Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (No. 16 of 2013).

This Act concerns spatial planning in South Africa at national and local level. It provides for a uniform, effective and comprehensive system of spatial planning and land use management and development, and for the sustainable and efficient use of land. The Act consists of 62 sections divided into seven Chapters: Introductory Provisions (1); Development Principles and Norms and Standards (2); Intergovernmental Support (3); Spatial Development Frameworks (4); Land Use Management (5); Land Development Management (6); General Provisions (7). The Act is completed by three Schedules.
The Act defines spatial planning at municipal and provincial level and defines general principles, which shall apply to all organs of state and other authorities responsible for the implementation of legislation regulating the use and development of land. Those principles concern, among other things management of prime and unique agricultural land and protection of consistency of land use measures with environmental protection. The Minister must, after consultation with organs of state in the provincial and local spheres of government, prescribe norms and standards for land use management and land development and shall provide support and assistance to local authorities in the performance of land use management functions. The national and provincial spheres of government and each municipality must prepare spatial development frameworks as determined by this Act. A municipality must, after public consultation, adopt a single land use scheme and may pass by-laws aimed at enforcing its land use scheme.
Except as provided in this Act, all land development applications must be submitted to a municipality as the authority of first instance. A municipality must, in order to determine land use and development applications within its municipal area, establish a Municipal Planning Tribunal. The registration of any property resulting from a land development application may not be performed unless the municipality certifies that all the requirements and conditions for the approval have been complied with.