PROPERTY: Land claim valuation nightmares

Continuing the recent trend of land claim valuation nightmares, after the Constitutional Court recently ruled that CPI-based valuations are to be used in determining the value of property subject to claims in respect of the Restitution Act despite CPI being a wholly inappropriate method for valuing land, a Cape Town family who were forcibly removed from their home in Claremont in the 1960’s received quite a shock this month when the regional Land Claims Commission informed them that they had already received just and equitable compensation because the apartheid government had paid them more than the value of the property at the time of their removal.

Reportedly, up to 546 land claims have been rejected to date in the Western Cape, of which 14 claims were rejected on the basis that the claimants received just and equitable compensation.

The regional commission’s operational management director said that the claimants will be given an opportunity to make use of their own valuer to determine the market value of the property at the time of the removal. In addition he is reported to have said that any claims based on pain and suffering would need to be brought before the Land Claims Court and that the Commission is bound by section 2 of the Restitution Act which deals with “just and equitable compensation”.

It appears that the formula to determine the validity of the land claims is purely an objective one based on the market value of the property at the time of the removal and that alternative action is to be taken when seeking compensation for pain and suffering relating to all other circumstances surrounding the forced removal.

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