Applying ESTA to property in an urban area

The Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act 62 of 1997), or ESTA, provides protection to people who have permission (expressly or tacitly) to reside on land owned by another person.

- By Clarissa Pienaar, Moolman & Pienaar Incorporated

Section 2 of ESTA stipulates that the Act applies to all land, except to land within a town that has been established, approved, proclaimed or otherwise recognised under a law, or surrounded by such a town or towns, but including, inter alia, land in such a town that has been designated for agricultural purposes under a specific law.

Therefore, land surrounded by a town or towns falls outside the scope of ESTA, unless designated for agricultural purposes under a specific law. In such cases, a person who resides on the land enjoys substantive protection under ESTA, and any attempt to terminate their right of occupancy must strictly adhere to the provisions of the Act.

The Stemmet case

In the case of Pieters and Another vs Stemmet and Another 2025 JDR 2028 (SCA) (the Stemmet case), the Supreme Court of Appeal was tasked with determining whether the property occupied by the appellants does fall within an urban area and is not designated for agricultural purposes under any law. If so, the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, 1998 (Act 19 of 1998), or the PIE, would apply.