The controversial Expropriation Bill was passed in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, 18th of May2016. Having gone through the full Parliamentary process, it will now be sent to President Jacob Zuma to be signed into law. He may still refrain from assenting the Bill if it is deemed to be unconstitutional by his advisers, or if the consultation processes followed are deemed to be improper. Its intention is however to align the government's expropriation processes with the Constitution, which makes compensation a requisite. Essentially the Bill dictates the processes that need to be followed in detail, from valuation to expropriation, as well indicates the rights and responsibilities of the land owner. The Bill makes the courts the final arbiter of disputes and gives local authorities the chance to have a say over the effect that expropriation will have on municipal planning. Agbiz, together with other major partners, has however indicated its concern around the definitions of  both "Property" and "Expropriation" that were included in the Bill during the Parliamentary process, subsequent to the NEDLAC process. The  inclusions of these definitions are probably not unconstitutional, but increase the risk in terms of what is deemed expropriation, and what might be termed deprivation of property, i.e. expropriation without compensation. Agbiz will monitor the implementation of the new Expropriation Bill very closely, once enacted.