their behalf. The
Court was further informed that third respondent
is since deceased.
[3]
The
applicant is the registered owner of the immovable property from
which it seeks to evict the Occupiers. In their answering affidavit,
the Occupiers had challenged the applicant’s ownership of the
property. Nothing however turned on the Occupiers’ challenge,
in the light of the applicant having produced and referred the Court
to its copy of the Title Deed, which evinced the transfer
of the
property into its name
[3]
.
[4]
The Occupiers occupy various units in the
property, and were tenants of the applicant's predecessor in title.
The applicant therefore
relies on the doctrine of
huur
gaat voor koopt
in respect of any
tenancies that the Occupiers may have previously enjoyed. To that
end, the applicant contends that as of 7 May
2018, it took transfer
of the property and thus became the Occupiers’ lessor.
[5]
The applicant’s case is that since it
acquired ownership of the property, and despite its attempts to
regularise tenancy,
the Occupiers have not only refused to pay rent,
but have also failed to bring their arears related to other services
up to date.
The Occupiers conceded in the answering affidavit that
none of them have paid rentals or signed lease agreements with the
applicant.
Part of their reasoning in that regard was that they
intended to bring an application to dispute the applicant’s
ownership.
This reasoning is nonetheless flawed in the light of the
conclusions reached in this judgment that there is no basis to
challenge
the transfer and the applicant’s ownership of the
property.
[6]
Upon the applicant assuming ownership of
the property, a letter of demand was addressed to the some of the
Occupiers by the applicant’s
erstwhile attorneys of record on
28 June 2018, informing them of the cancellation of any arrangement
or lease agreement concluded
in the past with immediate effect, and
demanding that they vacate the premises by 14 July 2018. In the same
correspondence, the
Occupiers were advised that an eviction order
would be sought should they not heed the demand. They were
nonetheless invited to
contact the applicant’s offices to
arrange a meeting to discuss and arrange a new lease agreement,
failing which summons
for all outstanding amounts owed to it will be
issued, and that an eviction process would be initiated.
[7]
The invitation was ignored and the
applicant appears not to have taken any further steps until on 3
January 2019, when its current
attorneys of record sent various
correspondence to the Occupiers including on 5 February 2019,
advising them of the termination
of their leases, and further
demanding that they should vacate the premises. The Occupiers
nonetheless refused to vacate the property.
[8]
In these proceedings, the Occupiers readily
conceded that they were occupying the property unlawfully. Their
defence in an answering
affidavit deposed to by the first respondent
(Ms Polongwane) on their behalf was that the eviction will render
them homeless, as
they lacked sufficient means to source alternative
accommodation. Some of the Occupier’s personal circumstances
were set
out in the answering affidavit and accompanied by their
confirmatory affidavits.
[9]
The upshot of the Occupiers’
contentions is that they have occupied the property over prolonged
periods, some with 15 years’
occupation. They contend that they
are vulnerable, poverty-stricken and unemployed, with some being
elderly and disabled, and many
of them with minor children. They
further contend that they survived through the State social grants
and minimal income obtained
from the informal waste recycling
business.
[10]
The Occupiers further complained about the
state of the property in question, which it was said was a massive
dilapidated building
without basic municipal services, and also
surrounded by other shady, dilapidated and abandoned buildings. They
further contend
that since some of them had occupied the property
over 15 years, they considered it as their only shelter, home and a
place of
safety, and that they were not aware of any other
alternative accommodation that was affordable or readily accessible,
unless assistance
was granted by the Twelfth Respondent (COJ).
[11]
To the extent that the Occupiers are in
unlawful occupation, and further to extent that applicant had
demonstrated lawful ownership
of the property, in the absence of any
valid defence to the applicant’s claim to the property, the
central issue that remains
for determination is whether an order for
eviction ought to be granted.
The
legal framework and evaluation:
[12]
Section
4 of the PIE Act
[4]
contains
both procedural and substantive provisions. The relevant sub-sections
thereof were summarised in
Dwele
v Phalatse and Others
[5]
as
follows;
“
Essentially there
are two inquiries mandated by these sections. In terms of section
4(7) of the Pie Act, an eviction order may only
be granted if it is
just and equitable to do so, determined after the court has had
regard to all the relevant circumstances, including
the availability
of land for the relocation of the occupiers and the rights and needs
of the elderly, children, disabled persons,
and households headed by
women. If the requirements of s 4 are satisfied and no valid defence
to an eviction order has been raised,
a court ‘must’, in
terms of s 4(8) grant an eviction order. When granting such an order
the court must, in terms of
s 4(8)(a) of the PIE Act, determine a
just and equitable date on which the unlawful occupier or occupiers
must vacate the premises
(the next inquiry). The court is empowered
in terms of s 4(12) to attach reasonable conditions to an eviction
order. The date that
it determines must be one that is just and
equitable to all parties.”[Authorities omitted]
[13]
The
duties of the Court under the above provisions have since been
clarified by the Constitutional Court in
Occupiers
of Erven 87 and 88 Berea v De Wet N.O. and Another
[6]
as
follows;
“
[47]
It deserves to be emphasised that the duty that rests on the court
under section 26(3) of the Constitution and section
4 of PIE goes
beyond the consideration of the lawfulness of the occupation. It is a
consideration of justice and equity in which
the court is required
and expected to take an active role. In order to perform its duty
properly the court needs to have all the
necessary information. The
obligation to provide the relevant information is first and foremost
on the parties to the proceedings.
As officers of the court,
attorneys and advocates must furnish the court with all relevant
information that is in their possession
in order for the court to
properly interrogate the justice and equity of ordering an eviction.
. .”
[48] The
court will grant an eviction order only where: (a) it has all the
information about the occupiers to enable
it to decide whether the
eviction is just and equitable; and (b) the court is satisfied that
the eviction is just and equitable
having regard to the information
in (a). The two requirements are inextricable, interlinked and
essential. An eviction order granted
in the absence of either one of
these two requirements will be arbitrary. I reiterate that the
enquiry has nothing to do with the
unlawfulness of occupation. It
assumes and is only due when the occupation is unlawful.”
(Citations omitted)
The
obligations of the Twelfth Respondent:
[14]
The Twelfth Respondent (COJ), was joined in
these proceedings as the municipality with jurisdiction and which has
the general constitutional
and legislative obligation to provide
Temporary Emergency Accommodation ("TEA") to the evicted
unlawful occupiers, and
only to the extent that they are rendered
homeless or will be rendered homeless as a result of the eviction.
Thus, the risk of homelessness triggers the
duty of the COJ and obliges it within its available resources, to
alleviate such homelessness,
or to at least, provide TEA to those
being evicted.
[15]
On 15 May 2019 and 30 July 2019, Court
orders were issued by Maier – Frawley AJ and Segel AJ
respectively, which directed
the COJ to conduct an assessment at the
property and to deliver to the Court, a report confirmed on
affidavit, setting out whether
the Occupiers qualified for the
provision of TEA, the kind and structure of the TEA that may be made
available to the Occupiers,
when such TEA may be made available, why
the particular location and form of accommodation has been selected,
and the steps to
be taken by COJ to secure the TEA, and to relocate
the Occupiers thereto.
[16]
In line with the Court Orders, the COJ had
conducted an audit and an assessment on 9 March 2021 in order to
ascertain the relevant
and personal circumstances of the Occupiers as
envisaged in section 4(7) of the PIE. This had included a site visit
and an interview
with all the Occupiers who are party to these
proceedings. The report as confirmed in the founding affidavit of Mr
Victor Rambau,
the COJ’s then Acting Executive Director:
Housing, is detailed and provided
all the
personal information and circumstances of the individual Occupiers
after they were interviewed.
[17]
The COJ is guided by the criterion as set
out in Chapter 12 of the Housing Code, 2009, when considering the
provision of TEA to
evictees. Thus where appropriate and justified,
TEA will be provided to affected persons in the following categories:
(i)
The households monthly income should be
below R 3, 500.00;
(ii)
Minor headed households;
(iii)
The Elderly persons;
(iv)
Persons without dependants;
(v)
Persons who do not own any immovable
property in the Republic;
(vi)
Persons who have not previously received
assistance;
(vii)
Illegal foreigners and /or prohibited
persons as defined by the Immigration Act (No. 13 of 2002) will be
attended to but dealt with
in consultation with the Department of
Home Affairs.
[18]
It is not necessary to set out the personal
circumstances of each individual Occupier as outlined in detail in
the report. Of significance
however is that the COJ found that all of
the Occupiers had a household income that exceeded the R3 500.00
threshold for the provision
of TEA, and thus could not qualify. The
COJ had accordingly concluded the Occupiers were in a position to
source alternative accommodation
based on the total income of
individual households in the property.
[19]
That conclusion was based following a
headcount of the cited Occupiers in their units, minor children, the
elderly and disabled.
It had regard to those that were gainfully and
formally employed; and those that were dependent on informal waste
recycling business,
State grants, and other means of financial
support and from family members. The report nonetheless pointed out
that some of the
Occupiers either refused or were reluctant to
disclose relevant and personal information in regards to their
personal circumstances.
[20]
Equally
significant with the findings was that it was established that some
of the Occupiers were illegal immigrants, and the COJ’s
obligations in regards to these individuals was a matter of
consultation between itself and the Department of Home Affairs. This
was due to the reason that the City could not accommodate individuals
who were in breach of the provisions of the Immigration Act
[7]
in its TEAs indefinitely, without engaging the process of deporting
them as required by that Act.
[21]
Given the detailed nature of the COJ’s
report, and further in the absence of any other evidence to
meaningfully challenge
its findings as supported in Rambau’s
affidavit, I have difficulties in appreciating the contentions made
on behalf of the
Occupiers in the heads of argument, that there is no
indication either in the form of affidavits or by way of reports,
that their
personal circumstance were given proper consideration.
Even if that was the case, and to the extent that the Occupiers were
legally
represented at least until the replying affidavit and the
heads of argument were filed, nothing prevented them from filing a
supplementary
answering, in order to meaningfully refute the contents
of the report as accompanied by Rambau’s affidavit.
[22]
Of
course ordinarily, the report of the COJ ought not to be taken at
face value, and should equally be scrutinised for objectivity,
since
its role is clearly for the assistance of the Court
[8]
.
On the whole however, I am satisfied that the report meaningfully and
in good faith, engaged with the actual situation of the
Occupiers,
and has set out all their relevant personal information and
circumstances, to enable the Court to make a determination
whether
they will be rendered homeless by an eviction order; whether they
qualified for TEA, and whether an eviction order would
be just and
equitable.
[23]
It should also be accepted that the COJ’s
constitutional obligation to provide alternative accommodation to
evictees who are
rendered homeless, can only be fulfilled within the
means and resources at its disposal. In its report, it had submitted
that currently,
it did not even have available TEA for the occupiers
in all its Regions including Region F, which is the region in which
the Occupiers
in this case reside. It was pointed out that no less
that 11 TEA sites that were available were all full to capacity, and
had reached
a state of being ‘ungovernable’. These TEAs
were spread throughout regions in the city with a long waiting lists
of
other occupiers who were evicted elsewhere within the COJ’s
jurisdiction. The COJ further cited various predicaments it was
faced
with in providing more TEAs to evictees, including budgetary
constraints, and the protracted process of acquiring more properties
in order to establish more TEAs.
[24]
Again, in the absence of any meaningful
challenge to the report of the COJ in regards to the constraints it
is faced with and its
inability to provide TEA to the Occupiers, the
Court is equally constraint to reject the conclusions of COJ in this
regard. Thus
to the extent that it has been concluded that the
Occupiers do not qualify for TEA even if these facilities were
available based
on their personal circumstances and other
considerations, the question remains whether the eviction will lead
the Occupiers to
being rendered homeless.
Alleged
homelessness:
[25]
It
is trite that at a general level, it will not be just and equitable
for a court to grant an eviction order where the effect of
such an
order would render the occupiers of the property homeless
[9]
.
The lawful owner of the property must discharge the onus of proof in
eviction proceedings, to satisfy the court that the eviction
would be
just and equitable. In the same vein, to the extent that the unlawful
occupiers alleged that an eviction order would render
them homeless
without alternative accommodation, the onus in that regard is placed
on them
[10]
. They are obliged
to demonstrate that despite attempts on their part, they have no
alternative accommodation or are unable to secure
same. The mere fact
that TEAs are ordinarily and by law available, or ought to be made
available, does not absolve the occupiers
from making attempts on
their own to secure alternative accommodation.
[26]
Central to the occupiers’ allegations
in regards to being rendered homeless was that they all cannot afford
to pay any rent
elsewhere. They conceded that at some stage during
their occupancy, they used to pay rental to the previous owners. They
had further
submitted that they are willing to accept the alternative
accommodation provided by the COJ, as long as it is nearby the
vicinity
of the property because that is their ‘place of
business’.
[27]
When regard is had to the applicant’s
replying affidavit and the contents of the COJ’s assessment
report, it is apparent
that the Occupiers face several difficulties
in supporting their contentions that they will be rendered homeless
as a result of
the eviction. These difficulties are summarised as
follows;
27.1
Inasmuch as it is accepted that the
Occupiers’ occupation is unlawful and that they had occupied
the property for more than
six months, at the very least, they knew
as far back as June 2018, that the applicant sought to regularise
their tenancy and when
all else failed, to seek an order of eviction.
They had nonetheless steadfastly refused to engage the applicant in
any manner in
that regard.
27.2
It was further not in dispute that at some
point, the tenancy of the Occupiers was lawful and regularised. It
appears however that
they stopped paying rentals or for services just
prior to the applicant having taken over the transfer of the
property. Inasmuch
as the property might be in a dilapidated state
without basic services, of course this state of affairs will
continue, for as long
as the occupants refuse to or are unable to
make payments towards rentals or basic services. Be that as it may,
the mere fact that
the property is in a dilapidated state is not a
reason for not considering whether an order of eviction is just and
equitable.
In fact, that state of affairs gives more reason why such
an order should be favourably considered, especially if the condition
of the property is such that it is unsuitable for habitation.
27.3
Of crucial importance however, and a factor
that ought to dispel the Occupiers’ contentions that they are
poverty stricken
and thus unable to pay rentals, is that in this
hearing, their own representative had for the first time, submitted
that they were
willing to pay rent in the range of between R3000.00 –
R3500.00. It was further submitted that the reason payments were not
made in the first instance was that they did not know who to pay to
in the light of their contention that ownership of the property
was
in dispute.
27.4
It has already been concluded that the
dispute pertaining to the ownership of the property is baseless, and
indeed the applicant
is its rightful owner. The Occupiers’
contention therefore that they did not know to whom payments for
rental or services
were to be made is a complete red-herring.
27.5
Furthermore, since they are willing and
able to pay, there can be no substance to their principal contention
that they cannot afford
to pay for alternative accommodation, which
in any event, little detail was provided in the answering affidavit
in regards to whether
any attempts were made to seek such
accommodation.
27.6
On the contrary, the Occupiers’
revelations in fact fortifies the COJ report and its conclusions that
indeed the Occupiers
were in a position to find alternative
accommodation on their own, and had merely pleaded indigence and
homelessness, in order
to benefit from the provisions of a TEA, since
it was an available recourse well established by the courts.
27.7
To the extent that no case was made to
demonstrate that the Occupiers will be rendered homeless by an
eviction order, the COJ’s
constitutional obligation to provide
TEA to the unlawful Occupiers could not in any event have been
triggered. It is therefore
correct for the COJ to have concluded that
they could not have qualified for TEA, and even if they did, to
accommodate them given
their own personal circumstances would have
amounted to an abuse of the system, which is essentially meant for
truly deserving
evictees.
27.8
To the extent that the Occupiers had
disclosed that they were willing to make payments, it was also
correctly pointed out on behalf
of the applicant that what the
Occupiers are effectively engaged in, is akin to a ‘rent
boycott’. In such circumstances,
to the extent that they had
complained about the living conditions in the property, and since
they are indeed in a position to
pay rent but are unwilling to do so,
the applicant was equally correct in pointing out that this was more
the reason to either
vacate the property and find alternative
accommodation, or where they sought an improvement in their living
conditions, to pay
their rentals. To that end, it is clear that the
applicant has discharged its onus entitling it to a conclusion that
an eviction
order would be just and equitable, whilst at the same
time, the Occupiers had failed to discharge the onus placed on them
that
an eviction order will render them homeless.
[28]
A worrying feature in this case is that the
Occupiers have demonstrated a lack of
bona
fides
in opposing this application.
They failed, or deliberately omitted to place all the relevant facts
pertaining to their personal
information and circumstances before the
Court, and as indicated in the report, some of them even refused to
fully cooperate when
an assessment was done. Any information they had
provided in the answering affidavit was wholly and deliberately
insufficient for
the purposes of establishing any harm that would be
suffered by them in the event of their eviction from the property.
Only in
these proceedings did they reveal the extent of their
personal circumstances, which clearly demonstrates that any
allegations of
homelessness or poverty was indeed a mere ruse, with
the objectives of either preventing their eviction or obtaining the
benefits
of a TEA. At worst, they sought to mislead this Court, which
conduct ought to be frowned upon.
Conclusions:
[29]
In the end, the Court is satisfied that
based on all the information about the Occupiers placed before it,
the requirements of section 4 of the PIE Act have been
satisfied, and the Occupiers have not raised any sustainable or valid
defence
to an eviction order. It follows that upon a consideration of
what is just and equitable, an eviction order in terms of section
4(8) of the PIE Act ought to be granted.
[30]
Further
in
line with the approaches set out in both
Dwele
v Phalatse and Others
[11]
and
City
of Johannesburg v Changing Tides 74 (Pty) Ltd and Others
[12]
,
it is accepted that when granting an eviction order, the Court
must
in terms of section 4(8)(a) of the PIE Act, determine a just and
equitable date, on which the Occupiers must vacate the premises,
and
that further in terms of section 4(12) of the PIE Act, the Court may
attach reasonable conditions to an eviction order. This
in my view is
part of an exercise of a balancing act,
between
the interests of the applicant as lawful owner of the property, and
those of the Occupiers, in the light of the protections
enjoyed by
the disputing parties under sections 25 and 26 of the
Constitution
[13]
.
[31]
In determining what a just and equitable
date ought to be, the Court has taken account that despite the
Occupiers having occupied
the property for over prolonged periods,
the applicant nonetheless has since assumed ownership of the
property. As at the hearing
of this matter, it had been four years
that the Occupiers had not only refused to pay rental (for
unjustifiable reasons), but had
also refused to vacate the property.
This is in circumstances where they had conceded that they were in a
position to pay rent,
and thus, are further in a position where they
were able to secure alternative accommodation.
[32]
To the extent that that Occupiers have
indicated that they are willing and are in a position to pay rent
towards their occupation,
this factor and other considerations
therefore dictate that a just and equitable order should afford the
Occupiers a period within
which to agree on terms with the applicant
related to the regularisation of their tenancy, and where attempts
fail in that regard,
an order of eviction should take effect. It is
along these lines that I propose to make the following order;
Order:
1.
The First to Eleventh Respondents
(Occupiers) and the applicant, are ordered to within one week of
receipt of a copy of this judgment
and order, to enter into
discussions with a view of regularising the tenancy of the First to
Eleventh Respondent in the property
situate at:
Flat 108, 119,213, 220,
310, 316, 317, 403, 4158 8418 Rockview Heights, 20 Percy Road,
Yeoville Johannesburg.
2.
Should the parties in accordance with order
(1) be unable to reach any form of agreement in regards to the above,
the First to Eleventh
Respondents shall be evicted from the said
property, effective from 30 June 2022.
3.
In the event that the First to Eleventh
Respondents do not vacate the property on 30 June 2022, the Sheriff
of the Court or his
lawfully appointed Deputy is authorised and
directed to evict the First to Eleventh Respondents from the
property.
4.
The names of any Respondents established by
the Sheriff or his lawfully appointed Deputy shall incorporated
herein as the Thirteenth
(and further) Respondents.
5.
The First to Eleventh Respondents are to
pay the costs of this application, including the costs of the
applications in terms of
Part A hereof and in terms of Section 4(2)
of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of
Land Act, but
only to the extent that orders 2, 3 and 4 as above are
given effect to.
Edwin
Tlhotlhalemaje
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
Delivered:
This judgment was prepared and authored by the Judge whose name is
reflected and is handed down electronically by circulation
to the
Parties/their legal representatives by email and by uploading it to
the electronic file of this matter on CaseLines. The
date for
hand-down is deemed to be
13
April
2022.
Heard
on : 24 & 25 January 2022 (
Via
Microsoft Teams)
Delivered:
13 April 2022
Appearances:
For the
Applicant:
Adv. L. Peter, instructed by Vermaak and Partners INC.
For
the 1
st
& 11
th
Respondents:
In Person.
(Founding affidavit filed
and presented by Precious Muleya INC Attorneys (Since withdrew);
Heads of Argument drawn
by Adv. Mpho Sebopa) (Since withdrew)
For the 12
th
Respondent:
Mr S. Singende of Kunene Stanford Singende Attorneys.
[1]
Act
No. 19 of 1998
[2]
The
property is more fully described as:
UNITS
108, 119, 213, 220, 310, 316, 317, 403, 415B 8 418 Sectional Title
Scheme SS Rockview Heights, Scheme Number 88/1986 Held
Under Title
Deed Number: ST16759/2018
[3]
See
Dwele
v Phalatse and Others
(11112/15)
[2017] ZAGPJHC 146 (7 June 2017) at para 8 where it was held;
“…
It
is trite that the best evidence for proof of ownership of immovable
property is the Title Deed. See
Goudini Chrome (Pty) Ltd v. MCC
Contracts (Pty) Ltd
[1992] ZASCA 208
;
1993 (1) SA 77
(A) at
82, where it was held that:
“
The
best evidence of ownership of immovable property is the Title Deed
to it (
R v. Nhlanhla
1960 (3) 568 (T) at 570 D – H;
G
emeenskapsontwikkelingsraad v Williams and Others
(1)
1977
(2) SA 692
(W) at 696 H; Hoffmann and Zeffertt, The South African
Law of Evidence 4
th
Ed at 391 – 2). A Title Deed
conforms to the precondition specified for a public document (cf
Hoffmann and Zeffertt (op
cit at 150); Schmidt Bewysreg 3
rd
Ed at 331). A public document is admissible in evidence, according
to s 18 of the Civil Proceedings Evidence Act 25 of 1965,
if a copy
thereof is produced which purports to be signed and certified as a
true copy or an extract from the relevant register
by the officer to
whom custody of the original is entrusted.””
[4]
The
relevant sub-sections of section 4 are as follows;
(7)
If an unlawful occupier has occupied the land in question for more
than six
months at the time when the proceedings are initiated, a
court may grant an order for eviction if it is of the opinion that
it
is just and equitable to do so, after considering all the
relevant circumstances, including, except where the land sold in a
sale of execution pursuant to a mortgage, where the land has been
made available or can reasonably be made available by a municipality
or other Organ of State or another landowner for the relocation of
the unlawful occupier, and including the rights and needs
of the
elderly, children, disabled persons and households headed by women.
(8)
If the court is satisfied that all the requirements of this section
had been
complied with and that no valid defence has been raised by
the unlawful occupier, it must grant an order for the eviction of
the unlawful occupier, and determine-
(a)
a just and equitable date on which the unlawful occupier must
vacate the land under the circumstances; and
(b)
the date on which an eviction order may be carried out if the
unlawful occupier has not vacated the land on the date contemplated
in paragraph (a).
(9)
In determining a just and equitable date contemplated in sub-section
(8),
the court must have regard to all relevant factors, including
the period the unlawful occupier and his or his family have resided
on the land question.
[5]
At
para 20
[6]
(CCT108/16)
[2017] ZACC 18
;
2017 (8) BCLR 1015
(CC);
2017 (5) SA 346
(CC); See
also
City
of Johannesburg v Changing Tides 74 (Pty) Ltd and Others
(SCA)
[2012] ZASCA 116
;
2012 (6) SA 294
(SCA);
2012 (11) BCLR 1206
(SCA);
[2013] 1 All SA 8
(SCA) at para 12
[7]
Immigration
Act No 13 of 2002
[8]
See
The
Occupiers, Shulana Court,11 Hendon Road, Yeoville v Mark Lewis
Steele
2010
(9) BCLR 911
(SCA)
(‘Shulana’
);
Occupiers
of Erf 101, 102, 104 and 112 Shorts Retreat, Pietermaritzburg v
Daisy Dear Investments (Pty) Ltd
2010
(4) BCLR 354 (SCA)
[9]
Shulana
at
para 16.
[10]
City
of Johannesburg v Changing Tides 74 (Pty) Ltd
(
supra)
[11]
supra
[12]
At
para 25
[13]
Port
Elizabeth Municipality v Various Occupiers
(CCT 53/03)
[2004] ZACC 7
;
2005 (1) SA 217
(CC);
2004 (12) BCLR 1268
(CC)
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