Constitution 22nd Amendment Bill: Land Expropriation Without Compensation

Posted 28 July 2025 Written by Acts Online
Category Parliament

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: The Constitution 22nd Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament on 29 September 2025, following a public consultation process on its proposed objectives to enable land expropriation without compensation.

In terms of the legislative process, the Constitution 22nd Amendment Bill (B23-2025) seeks to amend section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The Bill aims to address the structural legacy of inequality in land ownership by explicitly providing for the expropriation of land without the payment of compensation. This follows a call for public input on the contents of the proposed Bill that concluded on 27 August 2025.

The objectives of the Bill are similar to those of the Constitution 18th Amendment Bill, which was rejected by the National Assembly in December 2021. As a constitutional amendment, the current Bill requires the support of at least two-thirds of the National Assembly to be passed and subsequently referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence.

Practitioners should distinguish this proposal from the Expropriation Act, No. 18 of 2024, which joined the statute books in January 2025. While the 2024 Act allows for expropriation for nil compensation under specific, limited circumstances and following defined procedures, it has not yet been fully operationalised. The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to provide a broader foundational mandate for such expropriations.

Click here to download the Constitution 22nd Amendment Bill [B23-2025].

Click here to view the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports (ATC) confirming the tabling.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: No direct individual obligations; impact is channelled through professional advisory requirements regarding property law and constitutional litigation.
  • For your business: Property-sector firms and financial institutions must review risk registers and valuation models to account for potential shifts in the constitutional protection of property rights.
  • For your clients: Advise clients that current expropriation remains governed by the Expropriation Act, No. 18 of 2024, until this constitutional amendment achieves the required two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/land-reform-expropriation-without-compensation-returns-to-the-spotlight

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