Tshwane, Ekurhuleni Lead Expropriation Push

…marking a significant shift towards advancing municipal development goals and redress

The battle over property rights and the right to public housing is currently unfolding across Gauteng, through two distinct but equally significant municipal actions. While the City of Ekurhuleni is locked in a landmark court battle over the expropriation of vacant land for nil compensation, the City of Tshwane is actively preparing to use the same legal mechanisms to seize derelict inner-city buildings to curb urban decay. Both cases underline a critical national shift towards utilising state power to redress historical inequality and advance municipal development goals. The City of Ekurhuleni has positioned itself at the forefront of this legal debate, defending its 2019 decision to seize 34 hectares of private land in Driefontein, Boksburg, while offering zero compensation to the owners, Business Venture Investments 900. The case, heading for mediation in court on October 31, 2025, with a trial scheduled for February, is an unprecedented challenge to property law. Ekurhuleni’s justification is rooted in the constitutional allowances for expropriation in the public interest, citing its statutory obligations to develop social housing projects under the Housing Act. Former City Manager, Imogen Mashazi, argued the nil compensation was warranted because the land had been “vacant and unused for over 30 years,” had “not generated any commercial activity,” and was not purchased at market value. This position echoes the argument that compensation is unnecessary where land is held for speculative, non-productive purposes - a point supported by the ANC in Ekurhuleni, who question paying for land potentially acquired through erstwhile illegitimate apartheid schemes. However, Advanced Property Law lecturer Dr. Tanveer Jeewa, said the action precedes the official activation of the Expropriation Act, 2024. “Until the Expropriation Act of 2024 commences, nil compensation has no statutory footing.” Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder warned that a ruling favouring nil compensation could severely undermine property rights and cause economic chaos. “Banks won’t issue loans or mortgages if the state can simply seize property.” Meanwhile, in the capital city, Tshwane is preparing to apply this same, still-pending legal framework to buildings under its Tshwane Sustainable and Better.

Buildings Programme (TSBBP). The city has identified over 32 high-priority, derelict, abandoned, or hijacked buildings in the CBD. Tshwane’s twin-fold motivation is to combat urban decay and to urgently create affordable housing and student accommodation - a public purpose that the city argues justifies the use of expropriation powers. By seizing control of these non-performing structures, the municipality aims to unlock between 15 000 to 22 000 units. The success of this plan, however, is directly tied to the national legal developments. The new Expropriation Act, 2024, which explicitly includes property other than land, is the legal tool Tshwane intends to use, but its implementation is on hold pending a presidential proclamation and a High Court challenge. The Ekurhuleni and Tshwane metros are therefore exploring two separate, yet very similar avenues of expropriation: Ekurhuleni is testing the principle of nil compensation on unproductive land under existing law, while Tshwane is poised to use the new Act to seize unproductive buildings for comprehensive urban regeneration. The outcome of Ekurhuleni’s mediation and the final implementation of the Expropriation Act, 2024, will determine the trajectory of property rights, development, and social redress across the entire nation.