We have received numerous requests from clients to assist in opposing labour tenant claims made against their properties. Many such claims in terms of sections 16 and 17 of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 1996 (Act No. 3 of 1996), have recently been served, and will no doubt still be served by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. In addition to this we have also been notified that the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has been visiting farms with alleged claimants, often without notification to the landowner.
If you receive one of these notifications informing you of a land claim, which will usually arrive by registered post, you are required to respond within 30 days of the date of the notification, to either admit or deny that the claimants are or were labour tenants.
In the event that you deny that they are or were labour tenants on your property, you will also be required to provide reasons for such denial, failing which you will be deemed to have accepted that the claimants are or were labour tenants on your property.
Should you require any assistance with a labour tenant claim, please contact us urgently on either +27 33 266 6170, or ad***@ma****.za