Durban mayor calls for special courts to tackle land invasions
The proposal was introduced due to growing concerns among property owners who struggle to reclaim hijacked land or buildings.
THE mayor of Durban, Cyril Xaba has called for the establishment of special courts to address the growing problem of land invasions and property hijackings.
In a meeting on Tuesday (April 29) Xaba said he had approached Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, with the proposal, citing growing concern among property owners who struggle to reclaim hijacked land or buildings through existing legal processes.
“This process requires court supervision, which does not come cheap. In many townships and suburbs, properties are still registered in the names of original owners who are now deceased. The problem is compounded by the fact that many did not leave wills, which further complicates the transfer of ownership,” Xaba said.
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He indicated that some of these properties have fallen prey to criminal syndicates, who hijack them and unlawfully collect rent from tenants.
“I strongly believe that special courts can ameliorate the situation and make the administration of justice more accessible, similar to municipal courts that deal with traffic violations and commercial courts,” he said.
Xaba added that in efforts to partially address the challenge, the municipality has implemented a Deceased Estate Debt Write-Off Programme.
Through this initiative, the municipality has written off more than R500m in debt owed by deceased estates.
“We introduced this programme because it was difficult to collect rates from properties registered under deceased estates.”
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The policy applies to properties valued under R1m, and the deceased estate must have been at least 24 months as at the policy’s approval in August 2024.
A key condition is that family members must agree on who will take responsibility for municipal accounts to prevent the re-accumulation of debt.
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