A Mpumalanga woman who's lived in an RDP house in Balfour for years has been ordered to leave after the High Court ruled that the registered owner, not a verbal sale, determines who owns the property.
The Mpumalanga High Court in Middleburg on Friday ordered Puleng Penelope Mokoena and everyone living with her to vacate the house in Zone 02, Balfour, within 30 days. If they don't, the sheriff can evict them with police help.
The case started when Phello Petrus Moloi, the registered owner of the house, asked the court to evict Mokoena. Moloi got the house from the Dipaleseng Local Municipality in 2004. He didn't move in immediately but let Mokoena's parents stay there under a verbal arrangement. After her parents died, Mokoena stayed on.
Moloi said he was the lawful owner and had a title deed registered in his name in November 2019. But Mokoena argued that her parents had bought the house from Moloi for R40,000 in 2007. She had confirmatory affidavits backing her story but no written agreement of sale.
The Magistrate's Court earlier ruled in Mokoena's favour. The magistrate said Moloi had lost ownership because he didn't occupy the house, and that ownership had reverted to the provincial government under Section 10A(3) of the Housing Act. The magistrate also said the provincial housing department should've been part of the case.
Moloi appealed, and the High Court took a different view. Judges Kganki Phahlamohlaka and acting Judge H Fourie said the magistrate got it wrong. They said Section 10A(3) doesn't automatically transfer ownership back to the government just because a beneficiary leaves a subsidised house. Ownership of land, they said, comes through registration at the deeds office, and a valid title deed is proof of ownership unless a court sets it aside.
The High Court also rejected the idea that the provincial government needed to be in the case. Judge Phahlamohlaka said joinder is only needed when a party has a direct and substantial interest. Since the government wasn't the registered owner and wouldn't be affected by the eviction, it had no such interest.
"Ownership of immovable property is acquired through registration in the deeds office and a valid title deed remains definitive evidence of ownership unless set aside by a competent court," the court said.
The court found that Mokoena had no legal right to stay — no ownership, no lease, no other lawful basis. It also noted she had alternative accommodation available and no exceptional reasons to stop the eviction.
The appeal was upheld, and the magistrate's judgment was set aside. Mokoena must pay the costs of the original application, but no costs order was made for the appeal.
This case is a reminder that even in RDP housing, the title deed is king. If you buy a subsidised house, get a written agreement and transfer the title — or you could end up like Mokoena, packing your bags after years of calling a place home.