National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998) > Chapter 13 : Access to and Rights Over Land

Part 2 deals with servitudes. A servitude is a right that a person has over property belonging to another person. This Part allows a person who is authorised to use water under the Act to claim a servitude over another person's land where this is necessary to make that water use effective. For example it might be necessary to lead water over another person's land to take it from the source to the authorised water user's land, and a servitude would be necessary to do this. A servitude cannot be claimed unless the claimant is authorised to use water, and if the authorisation is withdrawn or otherwise terminated, the servitude will lapse. Servitudes are acquired by agreement between the authorised water user and the relevant land owner, either according to existing procedures laid down in the Deeds Registries Act or by way of an agreement which is made an order of court. Procedural details regarding the acquisition of servitudes and their registration are not set out in this Part but are contained in Schedule 2.

Part 2 : Servitudes