Over the past 20 years, of the 23 socio-economic rights decisions handed down by the
South African Constitutional Court, 15 judgments have related to the s 26 right to adequate
housing, making it by far the most litigated socio-economic right. The relative frequency
of housing rights cases before the Constitutional Court relates to the intensity of postapartheid
struggles over access to urban and peri-urban land. Analysing the contours and
consequences of the housing rights related judgments over the past 20 years, we highlight
the Constitutional Court’s role as arbiter of clashing rights of ownership and occupation
in the context of evolving and inadequately-managed urbanisation.