LEGAL
POPI
And You
POPI’s impact on the property industry
BY MARLON SHEVELEW
T
he Protection of Personal Information Act
(POPI) – Number 4 of 2013 – and its impact
on the rental property industry cannot be
understated.
‘Personal Information’ is widely defined and
includes, inter-alia, race, a name, date of birth,
phone number (home and cellular), work and home
address, identity number, passport number, banking
information or income (of a company or individual),
gender, contact details, personal opinions, private
correspondence and financial information. Personal
information applies to all individuals and entities.
Be careful when screening or entering into leases
with tenants - of an individual’s right to privacy.
must be processed lawfully and reasonably, in a
manner that does not infringe upon the privacy of
the tenant by gathering as little tenant information
as possible and reasonable in the circumstances, and
with the tenant’s consent.
24
Residential Handbook 2015
POPI governs how landlords may collect, store,
record, use and disclose personal information of
tenants. Landlords must notify tenants of their
purpose for the collection, storage, recordable use
and disclosure of personal information.
“POPI dictates how
such information may
be stored, recorded, used
and disclosed.”
Moreover, there is now a duty on landlords to have
a high standard of security when storing information
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