Hiring and Renting

Development of private cemeteries

Q: We wish to get involved in the development of private cemeteries. We will not be involved directly in burials but only in purchasing and developing it to the required standards for Council to allow burials on it. Most of the burials done here will be for non-muslims. The norm now in South Africa is for individual burial plots to be leased to the family of the deceased for approximately 10 years or so and thereafter the plots are recycled. We wish to humbly enquire whether it is permissible for us to lease the plots and then after 10 years or so, lease it again to a different family. It must be known that the Municipality has stressed that due to the large shortage of burial sites, all burial plots must be recycled after 7 to 10 years. Each individual plot will be surveyed and marked out and will be leased to burial homes in order for them to facilitate burials. Which of the following would be permissible for us to do: 

  1. Re-lease the plots after every 10 years
  2. Lease it for 10 years and thereafter sell the cemetery outright
  3. Sell the plots in perpetuity to the families of the deceased or the burial homes