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Adopted

Expropriation Act 2024: a constitutional framework for taking property in the public interest, with possible nil compensation, not yet in operation

The Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 replaces the Expropriation Act of 1975 with one procedure for every organ of state that takes property for a public purpose or in the public interest: negotiation first, then notice, compensation offer, mediation and the courts. Compensation must be « just and equitable », and section 12(3) lists four situations, such as land held only for speculation or abandoned, where nil compensation « may be » just and equitable. Passed by Parliament on 27 March 2024, assented to on 20 December 2024 and published on 24 January 2025, the Act only comes into operation on a date the President sets by proclamation: none had been issued on 11 November 2026, and no court has suspended it. The Democratic Alliance, AfriForum, IRR Legal and the Vaderland Stigting challenge it in the Western Cape High Court, which heard the consolidated cases from 3 to 7 August 2026; the Act also drew a United States executive order cutting aid to South Africa.

Citoyen·Updated: November 11, 2026

This dossier is updated at least once a quarter with the new figures. Follow it to get a notification at each update.

Key points

Situations listed in section 12(3) where nil compensation may be just and equitable

4

Act No. 13 of 2024 · Announced

according to the Expropriation Act, 2024[1][18]

The list is open (« including but not limited to »), a point AfriForum challenges as vague.

Provinces that voted for the bill in the NCOP

7

19 March 2024 (at least 5 required) · Observed

according to Parliament[9][17]

The DA argues that five of these seven provinces lacked a properly obtained provincial mandate.

Maximum duration of urgent temporary use of property

1 years

Act No. 13 of 2024, section 20 · Announced

according to the Expropriation Act, 2024 (« no longer than 12 months »)[1]

Property price index

89.17index

Q2 2026

Bank for International SettlementsSee the card →
  • Status: Adopted since December 20, 2024. Published in Government Gazette No. 51964 on 24 January 2025. Not yet in operation: the Act starts on a date set by presidential proclamation, still « to be proclaimed » on 11 November 2026; no court order has suspended it.[1][2][18]

At a glance

Reference text

Expropriation Act, 2024 (Act No. 13 of 2024), assented to on 20 December 2024, published on 24 January 2025[1][2]

No. Act No. 13 of 2024 (Government Gazette No. 51964, Notice No. 5784) · December 20, 2024

Read the text ↗

Carried by

  • Patricia de Lille[4][5]Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure: submitted the bill drafted by her department to Parliament in October 2020 and defended it in the National Assembly in September 2022 · 2020-2022 · Initiator
  • Cyril Ramaphosa[1][3][18]President of the Republic: assented to the Act and alone decides, by proclamation in the Government Gazette, the date (or dates) on which it comes into operation; first respondent in the court challenges · since 2024 · Implementation
  • Dean Macpherson[13][18][20]Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure: department in charge of the Act; in court he abides by the decision and filed only an explanatory affidavit · 2025-2026 · Implementation

Implementation

  • Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI): executing authority, keeps the public expropriation register
  • The Presidency: commencement proclamation
  • Expropriating authorities (national, provincial and municipal organs of state) and the courts

Stated objective

Replace the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975 with a law of general application aligned with section 25 of the Constitution, giving every organ of state (local, provincial, national) a common procedure to expropriate in the public interest, including for land reform and equitable access to natural resources, subject to just and equitable compensation.[3][4][1]

According to the Presidency and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure

Public comments received while drafting the bill

50,000

before October 2020 · according to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (« about 50 000 »)[4]

Main measures

  • Repeals the Expropriation Act of 1975 and applies to every expropriating authority « despite the provisions of any law to the contrary »: no expropriation may be arbitrary or for a purpose other than a public purpose or the public interest (section 2(1)).[1]
  • Negotiation first: the power to expropriate may be used only after the authority has tried without success to buy the property on reasonable terms (section 2(2)), except for urgent temporary use.[1][3]
  • Notice of intention to expropriate served on owners and right holders and published, with the purpose, the reasons, an offer of compensation explained with supporting information, and 30 days to object or make submissions (section 7).[1]
  • Compensation « just and equitable », balancing the public interest and those affected, having regard to current use, history of acquisition, market value, direct state investment and subsidy, and the purpose (section 12(1), the criteria of section 25(3) of the Constitution).[1]
  • Nil compensation « may be » just and equitable for land expropriated in the public interest, « including but not limited to »: unused land held only to benefit from its rising value; land an organ of state does not use and got for free; land abandoned by its owner; land worth no more than the state’s direct investment in it (section 12(3)). Also possible for labour tenant awards (section 12(4)).[1]
  • Disputes on compensation: mediation, then court proceedings within 180 days of the notice of expropriation (section 19); an appeal on the amount does not stop the expropriation unless a court grants an interim interdict (section 19(8)).[1]
  • Urgent temporary use of property for at most 12 months, only if no suitable state property is available, in a disaster or by court order (section 20); a public register of all intended, effected and withdrawn expropriations kept by the department (section 24).[1]

In data

Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill (expropriation without compensation), National Assembly vote of 7 December 2021[11][10]

7 December 2021

  • Members of the National Assembly
AyesANC 203, NFP 2, Al Jama-ah 1.
206
NoesDA 79, EFF 40, IFP 10, FF Plus 10, ACDP 3, Good 2, PAC 1.
145
Required to amend the Constitution75 % of the 400 members, according to Parliament.
267
Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill (expropriation without compensation), National Assembly vote of 7 December 2021: chart values
CountMembers of the National Assembly
Ayes (ANC 203, NFP 2, Al Jama-ah 1.)206
Noes (DA 79, EFF 40, IFP 10, FF Plus 10, ACDP 3, Good 2, PAC 1.)145
Required to amend the Constitution (75 % of the 400 members, according to Parliament.)267

Scale starts at 0 · The amendment failed, so section 25 of the Constitution was not changed; the 2024 Act provides for nil compensation within the existing section 25. The EFF voted against, accusing the majority party of tampering with their original motion.

Property price index

89.17index

Q2 2026

Context only: the Act is not in operation, so it cannot yet have any effect on prices.

Bank for International SettlementsSee the card →

House price-to-income ratio

89.65index

2025

OECDSee the card →

Urban population living in slums

24.2%

2022

World BankSee the card →

Timeline

  1. 2018

    State of the Nation address: commitment to accelerate land redistribution[4]

    President Ramaphosa commits to accelerate land redistribution; an inter-ministerial committee on land reform (July 2018) and a presidential advisory panel follow. The panel recommends a speedy replacement of the 1975 Act.

  2. September 9, 2020Announced

    Cabinet approves the Expropriation Bill[4]

  3. October 9, 2020Under debate

    Bill published in the Gazette and submitted to Parliament[4]

    Expropriation Bill [B23-2020], certified as constitutional by the Chief State Law Adviser.

  4. October 9, 2020

    Bill gazetted and submitted to Parliament[4]

    Minister de Lille submits the bill after Cabinet approval (9 September 2020). The department says drafting drew about 50,000 comments and consultations at Nedlac (business, labour, community).

  5. December 7, 2021

    Constitutional amendment on expropriation without compensation fails[10][11][4]

    The Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, which would have amended section 25, gets 206 votes for and 145 against in the National Assembly, short of the 267 required. Section 25 stays unchanged: the Expropriation Bill was drafted within it.

  6. September 28, 2022

    National Assembly passes the bill[6][5]

    After public hearings by the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, the bill goes to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.

  7. March 19, 2024

    NCOP passes the bill with amendments[7][9]

    The House sends the bill back to the National Assembly with proposed amendments. Parliament later states that seven provinces voted in favour, above the five a section 76 bill requires.

  8. March 27, 2024Adopted

    Passed by both Houses of Parliament[8][7]

    The National Assembly accepted the amendments of the National Council of Provinces (B23D-2020) and sent the bill to the President for assent.

  9. December 20, 2024Adopted

    Assented to by the President[1][2][18]

    Published in Government Gazette No. 51964 on 24 January 2025. Not yet in operation: the Act starts on a date set by presidential proclamation, still « to be proclaimed » on 11 November 2026; no court order has suspended it.

  10. January 23, 2025

    Presidency announces the signing[3][1]

    The Presidency presents the law as aligning expropriation with the Constitution after five years of consultation and deliberation. The Gazette published on 24 January 2025 gives 20 December 2024 as the date of assent.

  11. January 24, 2025Current step

    Commencement awaits a presidential proclamation[2][1][18]

    Until then the 1975 Act is not repealed and the new procedure does not apply; expropriations notified before commencement stay under the old rules (section 30). Different provisions may start on different dates.

  12. January 26, 2025

    Parliament rejects the DA’s account of the NCOP vote[9]

    Parliament calls « factually inaccurate » the claim that only four provinces voted for the bill and says seven did.

  13. February 7, 2025

    United States executive order cites the Act[16][15][14]

    President Trump orders a halt to US aid to South Africa « to the maximum extent allowed by law » and the promotion of refugee resettlement for Afrikaners, saying the Act enables the seizure of their agricultural property without compensation. Cabinet calls the order factually inaccurate and « rooted in misinformation ».

  14. February 7, 2025

    Democratic Alliance files its challenge[17]

    The DA asks the Western Cape High Court to nullify the Act, on the parliamentary procedure (provincial mandates) and on clauses it calls vague and contradictory.

  15. March 2, 2026

    Court joins IRR Legal and the Land Reform Minister[18]

    IRR Legal becomes second applicant alongside AfriForum (case 2025-156411), and the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform becomes a respondent in the three applications (AfriForum, DA, Vaderland Stigting), to be heard together. The EFF is joined as a respondent on 12 May 2026.

  16. August 3, 2026 – August 7, 2026

    Hearing before a full bench of the Western Cape High Court[19][21][20](secondary source)

    The President and the NCOP ask the court to dismiss the challenges; they concede that a provision on compensation disputes creates a « circular process » and propose a court-ordered remedy instead of striking the Act down. Judgment had not been reported by 11 November 2026.

  17. August 7, 2026Current step

    Judgment of the Western Cape High Court awaited[18][21]

    A declaration that provisions of an Act are invalid must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, as AfriForum’s papers recall.

  18. October 2026

    Legal costs of the State’s defence disclosed[22](secondary source)

    In a parliamentary reply reported on 6 October 2026, Minister Macpherson puts the department’s counsel fees in the litigation at R1,661,523.90.

The debate

Citoyen takes no position: arguments are reported as their authors put them.

According to its supporters

  • The Presidency says the Act aligns expropriation with the Constitution, replacing a 1975 law that predates section 25, and is « not a confiscation instrument » but a constitutionally mandated process with negotiation, mediation and the courts.[3][14]
  • Minister de Lille argued that nil compensation « is not a silver bullet » but one acquisition tool for land reform and redress in appropriate cases, as the presidential advisory panel had agreed.[5]
  • The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (Deputy Minister Zikalala) sees the law as affirming the state’s role in unlocking land for socio-economic development and redistribution.[12]
  • Cabinet stresses that expropriation laws are not unique to South Africa: many countries balance public use of land with owners’ rights, and it calls the US executive order factually inaccurate.[15]

According to its opponents

  • The Democratic Alliance wants the whole Act nullified: it says five of the seven provinces that backed it in the NCOP lacked a properly obtained mandate and that several clauses are vague and contradictory.[17]
  • AfriForum argues that nil compensation conflicts with section 25(2)(b) of the Constitution (expropriation « subject to compensation ») and attacks sections 12(3), 12(4) and 19(8); it cites the President’s concession that sections 19(2) and (3) create a circular process.[18]
  • IRR Legal (Institute of Race Relations) challenges sections 12(2)(e), 12(3) and 12(4), arguing they expose owners to arbitrary under-compensation.[18][19]
  • The US administration claims the Act enables the government to seize Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation, and cut aid in response; the South African government rejects this reading.[16][15]

Indicators to watch

  • Presidential proclamation fixing the commencement date(s) of the Act · The Presidency / Government Gazetteno Citoyen card yet
  • Judgment of the Western Cape High Court and, if provisions are declared invalid, confirmation by the Constitutional Court · Western Cape High Court / Constitutional Courtno Citoyen card yet
  • Public register of intended, effected and withdrawn expropriations (section 24), once the Act is in operation · DPWIno Citoyen card yet
  • Residential property prices · BISSee the card →
  • 10-year government bond yield · SARBSee the card →
  • Rand to US dollar exchange rate · SARBSee the card →

Stay up to date

This dossier is updated at least once a quarter with the new figures. Follow it to get a notification at each update.

Sources

  1. [1]Expropriation Act, 2024 (Act No. 13 of 2024), Government Gazette No. 51964, 24 January 2025, Notice No. 5784 (English text signed by the President, assented to 20 December 2024) –South African Government (gov.za), The Presidency notice in the Government Gazette, January 24, 2025
  2. [2]Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 (English / Sepedi): « Commencement: To be proclaimed » –South African Government (gov.za), Documents, Acts, January 24, 2025
  3. [3]President assents to Expropriation Bill –The Presidency, Republic of South Africa, January 23, 2025
  4. [4]IMC on Land Reform on Expropriation Bill set to replace Expropriation Act of 1975 that is inconsistent with the Constitution –Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform (gov.za), October 11, 2020
  5. [5]Minister Patricia de Lille: Expropriation Bill aims to replace unconstitutional Expropriation Act of 1975 –Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (gov.za), September 28, 2022
  6. [6]National Assembly Passes Two Bills –Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, September 28, 2022
  7. [7]National Council of Provinces Passed Three Bills, Sent Expropriation Bill Back to NA –Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, March 19, 2024
  8. [8]Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports No 41-2024, Wednesday 27 March 2024: Expropriation Bill [B23D-2020] passed by National Assembly on 27 March 2024, to be submitted to President for assent –Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, March 27, 2024
  9. [9]Parliament Disputes Statements Made by DA Spokesperson on Expropriation Bill –Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, January 26, 2025
  10. [10]National Assembly Fails to Pass Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill –Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, December 7, 2021
  11. [11]Minutes of Proceedings of the National Assembly, Tuesday 7 December 2021, No 43: Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, Ayes 206, Noes 145, question not agreed to (section 74(2)) –Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, December 7, 2021
  12. [12]Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala welcomes signing into law of the Expropriation Bill –Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (gov.za), January 24, 2025
  13. [13]SA’s Land Expropriation Act is constitutional –SAnews (South African Government News Agency), February 5, 2025
  14. [14]Government committed to finding diplomatic solutions amid President Trump's executive order –SAnews (South African Government News Agency), February 9, 2025
  15. [15]Statement on the Cabinet Meeting of 12 February 2025 and Special Cabinet meeting of 29 January 2025 –Government Communication and Information System (gov.za)
  16. [16]Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa (Executive Order) –The White House, February 7, 2025
  17. [17]DA’s court challenge against Expropriation Act begins –Democratic Alliance, February 10, 2025
  18. [18]AfriForum NPC and IRR Legal NPC v President of the Republic of South Africa and five others, Case No 2025-156411: First Applicant’s (AfriForum’s) Heads of Argument, filed 15 June 2026 –High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division, Cape Town (filing published by AfriForum), June 15, 2026
  19. [19]Expropriation Act Faces 3 Constitutional Challenges In Western Cape High Court –Cape Town News, August 4, 2026 · secondary source
  20. [20]Macpherson quizzed about failure to file papers in Expropriation case –SABC News, August 5, 2026 · secondary source
  21. [21]NCOP and President Ramaphosa ask court to dismiss Expropriation Act challenge –Eyewitness News (EWN), August 7, 2026 · secondary source
  22. [22]R1.7 million land expropriation battle in South Africa –BusinessTech, October 6, 2026 · secondary source