State tables amendments to act to provide more security for farm dwellers

Author: LINDA ENSOR

THE government has tabled legislative amendments in Parliament, which it says are intended to provide greater security for tenants on farms and to clarify who has a right to stay on them.

 
The Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment Bill aims to address weaknesses in the act by tightening up the overly broad definition of “occupier”; to provide clarity over what constitutes “residence” on a farm; and to impose clear obligations on the provision of alternative accommodation for those who have been evicted.

 
“Despite the existing legislation on evictions, land rights protection and land access programmes, a significant proportion of the population, including occupiers, still face insecure tenure and other forms of land rights violations including evictions from their homes,” the memorandum to the bill states.

 
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