Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April/ May 2020 | Page 28

ACQUIRING
Live & work
in Rosebank
MANAGING
Security vs Privacy
Can residential estates scan drivers
licences & check boots?
The finest city living
I
t is undoubted that Johannesburg is one of South Africa’s
hub of human activity either for business or leisure. This is
where to the great extent the cosmopolitan commercial
and residential business hub, Rosebank, offers massive
business opportunities and splendid residential experiences
either through hotel and/or accommodations in the area or
private residential homes. A high point of Rosebank, and the
high point of Rosebank living.
The Tyrwhitt, on the corner of Bath and Tyrwhitt Avenues,
is Rosebank’s newest upmarket residential development
offering the best of urban residential living in Johannesburg’s
most desirable, “live, work and play” neighbourhood.
The ultimate in self-contained living, this 14-storey
building with state-of-the-art security offers an
uninterrupted power supply, fast fibre-optic internet, ample
underground parking, 24-hour concierge and the option of
joining a co-working or flexible office space next door. The
Tyrwhitt epitomizes all one wants from modern living. An
escape from the dreaded commute and convenient access
to all the amenities required for an urban lifestyle.
Rosebank has it all. A walkable and attractive art and
lifestyle precinct, the suburb is in a prime location between
Joburg’s other key business districts, Sandton and the city
centre. It’s a neighbourhood known for its rich lifestyle
offerings including shopping centres, cafes, coffee shops,
cinemas, restaurants, art galleries, gyms, sundowner spots,
a Sunday market, live music venues and a thriving tourism
heart. It offers city living as it should be.
Rosebank also stands out in Johannesburg as a walkable
district, with its pedestrian-friendly tree-lined streets that in
Spring become a haze of purple Jacaranda blooms.
With a neighbourhood Gautrain Station Rosebank is less
than a 20-minute journey from OR Tambo International
Airport, and under five minutes from Sandton Central
Business District and the City Centre.
For young business professionals working in Rosebank
and surrounds this is an ideal location. And for those
who travel regularly to Joburg for work or as a lifestyle
choice, a perfect pied-à-terre. This accommodation is an
excellent choice for empty-nesters looking to downsize to
a more compact, lock-up-and-go residential option. With a
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APRIL/MAY 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
T
he scanning of drivers’ licences has become prevalent
at the entrances of community housing schemes
like townhouse complexes, retirement villages and
residential estates. You may be denied access to the scheme
if you don’t whip out that licence. According to specialist
sectional title and community schemes attorney Marina
Constas, overzealous security guards and estates may,
however, be on the wrong side of the law.
growing rental market in Rosebank it is important that this
accommodation is also an exciting property investment
option for investors. “I get it! Unlicensed drivers can gain access and may cause
an accident. Unsavoury individuals with questionable motives
may be casing the joint to come in later and steal out of homes
or hijack vehicles. On the other hand, the right to privacy is a
very real thing,” Constas says.
It comprises 219 units which vary in sizes ranging from
54sq/m to 135sq/m with prices from R2.1 million for a one-
bedroom apartment. People have the freedom to choose
from one, two, three-bedroom apartments, or opt for
penthouse living with awe-inspiring views of Joburg’s tree-
filled suburbs. She says that trustees and directors of community schemes
must balance the interests on both sides and must understand
that security officers are not authorised officers in terms of
Section 17 of the Identification Act 68 of 1997.
This residential and commercial extraordinaire has
been developed by Grapnel Property Company, which has
a 20-year proven track record in property development,
management and ownership. Among their South African
portfolio is one of Sandton’s premier shopping centres, the
Morningside Shopping Centre, and The Vantage residential
development in Rosebank.
SOURCE Rosebank the Tyrwhitt
“Only police officers and peace officers are legally entitled to
verify a person’s identification,” she adds.
What about checking visitors’ car boots, as some estates are
doing? Section 14 of our Constitution says that everyone has
the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have their
property searched.
“In the very same Constitution, those rights can be limited,
and the Criminal Procedure Act is very clear when it stipulates
that a police officer is only entitled to search a person or a
person’s property with a Court-issued search warrant. If there’s
no warrant, then that police officer must have reasonable
grounds and a reasonable suspicion that the person or
property being searched has been involved in the commission
of a crime.
“The most important piece of legislation for the trustees or
directors to consider is the Protection of Personal Information
Act (POPI Act), which will become effective in the very near
future, particularly when it comes to scanning drivers’ licences.
A licence yields specific data, such as the name of the driver, his
photograph, identity number and date of birth. The use of data
for ill-gotten gains, including identity theft, is on an upward
spiral which is alarming. The POPI Act aims to protect us as
much as it can. The Act says that the collectors of information
must stipulate why they want it and what they will use it for.
They must tell us where they are storing it and when they will
destroy it. The rules of the housing scheme and information
at the entrance of the scheme must cover these questions.
Trustees and directors need to urgently begin scrutinising their
rules and procedures,” Constas concludes.
ABOUT BBM LAW
Biccari Bollo Mariano Incorporated ("BBM") is a firm conducting
a general legal practice. BBM Law believes in sourcing the best
available talent and ensuring that those attorneys specialise in the
area of law for which they have the most aptitude, skill and passion.
SOURCE BBM Law
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine APRIL/MAY 2020
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