P4 Boerdery (Pty) Ltd v Unknown Persons at Portion 2 of the Farm Welgedacht 3349 G.S., Normandien and Others

The applicant, P4 Boerdery (Pty) Ltd, acquired ownership of Portion 2 of the Farm Welgedacht in October 2023, having leased and farmed it commercially since 2022. A homestead on the farm had historically been occupied by a former farm worker, Mr J Zwane, who died in 2020. The applicant alleged the homestead thereafter remained vacant. In April 2024, family members of the late Zwane, including his daughter (the second respondent), entered the farm, stayed over at the homestead and grazed cattle, asserting rights derived from an existing labour tenancy claim under the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996 (pending under case LCC 271/2022). The applicant brought an urgent application seeking restoration of vacant possession and an interdict against occupation, alleging unlawful spoliation and an attempt to establish permanent residence to advance the labour tenancy claim. The respondents contended that they had long-standing rights to use the homestead intermittently for overnight stays to tend cattle and denied any intention of permanent occupation.

An interim order was granted interdicting the respondents from permanently residing in the homestead, while permitting regulated temporary overnight occupation for purposes of tending cattle, subject to detailed conditions. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.

The case illustrates the Land Court’s flexible, equity-based approach to interim relief where labour tenancy claims are pending. It underscores that ownership and possession rights are constrained by the Labour Tenants Act, and that courts will craft practical interim arrangements to balance landowners’ property interests with alleged labour tenants’ use rights without prejudging the main dispute.