“The state cannot solve public policy failures by quietly transferring responsibility onto individuals.” – Gideon Joubert, Spokesperson for Free SA
Free SA has raised serious concerns over the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Amendment Bill, 2026, warning that it erodes fundamental property rights and introduces excessive state control into private legal matters.
Alarmingly, the proposed amendments would make eviction conditional on the provision of alternative accommodation, effectively transforming a straightforward legal process into a state-managed system. In doing so, the bill limits the ability of property owners to reclaim their land and places indirect obligations on private individuals to absorb the consequences of government housing failures.
“Property rights are not optional, they are foundational to a functioning democracy,” says Gideon Joubert, spokesperson for Free SA. “This bill blurs the line between public responsibility and private ownership, and in doing so, weakens both.”
Free SA argues that the bill introduces three critical risks:
- State overreach: Government entities become embedded in private eviction proceedings, shifting decision-making power away from owners
- Conditional ownership: The right to reclaim property becomes dependent on external factors beyond the owner’s control
- Policy misdirection: The burden of addressing housing shortages is indirectly shifted onto private citizens
While acknowledging the need to address South Africa’s housing challenges, Free SA maintains that solutions must not come at the expense of constitutional rights.
“The state cannot solve public policy failures by quietly transferring responsibility onto individuals,” Joubert adds. “If government is serious about housing, it must deliver solutions itself, without compromising the rule of law.”
Free SA is calling on lawmakers to revise the bill to ensure that eviction laws remain clear, predictable, and grounded in the principle that ownership includes the right to control and reclaim property.
The organisation further urges South Africans to participate in the public process and oppose provisions that expand state power at the expense of individual freedom.