| (1) | An application for the acquisition of land and servitudes referred to in section 16 shall be lodged with the Director-General. |
| (2) | On receiving an application in terms of subsection (1), the Director-General shall— |
| (a) | forthwith give notice of receipt of the application to the owner of the land and to the holder of any other registered right in the land in question; |
| (b) | in the notice to the owner, draw his or her attention to the contents of this section and section 18; |
| (c) | cause a notice of the application to be published in the Gazette; and |
| (d) | call upon the owner by written request, to furnish him or her within 30 days— |
| (i) | with the names and addresses of the holders of all unregistered rights in the land in question, together with a copy of any document in which such rights are contained, or if such rights are not contained in any document, full particulars thereof; |
| (ii) | with any documents or information in respect of the land in question and the rights in such land as the Director-General may reasonably require. |
| (3) | A notice in terms of subsection (2)(a) or (d), may be given by way of registered mail or through service in the manner provided for the service of summons in the Rules of Court made in terms of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1944 (Act No. 32 of 1944), read with section 6(3) of the Rules Board for Courts of Law Act, 1985 (Act No. 107 of 1985). |
| (4) | The owner of affected land shall within one calendar month of receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (2), inform the Director-General in writing— |
| (a) | whether he or she admits or denies that the applicant is a labour tenant within the meaning of this Act; and |
| (b) | if he or she denies that the applicant is a labour tenant, the grounds on which he or she does so. |
| (5) | If the owner fails to inform the Director-General within the period referred to in subsection (4) that he or she denies that the applicant is a labour tenant, the applicant shall be presumed to be a labour tenant unless the contrary is proved. |
[Section 17(5) substituted by section 35 of Act No. 63 of 1997]
| (6) | If the owner does not inform the Director-General within the period referred to in subsection (4) that he or she admits that the applicant is a labour tenant, the Director General shall, at the request of either party, refer the application to the Court. |
| (7) | Any person whose rights are affected by the application shall have the right to participate in the proceedings before the arbitrator and the Court, in the manner provided in the rules. |
| (8) | Should the owner, without good reason, fail to give to the Director-General any information or documents requested in terms of subsection (2)(d) within 30 days of receipt of a written request— |
| (a) | the Court may order him or her to do so; |
| (b) | the Court may make an order for costs against him or her; and |
| (c) | he or she shall be liable for any loss which the Director-General or the applicant or any person may suffer as result of such failure, and the Court may, on application by the affected person concerned, give judgement against him or her for such loss. |
