New bill proposes jail time for illegal informal settlements

A bill before parliament that would allow for the eviction and criminalisation of people in informal settlements is gaining traction as the housing crisis in South Africa worsens. 

This is according to the Democratic Alliance (DA), who tabled the amendments to the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (PIE), in May this year. 

The DA said it is in talks with several other parties to implement the bill. This follows recent controversy in Gauteng, when Premier Panyaza Lesufi threatened forced removals throughout the province. 

Lesufi said that the provincial government plans to demolish illegal informal settlements in 2 am raids, particularly those occupied by undocumented foreign nationals.

The Gauteng Provincial Government recently found that 400 new informal settlements are emerging across the province. 

A recent statement emphasised the need for coordinated action to prevent more informal settlements, adding that “proactive measures will be taken to halt further land invasions.”

Lesufi’s remarks were widely criticised, with the South African Human Rights Commission saying that this conduct is “inhumane, degrading and dangerous.”

The commission said that Lesufi showed a blatant disregard of the PIE Act. “These are not operational guidelines; they are binding legal obligations,” the commission said. 

“Eviction must never be a pathway to destitution. It must never be used as a tool of exclusion or punishment. It must be governed by compassion, legality, and justice.”

The DA has now announced that land invasion is a matter of national urgency and that the proposed amendments to the bill are the only immediate solution to the problem.

Criminal syndicates that illegally “sell” land that cannot be lived on are often behind these land invasions, according to the DA. These criminal groups pocket the money and disappear. 

“The Bill’s purpose is to take on the criminal syndicates and political opportunists who prey on people’s desperation,” said Luyolo Mphithi, DA Spokesperson on Human Settlements. 

Gauteng has more than 1000 informal settlements, many without water, sanitation or electricity. Municipalities are forced to divert housing budgets to contain this fallout. 

A matter of national urgency

The PIE Act requires land owners to apply to the court to have illegal occupiers evicted. It requires that evictions be conducted fairly, without discrimination against an individual or group, such as non-nationals. 

It also requires that the state provide temporary alternative accommodation if the illegal occupiers are unable to secure their own.

The DA said this leads to “queue-jumping” for affordable housing, dispossessing vulnerable people who are waiting for housing. 

The proposed changes to the bill would criminalise the incitement of illegal land invasions, imposing five years of jail time for illegal land occupation. 

It would extend the criteria that courts must consider before granting an order for the state to provide alternative accommodation.

Finally, it requires the court to provide a specific timeframe for municipalities providing alternative accommodation. 

When the bill was tabled in the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements in May, several parties, including the ANC, the EFF, and UMkhonto weSizwe, rejected the bill.

They said the amendments failed to acknowledge the historical context of land dispossession and the structural causes of landlessness in South Africa. 

The proposed five-year sentence was criticised as overly punitive, and concerns were raised that this would criminalise the most vulnerable people without addressing housing backlogs and failures in land redistribution. 

The Parliament committee decided not to vote on the amendments, as the Department of Human Settlements said that it was already working on amendments to the bill and the DA said it would gather public submissions. 

The DA said that waiting for the department to make changes to the bill would take anywhere between four to five years, with South Africa only seeing changes in 2030.

“This is far too late for municipalities already buckling under the pressure of land invasions,” said Mphithi. 

Lesufi’s recent statements indicate that the DA could be garnering additional support for the amendments.

“If Parliament does not act, the crisis of syndicate-driven land grabs will spiral even further. The DA calls on all parties to put South Africa first and support these crucial reforms,” said Mphithi.