ABSTRACT
Historically land tenure systems were to a large extent prescribed by the circumstances that prevailed when the Whites first settled in South Africa. The ownership of land in the remainder of South Africa outside Black rural and urban areas was frozen after the first Group Areas Act was enacted in 1950. Until 1991 the outstanding feature of the South African land tenure system was that it was racially based. During 1991 the White Paper on Land Reform was published, leading to a new era in land control. This publication coincided with the commencement of legislation addressing land matters in accordance with the then envisaged land reform goals. Most rural Blacks reside in tribal areas established on scheduled or released areas. In these areas a traditional system of land tenure still obtains. The parameters of the 1991 land control system were embodied in the White Paper and accompanying legislation thereby introducing a new land dispensation for South Africa.
