HOW TO HANDLE UNLAWFUL LAND INVASION

Someone is invading my property – what should I do?

When someone invades your property, you have rights! It is imperative that you act immediately. This will avoid extremely high legal costs and if done as fast as possible, one could avoid escalation of the invasion and avoid unnecessary evictions and related costs.

To avoid land invasions, one must obtain an interdict in the High Court by way of an application. It is a tricky application but possible when done correctly.

The application is heard on an urgent basis which allows one to act outside the scope of the Court rules. One will obtain an interim order which will interdict and restrain people from unlawfully occupying your property. The order will then be served on the invaders or intended invaders. They will be given a return date to go to court and indicate why the order must not be made final.

The intention of the application is only to prohibit people from proceeding to occupy your property, vandalizing or damaging it, entering or being on the property, erecting, completing or extending any structures on the property and lastly, intimidating, threatening, harassing, assaulting or in any way interfering with the owners’ rights to utilise their own property.

When you have an interim order and then later the final order, the Sheriff of the Court and/or the South African Police Service will be authorised to immediately remove any person found to be in contravention of the order, demolish any unoccupied structures on the property and remove their possessions and or building materials.

Do not threaten or approach the invaders yourself. You do not want to be on the wrong side of the law by taking matters in your own hands.

It is important to remember that a land invasion application IS NOT AN EVICTION APPLICATION! A land invasion application is used when you want to obtain an interdict to prohibit someone from invading your property. An eviction application is used to legally evict someone when they already illegally occupy your property – this is done in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, No 19 of 1998 (PIE). One will also not be entitled to demolish any occupied structures.

Should you require any assistance with a land invasion application, contact us on 021 824 2024 or litigation@smutsco.co.za immediately to assist you with the application.