Legality and legitimacy in urban tenure issues

The paper provides an update on current research reviewing innovative approaches to tenure for the urban poor. Findings from the research indicate that in most cities in the South, tenure systems exist within a continuum of traditional, statutory and informal categories. In many cases, it is difficult to distinguish between these systems, making it impossible to predict the outcomes of specific policy measures. The widespread existence of various non-statutory tenure systems in areas is partly a response to the failure of statutory tenure systems to meet the needs of lower income groups which invariably represent the majority of urban populations. It may also reflect the persistence of traditional practices for obtaining and developing land that are not officially recognised. These alternative forms may, however, reflect the needs of the poor and enable them to obtain land in areas that would otherwise not be affordable or available.

Where official mechanisms deny the poor legal access to land and shelter, such alternatives can claim to provide a degree of social and moral legitimacy. The larger the proportion of people unable to conform to official norms and procedures, the more they are undermined, risking a reduction in respect for the law in general. The paper reviews examples of innovative approaches to tenure intended to facilitate access to shelter for the urban poor and increase legitimacy without necessarily providing full legality.