Matjila v The State (A642/2017) [2022] ZAGPPHC 602 (11 August 2022)

Matjila v The State (A642/2017) [2022] ZAGPPHC 602 (11 August 2022)

The court held that the applicant's right to occupy and protect the family home, rooted in a family rights agreement and supported by administrative findings, must be recognised and protected. The common law model of individual ownership is insufficient to address the realities of family homes in South Africa, especially where customary law and administrative processes have conferred collective rights. The Constitution obliges the development of property law to accommodate such rights and to promote security of tenure. The Registrar of Deeds is ordered to transfer the property to the applicant as custodian, with a caveat noting its status as a family home. The executor is interdicted from...

Citation
[2022] ZAGPPHC 602
Parties
Applicant: Shomang, Irene; Respondent: Motsose, Isaac N.O.; Respondent: Director-General of Department of Human Settlement, Gauteng Province; Respondent: MEC of the Department of Human Settlement, Gauteng Province; Respondent: City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality; Respondent: Registrar of Deeds: Johannesburg; Respondent: Master of the High Court: Johannesburg
Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
11 August 2022
Case Number
A642/2017
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Unopposed Motion Roll; Final Judgment
Outcome
Application granted; orders issued in favour of the applicant.
Judges
du Plessis
Legal Topics
Conversion of Land Tenure Rights, Customary Law Property Rights, Family Home Agreements, Deeds Registries Act, Security of Tenure, Section 25 Constitution
Land and Property Civil Procedure Constitutional Law Conversion of Land Tenure Rights Customary Law Property Rights Family Home Agreements Deeds Registries Act Security of Tenure +1 more

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Parties

Shomang, Irene

Applicant

Motsose, Isaac N.O.

Respondent

Director-General of Department of Human Settlement, Gauteng Province

Respondent

MEC of the Department of Human Settlement, Gauteng Province

Respondent

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Respondent

Registrar of Deeds: Johannesburg

Respondent

Master of the High Court: Johannesburg

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Unopposed Motion Roll; Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicant's rights to occupy and protect the family home override the registered ownership of the property.
  2. 2 Whether the Registrar of Deeds should cancel the existing title deed and transfer ownership to the applicant as custodian of the family house.
  3. 3 How customary law and common law norms regarding family homes should be reconciled in the context of property registration and succession.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the applicant's right to occupy and protect the family home, rooted in a family rights agreement and supported by administrative findings, must be recognised and protected. The common law model of individual ownership is insufficient to address the realities of family homes in South Africa, especially where customary law and administrative processes have conferred collective rights. The Constitution obliges the development of property law to accommodate such rights and to promote security of tenure. The Registrar of Deeds is ordered to transfer the property to the applicant as custodian, with a caveat noting its status as a family home. The executor is interdicted from...

Court Disposition

Application granted; orders issued in favour of the applicant.

Orders

  • It is declared that the property known as ERF [....] held in Title Deed No: T[....] is subject to a family rights agreement imposed by adjudication judgment dated 29 April 2016.
  • The Registrar of Deeds is ordered to transfer the property held in Title Deed No: T[....], currently registered in the name of Johannes Moloi, into the name of Irene Shomang as custodian of the family house, with a caveat on the title deed noting its status as a family home.