This is a Constitutional Court decision addressing whether a municipality may evict residents from their residences absent a court order when the residents needed to be temporarily removed for safety reasons and had not been restored to their residences after one year.
The Constitutional Court set aside the order of the High Court and declared that the residents were entitled to return to their homes as soon as possible. The parties were ordered to meet to determine how this restoration would occur and to report back to the High Court. Court fees were awarded to the petitioners.
The Constitutional Court held that a municipality may not use pretextual means for removing residents from their homes and that section 26(3) of the Constitution requires in all circumstances that a court order be issued if residents are to be evicted from their homes; eviction cannot occur as a result of other circumstances absent a court order.
(Updated August 2015)