CONVERSION OF LAND TENURE RIGHTS INTO OWNERSHIP RIGHTS

The constitutional court ruled on 30 October 2018 in the case of Rahube v Rahube and Others (CCT319/17) [2018] ZACC 42; 2019 (1) BCLR 125 (CC); 2019 (2) SA 54 (CC) that, section 2(1) of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act 112 of 1991 (“The Principal Act”) is constitutionally invalid as it discriminates against women.

Fundamentally, Section 2(1) of the principal Act authorized automatic conversion of certain land tenure rights, such as Leaseholds and deeds of grant, into full ownership in respect of an erf or other piece of land in formalized townships that were established or deemed to have been established in terms of the Black Communities Development Act No. 4 of 1984 or Black Administration Act No. 38 of 1927 or section 15(1) of the Principal Act.

Under the apartheid regime, South African women, particularly those subject to customary laws, were considered minors who were dependent on their fathers, husbands, or brothers. Therefore, the said land tenure rights were granted in favor of men, excluding women. Consequently, the automatic conversion of the said land tenure rights into ownership resulted in arbitrary deprivation of property for women, which is a direct contravention of section 25(1) of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996.

The Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Amendment Act 6 of 2021 (“Amendment Act”) and its regulations on conversion of land tenure rights into ownership rights came into effect on 01 June 2024 to give effect to the said constitutional court ruling.

THE AMENDMENT ACT, INTER ALIA, AMENDED THE PRINCIPAL ACT BY MAKING THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS: –

• To provide for the application for conversion of land tenure rights to ownership.
• To provide for the notice of informing interested persons of an application to convert land tenure into ownership.
• To provide an opportunity for interested persons to object to the conversion of land tenure rights into ownership.
• To provide for the institution of inquiries to assist in the determination of land tenure rights.
• To provide for application to court by an aggrieved person for appropriate relief.
• To provide for the recognition of conversions that took effect in good faith in the past.
• To provide for matters connected therewith.

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