Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, 1996 (Act No. 31 of 1996)

1. Definitions

Purchase

(1)	In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—

"beneficial occupation"

means the occupation of land by a person, as if he or she is the owner, without force, openly and without the permission of the registered owner;

"community"

means any group or portion of a group of persons whose rights to land are derived from shared rules determining access to land held in common by such group;

"informal right to land"

means—

(a)	the use of, occupation of, or access to land in terms of—

(i)	any tribal, customary or indigenous law or practice of a tribe;

(ii)	the custom, usage or administrative practice in a particular area or community, where the land in question at any time vested in—

(aa)	the South African Development Trust established by section 4 of the Development Trust and Land Act, 1936 (Act No. 18 of 1936);

(bb)	the government of any area for which a legislative assembly was established in terms of the Self-Governing Territories Constitution Act, 1971 (Act No. 21 of 1971); or

(cc)	the governments of the former Republics of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei;

(b)	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;

(c)	beneficial occupation of land for a continuous period of not less than five years prior to 31 December 1997; or

(d)

the use or occupation by any person of an erf as if he or she is, in respect of that erf, the holder of a right mentioned in Schedule 1 or 2 of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act, 1991 (Act No. 112 of 1991), although he or she is not formally recorded in a register of land rights as the holder of the right in question, but does not include—

(e)	any right or interest of a tenant, labour tenant, sharecropper or employee if such right or interest is purely of a contractual nature; and

(f)	any right or interest based purely on temporary permission granted by the owner or lawful occupier of the land in question, on the basis that such permission may at any time be withdrawn by such owner or lawful occupier;

"Minister"

means the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform;

[Definition amended by section 33 of the Rural Development and Land Reform General Amendment Act, 2011 (Act No. 4 of 2011), Notice No 427, GG 34300, dated 16 May 2011]

"person"

includes a community or a part thereof;

"prescribed"

means prescribed by or under this Act;

"tribe"

includes—

(a)	any community living and existing like a tribe; and

(b)	any part of a tribe living and existing as a separate entity.

(2)

(a)	This Act shall not confer on the holder of a real right to land, any rights in addition to those which he or she holds in that land.

(b)	The holder of an informal right in land shall be deemed to be an owner of land for the purposes of section 42 of the Minerals Act, 1991 (Act No. 50 of 1991).