PRIVACY POLICY

Landlord Association of South Africa Support Services (Pty) Ltd

Last updated: 11 August 2026

1. Introduction

Landlord Association of South Africa Support Services (Pty) Ltd (“LASA”, “the Association”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting personal information and respecting the privacy rights of members, customers, landlords, letting agents, tenants, prospective tenants, guarantors, website users and other persons whose personal information we process.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, transfer and otherwise process personal information and the rights available to data subjects.

We process personal information in accordance with applicable South African law, including, where applicable:

the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”);
the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”);
the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (“NCA”) and applicable regulations;
the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (“CPA”), where applicable;
the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, as amended, where applicable; and
other applicable South African legislation and regulatory requirements.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information processed through our website, membership services, enquiries, advice and support services, tenant referencing and credit-search services and other services provided by LASA.

2. Responsible Party and Information Officer

For purposes of POPIA, LASA is a Responsible Party in respect of personal information for which it determines the purpose and means of processing.

Responsible Party:
Landlord Association of South Africa Support Services (Pty) Ltd

Information Officer:
Mr Sajjad Ahmad

Email:
[email protected]

Postal/Physical Address:
17 Melkhout Avenue
Kleinmond
7195
South Africa

Questions concerning this Privacy Policy, the processing of personal information or the exercise of rights under POPIA should be directed to our Information Officer.

Where LASA processes information solely on the documented instructions of another Responsible Party, the respective responsibilities of LASA and that party will be determined by POPIA, the nature of the processing and any applicable contractual arrangements.

3. Personal Information We May Collect

Depending upon the nature of your relationship with LASA, we may collect or process personal information including:

names and surnames;
identity numbers and, where lawfully required, copies of identity documents;
dates of birth;
postal, residential and business addresses;
email addresses and telephone numbers;
membership information;
usernames and account information;
billing, payment and transaction information;
correspondence and communications;
information submitted when requesting advice, support or other services;
property and tenancy information;
rental application information;
previous addresses and rental history;
landlord and letting-agent information;
employment and income information where relevant to a service requested;
information relating to rental payments or arrears;
references and referencing information;
information concerning prospective tenants and guarantors;
consumer credit information obtained lawfully from credit bureaux or other authorised sources;
credit-search results and reports;
verification information;
complaints and customer-service records;
IP addresses;
browser, device and website usage information;
cookie and similar technology information; and
other information reasonably necessary for a lawful and specified purpose connected with our services.

We seek to process only information that is adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purpose for which it is processed.

4. Sources of Personal Information

We may obtain personal information:

directly from the data subject;
from members and customers;
from landlords and letting agents;
from prospective tenants and tenants;
from guarantors;
from persons authorised by the data subject;
from credit bureaux and lawful verification or referencing providers;
from payment processors and financial institutions;
from professional advisers;
from publicly available sources where lawful;
from government or regulatory bodies where permitted by law; and
from other third parties where the collection and processing of the information is lawful.

Where personal information is not collected directly from the data subject, LASA will comply with applicable POPIA requirements relating to the collection and notification of data subjects, subject to any applicable exceptions.

5. Lawful Processing of Personal Information

We process personal information only where permitted by POPIA and other applicable law.

Depending upon the circumstances, processing may take place:

with the consent of the data subject;
where processing is necessary to carry out actions for the conclusion or performance of a contract to which the data subject is party;
where processing complies with an obligation imposed by law;
where processing protects a legitimate interest of the data subject;
where processing is necessary for the proper performance of a public-law duty by a public body; or
where processing is necessary for pursuing the legitimate interests of LASA or of a third party to whom information is supplied, subject to POPIA.

Where a particular activity requires consent under applicable law, LASA will require the appropriate consent before undertaking that activity.

6. Purposes for Which We Process Personal Information

Personal information may be processed for purposes including:

administering memberships;
creating and administering accounts;
processing payments;
supplying products and services;
responding to enquiries;
providing landlord-related information, advice and assistance;
administering courses and training;
providing tenant referencing and tenant screening services;
conducting lawful tenant credit searches;
verifying information supplied in rental applications;
communicating with members and customers;
dealing with disputes or legal proceedings;
fraud detection and prevention;
maintaining appropriate business and accounting records;
protecting our systems, website and services;
establishing, exercising or defending legal rights;
complying with statutory and regulatory obligations; and
direct marketing where permitted by law.

Personal information will not knowingly be processed for a materially incompatible purpose unless permitted by POPIA or other applicable law.

7. Tenant Referencing and Credit Search Services

LASA may provide tenant referencing, verification, screening and credit-search services to landlords, letting agents, property managers and other persons lawfully entitled to request those services.

These services may involve the processing of personal information relating to a prospective tenant, tenant or guarantor and may involve enquiries being made through one or more third-party credit bureaux, referencing providers, verification providers or other lawful information sources.

LASA may select the credit bureau, credit bureaux, verification provider or other lawful service provider used to perform a requested search or verification.

The precise information processed and searches undertaken may vary according to the service ordered, information supplied, lawful purpose of the enquiry and services available from relevant third-party providers.

8. Consent and Authority for Tenant Credit Searches

A landlord, letting agent, property manager, member, customer or other person instructing LASA to undertake a credit search, tenant reference, verification or similar enquiry concerning a prospective tenant, tenant or guarantor (“the Instructing Party”) must have the necessary lawful authority to request that enquiry.

Where consent is required for the proposed credit or verification enquiry, the Instructing Party must obtain the data subject’s appropriate consent before instructing LASA to conduct the search.

For tenant credit searches requested through LASA, the Instructing Party is required to obtain and retain written or otherwise legally valid and provable consent/authority from the prospective tenant or other data subject sufficient to authorise:

the carrying out of the relevant credit, referencing and/or verification enquiries;
the disclosure of the data subject’s personal information to LASA for that purpose;
LASA providing relevant information to a credit bureau, referencing agency, verification provider or other service provider selected by LASA where necessary to perform the enquiry;
the relevant third party searching, verifying and processing the data subject’s information for the authorised purpose;
the credit bureau or other provider supplying the resulting information or report to LASA; and
LASA supplying the resulting report or information to the landlord, letting agent or other authorised Instructing Party for the stated rental application, tenant-screening or related lawful purpose.

The consent should be sufficiently specific and informed to identify the nature and purpose of the intended enquiry and the persons or categories of persons who may process or receive the information, as required by applicable law.

LASA accepts an instruction for a tenant credit search or referencing service on the express basis that the Instructing Party represents and warrants that:

it has a lawful and legitimate purpose for the enquiry;
where consent is required, the required consent has been obtained before the instruction is submitted;
the consent remains valid for the relevant enquiry;
the data subject has been given the information required by applicable data-protection law;
the information supplied to LASA is accurate to the best of the Instructing Party’s knowledge;
LASA and any credit bureau, referencing agency or verification provider selected by LASA are authorised to process the information to the extent necessary to perform the requested service; and
the resulting report may lawfully be disclosed to and used by the Instructing Party for the specified purpose.

9. Evidence of Tenant Consent

The Instructing Party must retain evidence of the prospective tenant’s, tenant’s or guarantor’s consent/authority for an appropriate period and must provide a copy to LASA promptly upon request.

LASA reserves the right to require evidence of consent or authority before undertaking a search and may refuse, suspend or discontinue an instruction where:

satisfactory evidence of authority or consent has not been supplied;
LASA has reason to believe that appropriate authority has not been obtained;
the purpose of the search appears unlawful or inconsistent with the consent provided;
information supplied appears materially inaccurate or misleading; or
proceeding with the search could place LASA or a service provider in breach of POPIA, the NCA or other applicable law.

An Instructing Party must not request a credit or referencing search for curiosity, general intelligence gathering, harassment, discrimination, debt collection unrelated to a permissible purpose or any other unauthorised purpose.

10. Responsibilities of Landlords and Letting Agents

Landlords, letting agents and other customers providing LASA with personal information concerning another person are responsible for ensuring that their own collection, use and disclosure of that information complies with applicable law.

Where a landlord or agent independently determines why and how prospective tenant information will be processed, that landlord or agent may itself be a Responsible Party for purposes of POPIA.

The Instructing Party is responsible for ensuring, as applicable, that:

the prospective tenant has been appropriately informed about the proposed processing;
a valid lawful basis exists for processing;
any required consent has been obtained;
the purpose stated to the tenant corresponds with the actual purpose of the enquiry;
personal information supplied to LASA is accurate and relevant;
the report is disclosed only to authorised persons;
the report is used only for a lawful and authorised purpose;
appropriate confidentiality and security measures are maintained; and
the information is not retained for longer than lawfully necessary.

An instruction to LASA does not relieve a landlord, letting agent or other Instructing Party of its own responsibilities under POPIA, the NCA or other applicable legislation.

11. Credit Bureaux and Third-Party Verification Providers

LASA may use appropriately selected third-party credit bureaux, verification services, referencing providers, fraud-prevention services or other information providers to perform tenant screening and related services.

Personal information necessary to undertake the requested enquiry may be transmitted to such providers.

Those providers may process personal information according to applicable law, regulatory requirements and their own lawful privacy practices.

LASA does not control the underlying consumer credit information independently maintained by a credit bureau.

Where a data subject believes that consumer credit information held by a credit bureau is inaccurate, incomplete or otherwise disputed, the data subject may have rights under the NCA and other applicable legislation to challenge that information directly with the relevant credit bureau and/or the appropriate regulator.

12. Disclosure of Tenant Credit Reports

A tenant credit or referencing report obtained following an instruction will ordinarily be supplied only to the Instructing Party and other persons properly authorised to receive it.

The report must not be:

published;
sold;
disclosed to an unauthorised third party;
used for a purpose materially different from the purpose for which the search was authorised; or
otherwise processed unlawfully.

Landlords and agents receiving reports from LASA are responsible for maintaining appropriate security and confidentiality after receipt.

13. Accuracy and Decisions Based on Credit Information

Credit and referencing information may originate from third-party sources.

Although reasonable steps may be taken to obtain appropriate information, LASA cannot guarantee that information maintained by independent third parties is complete, accurate or current in every case.

A credit or referencing report is intended to assist an authorised recipient in making an informed decision. Unless expressly stated otherwise, LASA does not make the landlord’s final decision whether to accept or reject a prospective tenant.

Landlords and letting agents remain responsible for their own rental decisions and for ensuring that such decisions comply with applicable South African law.

Where an individual disputes information contained in a report, LASA will provide reasonable assistance appropriate to its role and, where appropriate, direct the individual to the organisation responsible for the disputed information.

14. Information Concerning Other Third Parties

Members and customers may provide personal information concerning tenants, landlords, agents, contractors, neighbours or other persons when requesting advice or assistance.

A person providing another individual’s personal information to LASA must ensure that the disclosure is lawful.

LASA will process such information only where reasonably necessary and lawfully permitted for purposes such as:

providing the requested service;
responding to an enquiry;
obtaining professional advice;
dealing with disputes or legal proceedings;
protecting legal rights; or
complying with legal and regulatory obligations.

15. Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not sell personal information.

Subject to applicable law, personal information may be disclosed where reasonably necessary to:

payment processors and financial service providers;
credit bureaux;
tenant referencing and verification providers;
fraud-prevention providers;
website hosting and IT providers;
cloud-storage providers;
email and communications providers;
customer-management providers;
analytics providers;
accountants and auditors;
attorneys and other professional advisers;
contractors and operators acting on our behalf;
courts and tribunals;
the Information Regulator;
the National Credit Regulator;
law-enforcement agencies;
other regulators or public authorities; and
other persons where disclosure is required or permitted by law or is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

Where an operator processes personal information for LASA, LASA will take reasonable steps to establish and maintain appropriate contractual, confidentiality and security arrangements as required by POPIA.

16. Security of Personal Information

LASA takes reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the integrity and confidentiality of personal information in its possession or under its control.

These measures are intended to prevent:

loss;
damage;
unauthorised destruction;
unauthorised access;
unlawful processing;
unauthorised alteration; and
unauthorised disclosure.

We periodically consider risks associated with the personal information we process and take reasonable steps to maintain appropriate safeguards.

Where operators process personal information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to require appropriate security and confidentiality measures.

No electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but this does not reduce our obligation to maintain reasonable safeguards as required by POPIA.

17. Personal Information Security Compromises

If LASA has reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will investigate and take appropriate measures.

Where required by POPIA, LASA will notify the Information Regulator and affected data subjects as soon as reasonably possible after discovery of the compromise, subject to any lawful restriction or permitted delay.

We will also take reasonable steps to contain the incident and reduce the risk of further unauthorised access or misuse.

18. International Transfers

LASA uses website hosting, cloud computing, email, communications, payment processing, customer-management, analytics and other technology and professional service providers.

Consequently, personal information may in some circumstances be processed, hosted, backed up or stored outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred to a recipient in another country, LASA will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer complies with section 72 of POPIA.

Depending upon the circumstances, this may include ensuring that the recipient is subject to a law, binding corporate rules or binding agreement providing an adequate level of protection substantially similar to that required by POPIA, obtaining appropriate consent, or relying upon another transfer mechanism permitted by POPIA.

19. Retention of Personal Information

LASA retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or subsequently lawfully processed, unless retention is required or authorised by law.

Retention periods may vary depending upon:

the nature of the information;
the service provided;
contractual obligations;
accounting and taxation requirements;
regulatory requirements;
possible or existing disputes;
legal proceedings;
fraud prevention; and
the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Tenant credit-search information and reports will not be retained indefinitely merely because a search was undertaken.

When information is no longer required and there is no lawful basis for continued retention, we will take reasonable steps to delete, destroy or de-identify it in accordance with POPIA.

20. Data Quality

LASA will take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that personal information in its possession or under its control is complete, accurate, not misleading and updated where necessary, having regard to the purpose for which the information is collected or further processed.

Where information has been supplied by a customer, landlord, agent, credit bureau or other third party, LASA may reasonably rely upon the information supplied while remaining subject to its obligations under applicable law.

21. Your Rights Under POPIA

Subject to POPIA and other applicable legislation, a data subject may have the right to:

be informed about the collection and processing of personal information;
request confirmation of whether LASA holds personal information concerning them;
request access to personal information;
request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, excessive, outdated or misleading information;
request deletion or destruction where permitted by law;
object to processing in circumstances permitted by POPIA;
withdraw consent where processing depends upon consent, subject to the lawfulness of processing already undertaken;
object to direct marketing;
complain to LASA’s Information Officer; and
lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

Access to records may, where applicable, be dealt with in accordance with PAIA and the procedures prescribed by applicable legislation.

LASA may require reasonable proof of identity before disclosing personal information or implementing a request.

22. Automated Decision-Making

Where LASA uses or facilitates automated processing in connection with credit, referencing or verification services, such processing will be handled in accordance with applicable POPIA requirements.

A credit score, indicator or automated result provided by a third-party provider may form only part of the information available to the landlord or agent.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, LASA does not make the ultimate decision as to whether a tenancy should be granted.

23. Direct Marketing

LASA will process personal information for electronic direct marketing only where permitted by POPIA.

Where a person is not an existing customer and consent is required, we will obtain the required consent before sending unsolicited electronic direct-marketing communications.

Where permitted by POPIA, existing customers may receive communications concerning LASA’s own similar products or services where their contact details were obtained in connection with the sale of a product or service.

Marketing communications will provide an appropriate method of objecting to or unsubscribing from further marketing.

An objection or unsubscribe request relating to marketing will not prevent LASA from sending communications reasonably necessary for the administration of a membership, account, purchase or requested service.

24. Email and Service Communications

We may use contact details to send communications necessary for administering memberships, accounts, purchases and services.

These may include:

invoices;
receipts and payment information;
membership communications;
account and password communications;
security notifications;
service messages;
credit/reference service communications; and
important administrative or legal notices.

Such communications are distinct from direct marketing.

25. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for purposes including:

essential website functionality;
account and session management;
security;
remembering preferences;
website performance;
analytics; and
marketing, where applicable.

Some cookies may be placed by third-party service providers.

Where required by applicable law, appropriate information and choices will be provided concerning non-essential cookies.

Users may also control cookies through browser settings, although disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

26. Children’s Personal Information and Special Personal Information

LASA does not intentionally process children’s personal information or special personal information unless there is a lawful basis for doing so and the applicable requirements of POPIA are satisfied.

Customers must not unnecessarily provide LASA with special personal information or children’s personal information when requesting a service.

Where such information is necessary, it must be processed only where permitted by applicable law.

27. Complaints

A person who believes LASA has processed their personal information unlawfully or has otherwise interfered with their protection of personal information should contact our Information Officer:

Information Officer: Mr Sajjad Ahmad
Email: [email protected]
Address: 17 Melkhout Avenue, Kleinmond 7195, South Africa

We will take reasonable steps to investigate privacy complaints and respond appropriately.

A data subject also has the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

Current complaint forms, procedures and contact details should be obtained directly from the Information Regulator’s official website, as these may change from time to time.

28. National Credit Act Rights

Where a matter concerns consumer credit information or a credit bureau, the data subject may also have rights under the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 and applicable regulations, including rights concerning access to and challenge of consumer credit information.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to restrict any statutory right available to a data subject under the NCA, POPIA or other applicable legislation.

29. PAIA

Requests for access to records held by LASA may be subject to the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000.

Where required, LASA will make available its PAIA Manual and information concerning the procedure for requesting access to records.

A request for access to personal information contemplated by POPIA may need to be made in accordance with the applicable PAIA procedure.

30. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:

legislation or regulatory requirements;
our services;
tenant referencing or credit-search arrangements;
technology;
service providers; or
our business practices.

The current version will be published on our website together with its effective or last-updated date.

Material changes may also be communicated by other appropriate means where required.

31. Contact Us

Questions regarding this Privacy Policy or LASA’s processing of personal information should be directed to:

Landlord Association of South Africa Support Services (Pty) Ltd
Information Officer: Mr Sajjad Ahmad
Address: 17 Melkhout Avenue, Kleinmond 7195, South Africa
Email: [email protected]