Landlords will now require a court order to effect evictions for the remainder of the lockdown, regulations published in the government gazette show.
Municipalities, who want to evict people from occupied land, will also require a court order to demolish structures, the regulations show.
These regulations were signed by Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Sunday.
The amendment of regulations follows a number of municipalities including the City of Johannesburg and Cape Town, whose land invasion units had demolished shacks which were occupied during the lockdown.
It also follows complaints from distressed South Africans who have had their salaries cut by employers after trading conditions became difficult after March, when the country went into a hard lockdown which forced many industries and sectors to close.
Dlamini-Zuma said: “A person may not be evicted from his or her land or home or have his or her place of residence demolished for the duration of the national state of disaster unless a competent court has granted an order authorising the eviction or demolition."
The regulations said a court may suspend an eviction or demolition order until after the termination of the national state of disaster, unless if the court was of the opinion that it is not just to suspend the order.
It was considered unfair practice to evict a tenant if the landlord had failed to “provide reasonable notice and an opportunity to make representations” while imposing a penalty for late payment where the default had been caused by the lockdown or the state of disaster, was unfair.
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