Van der Merwe NO and Others v Stoffels and Others

The applicants are trustees and entities owning and operating Ruigtevlei Farm in the Western Cape. The respondents are members of the extended Stoffels family who have lived on the farm for many years. The first respondent was employed as a farmworker from 2006 until his dismissal in March 2020, after which the applicants sought to terminate the respondents’ rights of residence and evict them under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA). The respondents include vulnerable persons: individuals with epilepsy, respiratory illness caused by pesticide exposure, paralysis following a stroke, a visually impaired child, and minor children. The Worcester Magistrates’ Court granted an eviction order in December 2024. That order came before the Land Court on automatic review under section 19(3) of ESTA. The respondents contended that eviction would render them homeless and that their rights of residence did not all derive solely from the first respondent’s employment.

The eviction order granted by the Worcester Magistrates’ Court on 12 December 2024 was set aside. The matter was referred to mediation under section 11(2)(b) of ESTA, to be concluded within six months. The Breedevalley Municipality and the Provincial Director of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development were ordered to participate meaningfully in mediation and provide housing-related information. Pending mediation and any further proceedings, the respondents were permitted to remain in occupation. No costs order was made.

This judgment reinforces the substantive nature of the ‘just and equitable’ inquiry in ESTA evictions and confirms that courts must go beyond procedural compliance. It clarifies that occupiers’ rights of residence must be assessed individually and cannot automatically be extinguished through the termination of another household member’s employment. The case also highlights the constitutional balancing required between property rights and housing and tenure-security rights, and affirms the important role of mediation—especially where eviction may lead to homelessness and where state actors bear constitutional housing obligations.