Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing. The government must take reasonable steps within its available resources to provide people with housing and access to land.

The fact that it is the government’s duty only to provide housing ‘within its available resources’ means that the right to provide housing is limited to what the government can afford. The Constitutional Court has stated that there are three parts that make up the government’s obligation to provide housing:

• What are reasonable measures that the government should take
• What steps should government take to steadily implement this right in stages over time
• What resources are available to make this possible

Evictions

This section protects people from being evicted from their homes or from having their homes demolished unless a court has heard the person’s case and decided that he or she must leave. In this case the court must give an eviction court order.

(See: Extension of Security of Tenure Act [ESTA])

(See: Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act [PIE])