Jones and Others v Sutherland and Another

The appellants, an elderly couple and their mentally disabled adult daughter, occupied Portion 40 of the Farm Witkoppie 373 IR, Midvaal, Gauteng, owned by the respondents. Their occupation arose from a one-year verbal lease concluded in July 2013 at a rental of R6 000 per month. From November 2013 onward the appellants ceased paying rent and remained in occupation rent-free for almost six years. The respondents attempted on several occasions to terminate the lease and obtain vacant possession, during which period there were allegations of misconduct and vandalism by both sides. Mr Sutherland was convicted of malicious damage to property relating to some of these incidents. Notices terminating the lease and notices of intention to evict in terms of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA) were eventually properly served. Reports by a social worker and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform indicated that the appellants were living in poor conditions on the farm and that alternative accommodation, particularly in old age homes, was potentially available. The Magistrates’ Court granted an eviction order, which was confirmed on automatic review by the Land Claims Court. The appellants appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed. The appellants were ordered to vacate Portion 40 of the Farm Witkoppie 373 IR, Midvaal, Gauteng, by no later than 29 February 2020, failing which the sheriff was authorised to evict them. No order as to costs was made.

The case clarifies the relationship between sections 8, 9 and 11 of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, confirming that lawful and just termination of the right of residence under section 8 is a prerequisite to eviction even where occupation ends by effluxion of time. It illustrates how courts balance occupiers’ security of tenure and dignity against landowners’ property rights, particularly in circumstances involving elderly and vulnerable occupiers. The judgment reinforces that ESTA does not permit indefinite rent-free occupation and that alternative accommodation need not meet an occupier’s personal preferences.