Ward 2 Development Forum

Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act

Properties3
descriptionA law, renewed every year, that stops people being deprived of informal rights to land without their consent. Its words cover beneficiaries of land held in trust by a public office holder, as Farm 39 is.
tagstheme/trancraa, lang/en
aliasesIPILRA, Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996

7 min read

A working page, open for review

This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this law, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the law in plain language, and it does not give legal advice or speak for the Forum, the municipality, or any other body. The official text, linked under At a glance, is what counts. Before you act on anything here, read the official text or ask the body named under Who to ask. To correct or add to this page, see How to Submit.

Questions for reviewers:

  1. For anyone with legal training: does paragraph (b) of the definition of “informal right to land” apply to residents of Farm 39, as this page reads it? Has a court said so for any TRANCRAA area?
  2. For the Genadendal Transformasie Komitee: has the Komitee relied on this Act, and may this page say so?
  3. Has the Minister published the yearly extension for 2027?

The Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, known as IPILRA, protects people who use or occupy land without a title deed or other formal right [IC]. It says that no one may be deprived of an informal right to land without their consent, except by expropriation [IC]. It was meant to be temporary, and the Minister has extended it every year since 1997; the current extension runs to 31 December 2026 [IC]. In the valley it matters because its definition of an informal right appears to cover people living on land the state holds in trust for them, as on Farm 39.

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

  • [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by the official text of the law, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
  • [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from one party’s own documents or statements. It has not been checked against other sources.
  • [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

Sentences without a tag under What it means in the valley are the Forum’s reading of how the rule could apply here. They are not legal advice.

At a glance

Full nameInterim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, 1996
CitationAct 31 of 1996
Made byParliament
Administered byThe national Minister responsible for land reform
In force since1996, extended each year; the latest extension (Government Notice 3549 of 10 October 2025) runs to 31 December 2026
Official textLawLibrary; 2025 extension notice

What it does

  • It defines an informal right to land. Section 1 lists three kinds [IC]:
    • use, occupation of, or access to land under customary law or practice, or under the custom or administrative practice of an area where the land was once held by the South African Development Trust or a homeland government;
    • “the right or interest in land of a beneficiary under a trust arrangement in terms of which the trustee is a body or functionary established or appointed by or under an Act of Parliament or the holder of a public office”;
    • beneficial occupation of land for a continuous period of at least five years before 31 December 1997.
  • It protects those rights. Under section 2, no one may be deprived of an informal right to land without their consent, subject to the law on expropriation [IC]. Where land is held on a communal basis, a person may be deprived of a right in accordance with the community’s custom and usage, but only by a decision of a majority of the holders of rights, taken at a meeting of which they had proper notice and a chance to take part, and with appropriate compensation [IC].
  • It binds the state. Section 5 says the Act binds all persons, including the State [IC].
  • It lapses unless renewed. The Act was to lapse at the end of 1997, and the Minister may extend it for up to twelve months at a time [IC]. It has been renewed every year, most recently to 31 December 2026 [IC].

What it means in the valley

On Farm 39. The national Minister responsible for land reform holds the Remainder of Farm 39 in trust for its residents [IC]. A Minister is the holder of a public office. Read word for word, paragraph (b) of the definition covers the rights of the beneficiaries of that trust, so residents’ use and occupation of Farm 39 land would be informal rights to land under this Act. If that reading is right, no one could take those rights away without the holder’s consent, or a majority decision of the right-holders taken in the way section 2 sets out. A lawyer should confirm this reading before anyone relies on it, and no court decision applying it to Farm 39 has been found [TBV].

For people who settled later. The third kind of informal right, five years of occupation before the end of 1997, does not reach people who settled after 1992. Whether people who came to Farm 39 later, including in Madiba Park, hold informal rights under the trust paragraph depends on whether they count as beneficiaries of the trust, which TRANCRAA ties to residence on 2 November 1998. This page does not answer that question.

Alongside TRANCRAA. IPILRA protects rights while the land is still held in trust. It does not decide who will own the land; TRANCRAA does that.

In Greyton and on private farms. The Act protects informal rights, and title-deed owners in Greyton hold formal ones. People living on farms with the owner’s consent are mainly protected by a different law, the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 [IC].

Where it touches this site

Who to ask

What is still open

  • Whether a court or the Department has applied paragraph (b) to any TRANCRAA area.
  • Whether the Act will be extended beyond 31 December 2026, or replaced by a permanent law.

Have your say

If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.

References

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