Privacy Policy (POPIA)

Rent Direct Hub is operated by HMR PROPERTY SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD, a private company registered in South Africa under registration number 2026/664675/07. We are the responsible party for the personal information described in this policy.

Email

Rentdirecthub@hmrprop.co.za

Information Officer

Hayden Delport

Information Officer contact

Rentdirecthub@hmrprop.co.za

• Landlords and property owners or their duly authorised agents who register and advertise rentals.
• Tenants and property seekers who search listings and contact landlords. Tenants do not need an account to browse or enquire.
• Service providers listed in our property services directory (plumbers, electricians, cleaners, security and similar).
• General visitors to the website, including people who use our contact forms.

• Account information — full name, email address, mobile number, WhatsApp number, password (stored only as a secure hash), city/area and account settings.
• Listing information — property address or suburb, rental amount, deposit, property type, features, availability, photographs and descriptive text you upload.
• Enquiry and communication data — enquiry messages, name and contact details of the person enquiring, viewing requests, and correspondence with our support team.
• Verification information — identity document or passport details, proof of contact number and email, and property-related documents such as a municipal rates account, title deed or signed mandate, where you choose to complete verification.
• Technical and device data — IP address, browser and device type, approximate location derived from IP, pages viewed, search filters used and error logs.
• Cookie data — see our Cookie Policy.
• Future payment-related data — if and when paid advertising packages are introduced, billing name, invoice details and a payment reference. Full card details would be handled by a secure third-party payment processor and are not intended to be stored by Rent Direct Hub.

Please do not include unnecessary special personal information (for example medical or religious details) in listings, enquiries or documents you send us.

• To create and administer landlord accounts and keep them secure.
• To publish property listings and make them searchable by tenants.
• To pass tenant enquiries to the relevant landlord and enable direct WhatsApp, phone and email contact.
• To carry out landlord verification checks and display accurate verification status.
• To provide customer support and respond to complaints.
• To detect, prevent and investigate fraud, scam listings, abuse and misuse of the platform.
• To improve the platform, including understanding which areas and property types are in demand.
• To comply with legal obligations and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
• To administer future paid advertising packages, invoices and related records.

We rely on the following justifications in section 11 of POPIA:

• Consent — for optional analytics and marketing cookies, and for optional direct marketing.
• Necessary to conclude or perform a contract — for example maintaining your landlord account and publishing your listing.
• Compliance with a legal obligation — for example retaining tax and transaction records.
• Protecting our legitimate interests or those of a third party — for example fraud prevention, platform security and improving our services.

We only send electronic direct marketing where you have opted in, or where you are an existing customer and the marketing relates to similar services, as permitted by section 69 of POPIA. Marketing consent is always separate from accepting our terms and privacy policy. Every marketing message includes a free unsubscribe option, and you may object at any time by contacting our Information Officer.

• Landlords receive the contact details and message content of tenants who enquire about their listing.
• Tenants see the contact details a landlord chooses to publish for their listing.
• Hosting, cloud database, storage and email delivery providers that operate our platform under written processing agreements.
• Verification or document-checking service providers, where used.
• A secure third-party payment processor, if and when paid services are introduced.
• Professional advisors, insurers, auditors and law enforcement or regulators where legally required.

We do not sell personal information.

Some of our hosting, cloud and communication providers process information outside South Africa. Where information is transferred across borders we take steps required by section 72 of POPIA, including relying on providers subject to laws or binding agreements that give substantially similar protection to POPIA.

We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, row-level database access rules so landlords can only reach their own records, restricted administrative access and logging. No system is completely secure — you must keep your password confidential and notify us immediately of any suspected unauthorised access. If a security compromise affects your personal information we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by section 22 of POPIA.

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law:

• Account and listing records — while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards.
• Enquiry records — for a limited period so landlords and tenants can refer back to them and so we can investigate disputes.
• Verification documents — only as long as needed to complete and evidence the check.
• Financial and tax records — for the periods required by South African law (generally five years).

• Access the personal information we hold about you, subject to PAIA.
• Request correction or deletion of information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date or unlawfully obtained.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests, on reasonable grounds.
• Withdraw consent, including cookie and marketing consent, at any time.
• Object to direct marketing at any time.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

To exercise these rights, contact our Information Officer at Rentdirecthub@hmrprop.co.za. We may need to verify your identity first. Formal access requests follow the procedure in our PAIA Manual.

Rent Direct Hub is intended for adults (18 and older) who can lawfully enter into a lease or advertise a property. We do not knowingly process the personal information of children without the consent of a competent person. If you believe a child's information has been provided to us, contact our Information Officer and we will delete it.

Paid advertising is charged in South African Rand and is displayed inclusive of any applicable amounts before you confirm an order. Card payments are processed by Paystack, an independent third-party payment processor. Rent Direct Hub never receives or stores your full card number or card security code.

Please raise any privacy concern with our Information Officer first so we can resolve it. You may also complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa): complaints.IR@justice.gov.za · https://inforegulator.org.za.

We may update this policy as the platform develops — particularly when paid services and analytics are introduced. The version number and last-updated date at the top of this page will change, and material changes will be communicated to registered landlords.