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:
- For Theewaterskloof Municipality’s planning department: how does the zoning scheme apply to land in Genadendal and the other Farm 39 settlements, and has the municipality used section 24’s provision for bringing in land use rules step by step?
- For the Genadendal Transformasie Komitee: does the Komitee want to say how planning on Farm 39 should work before the land is transferred?
The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, known as SPLUMA, is the national law that sets the framework for planning across South Africa [IC]. Parliament passed it in 2013, and it came into force on 1 July 2015 [IC]. It makes the municipality the first decision-maker on how land may be used, requires every municipality to have a spatial development framework and a single land use scheme for its whole area, and sets principles that every planning decision must follow [IC]. In the Western Cape it works together with the Western Cape Land Use Planning Act and the municipality’s own Municipal Land Use Planning By-law.
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 name | Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 |
| Citation | Act 16 of 2013 |
| Made by | Parliament |
| Administered by | Municipalities decide land use applications; the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is responsible for the Act |
| In force since | 1 July 2015 (passed and published on 5 August 2013) |
| Official text | LawLibrary |
How the planning rules fit together
| Level | Instrument | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| National | SPLUMA | Sets the framework, the principles, and the municipality’s role |
| Provincial | Western Cape Land Use Planning Act | Adds Western Cape rules, and says how land not yet zoned is brought into a scheme |
| Municipal | Spatial Development Framework | Guides where growth, housing, and conservation should go; grants no rights |
| Municipal | Zoning Scheme By-law | Says what each piece of land may be used for; binding |
| Municipal | Municipal Land Use Planning By-law | Says how to apply to change a land use, and how the public comments |
What it does
- Five principles. Every planning decision must follow the development principles in section 7: spatial justice, spatial sustainability, efficiency, spatial resilience, and good administration [IC]. Spatial justice includes redressing past spatial and other development imbalances, and improving access to and use of land by disadvantaged communities [IC].
- Spatial development frameworks. National government, each province, and each municipality must have one [IC].
- One land use scheme for the whole municipality. Each municipality must adopt a single land use scheme for its entire area (section 24) [IC]. The scheme must include provisions that permit land use management and regulation to be introduced step by step in rural areas, areas under traditional leadership, informal settlements, and areas not previously covered by a scheme [IC].
- The scheme is law. A land use scheme has the force of law, binds everyone including the state, and land may only be used for the purposes the scheme allows (section 26) [IC].
- The municipality decides. Land use applications are decided by the municipality, through a Municipal Planning Tribunal or an official it authorises, with an internal appeal [IC].
What it means in the valley
In Greyton and Heuwelkroon. Land has carried zoning under a scheme for a long time, and the Act mainly changes who decides and by which principles. A resident who wants to run a guest house or a shop from home, or to subdivide a plot, applies to the municipality under its Municipal Land Use Planning By-law.
On Farm 39. The mission settlements were governed for most of the twentieth century by laws for “coloured rural areas”, and their land was not covered by an ordinary town planning scheme [TBV]. The Act’s requirement that one scheme cover the whole municipal area, and its provision for introducing land use rules step by step in rural areas and areas not previously under a scheme, speak directly to land like Farm 39. How far Theewaterskloof’s scheme has in fact been applied to the land in Genadendal, Bereaville, Voorstekraal, Boschmanskloof, and Madiba Park is a question for the municipality’s planners, and this site has not yet had an answer [TBV]. Because the Minister still holds most of the land in trust, a land use application there also needs the consent of the owner, which may be the hardest step.
Spatial justice. The principle of redressing past spatial imbalances is the one most often cited where two communities with different land histories sit side by side, as Greyton and Genadendal do. See Next Door, Different Rules.
Where it touches this site
- Ward 2 Development Forum (W2DF): the Forum takes practical planning matters, such as land use, zoning, and building plans, to the municipality’s officials [MS].
- Next Door, Different Rules: three neighbouring places on different land.
- Madiba Park: Land Status and Basic Services: the planned housing on Erf 595, Heuwelkroon.
- Valley of Grace Learning Campus and other ideas that would need land.
Who to ask
- Theewaterskloof Municipality’s Town Planning department.
What is still open
- How the zoning scheme applies to land on Farm 39.
- Whether the municipality has used section 24’s provision for land not previously under a scheme.
Have your say
If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.
Related
- The Rules the Valley Lives By
- Western Cape Land Use Planning Act
- Zoning Scheme By-law
- Municipal Land Use Planning By-law
- Theewaterskloof Spatial Development Framework
References
- Parliament of South Africa. Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013. LawLibrary. Sections 7, 24, 26, and the role of municipalities.
- Ward 2 Development Forum. Inaugural Meeting, 16 September 2026. Planning matters to be taken to the municipality’s officials.