Kanaan Trust and Others v Bester and Others (Automatic Review)

The applicants, comprising the owner trust of a farm and its lessee farming company, sought eviction of the first to fourth respondents from a farmhouse under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA). The respondents had lived on the farm since the early 1990s with consent of the previous owner, primarily linked to employment. The first and second respondents worked for the former owner until 2018, when the farm changed ownership. The first respondent declined new employment offered by the fifth applicant, and the second respondent declined alternative work due to ill health. Notices terminating the right of occupation were served in 2021. The Magistrate’s Court granted eviction on the basis that occupation arose solely from employment and that ESTA requirements were met. The matter came before the Land Claims Court on automatic review.

The eviction order granted by the Worcester Magistrate’s Court was reviewed and set aside. Eviction of the respondents was refused.

The case reinforces the stringent substantive and procedural protections afforded to occupiers under ESTA, particularly long-term occupiers and women whose rights are independent of their spouses. It underscores the duty of courts to properly balance competing rights, consider homelessness and children’s rights, and to apply sections 8, 9 and 10 of ESTA in a constitutionally compliant manner.