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Resource Guides

Relocating to AA picRelocations have the potential to severely disrupt peoples’ lives and negatively impact their livelihoods, community relations and sense of security. To make sure this doesn’t happen, the relocation process should be carefully planned, well-run and participatory. SERI developed this set of legal and practical guidelines to assist those involved in the relocation process to navigate the complexities involved in planning for and carrying out a relocation. The guidelines present an approach to relocations based on SERI’s experience in planning and managing relocations to alternative housing and draw on international and local experience. The guidelines offer practical guidance on how to ensure that relocations are carried out in a way that respects the constitutional rights of the people being relocated. This guide was written by Michael Clark and Lauren Royston.

 

  

This is a user-friendly guide that explains the rights of farm dwellers and the law in relation to evictions from farmland. It gives advice on how farm dwellers can navigate the legal processes involved in eviction proceedings and practically resist evictions. It is a resource for farm dwellers facing eviction from their homes, as well as for farm worker unions, community-based paralegals and lawyers. The guide was developed by SERI and the Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU), and written by Tim Fish Hodgson and Dasantha Pillay.

The guide is also available in Afrikaans.

The guide is also accompanied by five information sheets available in English, Afrikaans and IsiXhosa:

 

SalesInExecThis guide explains the sale-in-execution process and sets out what steps homeowners can take to avoid their houses being sold in execution. Courts are legally required to make sure that sales-in-execution follow the proper legal process and that the interests of both homeowners and banks are balanced and protected. The laws which regulate sales-in-execution are complex and come from many sources. This guide will help homeowners prevent sales-in-execution before they happen. It will also help homeowners oppose sales in execution if the process to repossess their home is already underway, or if they have already lost their homes. This guide is a resource for individuals and households who are facing the threat of a sale in execution of their homes, as well as for community-based paralegals and lawyers who deal with sales in execution of people’s homes or bank repossessions. This guide was written by Michael Clark.

Resisting Evictions FINALThis guide explains your rights and the law regarding evictions, and gives practical advice on how to resist them. It is a resource for individuals, households and communities who are facing eviction from their homes, as well as for community-based paralegals, CBOs, social movements etc. The guide covers a number of different issues: what is an eviction, what the law says about evictions, when an eviction is unlawful, the lawful process for an eviction, how to oppose a lawful eviction, and how to resist an unlawful eviction. It is one of the resources in the Dear Mandela Toolkit, aimed at informing individuals, communities and CBOs of their rights.

 

 

This guide was developed by SERI and the Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) based at Wits University, and is meant to help tenants. It is structured in three sections which cover the start, duration and end of the landlord-tenant relationship. In each of these sections there are a number of questions which tenants have often asked SERI or CUBES when they have come to us for support. The answers provided are meant to assist tenants to protect themselves against unfair and illegal conduct by landlords and to understand when the law says that a tenant is acting unfairly and illegally.

 

This booklet was developed because of difficulties faced trying to access laws and regulations on landlord-tenant relations and rental housing in South Africa. It includes the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 and the Gauteng Unfair Practices Regulations, 2001, which are printed in full together with some guidelines to help readers navigate the content. The booklet is meant to be a companion to another SERI guide: A Tenant’s Guide to Rental Housing. The contents of both booklets have been approved by a lawyer who specialises in housing law. The booklet also provides summaries of two important Constitutional Court judgments which relate to rent increases and unfair lease terminations (Maphango), and electricity disconnections and notice (Joseph). It also summarises a recent decision of the Rental Housing Tribunal on electricity service charges (Jele).

 

This guide was developed by SERI and the Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) based at Wits University. The law relating to sectional title schemes can be quite confusing. This guide tries to provide a brief description and explanation of the main legal issues that those involved in sectional title schemes should be aware of. This guide is structured in two sections. The first section deals with a number of key questions that are commonly raised by people involved in sectional title schemes. The answers provided are meant to assist sectional title owners, trustees and body corporates to better understand the legal rules that apply to sectional title schemes. The second section lays out how certain disputes and challenges that come up in sectional title schemes should be dealt with.

 

This resource guide aims to provide a simplified yet comprehensive overview of legislation, policy, programmes and practice relating to basic sanitation in South Africa. The guide focuses on access to household sanitation by poor communities. While some progress has been made since 1994 in terms of the provision of basic sanitation, challenges remain in the formulation and implementation of policy by municipalities. The guide does not claim to be an exhaustive analysis of legislation, policy and practice; however aims to outline the legislative and policy framework, highlight key challenges faced by various departments and communities, and provide a tool for those working on sanitation issues in South Africa e.g. social movements, community-based organisations (CBOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), lawyers, development practitioners, planners, government officials, academics, scholars etc. This guide was written by Kate Tissington.

This resource guide provides an overview of housing legislation, jurisprudence, policy, programmes and practice in South Africa since 1994. As with other socio-economic rights, the legislative and policy framework created by national government around housing is in fact quite progressive. However, implementation to date has been skewed and unable to address the land, housing and basic services needs of millions of poor South Africans who still lack adequate housing and access to water, sanitation and electricity. The report explicitly focuses on access to housing in the urban context. It provides a simplified yet comprehensive guide to policies, legislation, jurisprudence and practice in relation to urban housing in South Africa, which will hopefully be useful to a wide audience that includes social movements, CBOs, NGOs, lawyers, development practitioners, planners, government officials, academics, scholars etc. This guide was written by Kate Tissington.