What are the different legal ways for our community to get land, housing and services?

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) guides how land is used and managed. It defines the role that municipalities must follow in developing and implementing a Land Use Scheme (LUS) which includes making land available where people can settle and have secure tenure. SPLUMA aims to address historical spatial imbalances and promote sustainable development in planning.

But the laws alone will not deliver land or housing. Communities must also take the initiative to ensure that they get their rights. For example, in the Grootboom case, the Cape High Court and the Constitutional Court dealt with the obligations of the government regarding the right of access to adequate housing. The Court said the state must provide the children and their parents with shelter until their parents were able to shelter their own children. The bare minimum kind of shelter included tents, portable toilets and a regular supply of water. The Constitutional Court said all spheres of government (national, provincial and local) had a duty to have a plan and a programme in place to care for the needs of homeless people.

The Integrated Development Plan of a local authority must include measures that will help to create housing and must provide for homeless people and those most in need of shelter and housing. (See Drawing up an Integrated Development Plan)

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Community organisations can ask for a meeting with the local authority in the area. They can also contact the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development. Then they can discuss finding land and setting up services. Community leaders can also ask to be provided with the local authority’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) which shows how job creation, housing and services in the area are going to be facilitated. (See Lobbying [campaigning and petitioning])