City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality v Blue Moonlight Properties 39 (Pty) Ltd and Others

Blue Moonlight Properties 39 (Pty) Ltd owned commercial buildings at Saratoga Avenue, Johannesburg, which were unlawfully occupied for residential purposes by desperately poor occupiers, many of whom had lived there for years. The buildings were unsafe and non-compliant with health and fire regulations. Blue Moonlight sought eviction under PIE. The occupiers accepted they were unlawful occupiers but argued that eviction would render them homeless and that the City of Johannesburg had a constitutional duty under s 26 of the Constitution to provide them with temporary emergency accommodation. The City’s housing policy limited emergency accommodation to persons evicted by the City itself from unsafe buildings and excluded those evicted by private owners. The High Court ordered eviction, declared part of the City’s housing policy unconstitutional, and imposed obligations on the City to provide accommodation or monetary assistance. The City appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was largely dismissed. The eviction order was confirmed, but the City was ordered to provide temporary emergency accommodation to qualifying occupiers near the property. The City’s housing policy was declared unconstitutional to the extent that it excluded the occupiers. The High Court order was set aside and replaced with a substituted order reflecting these findings.

This case is a leading authority on municipal obligations in eviction cases involving private landowners. It confirms that municipalities have a direct constitutional duty to provide emergency accommodation to persons rendered homeless by eviction, regardless of whether eviction is initiated by the State or a private owner. It clarifies that municipalities may use their own resources to fulfil socio-economic rights and that housing policies must be reasonable, inclusive, and constitutionally compliant.