Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Amatle Makhoakhoa (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2021/439126/07, of Unit A23, Northview Shopping Centre, Malibongwe Drive, Northriding, 2188) — “Amatle”, “we”, “us” — collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information when you use our website at amatle.co.za and the services offered through it. That includes browsing and enquiring about rental homes, submitting a rental application, requesting a tenant screening report, booking a viewing, signing a lease, paying rent and logging maintenance requests.

We are the “responsible party” for this information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

Our Information Officer oversees how we comply with POPIA. You can reach the Information Officer, and raise any question or request about your personal information, at info@amatle.co.za.

Depending on how you use the platform, we may collect:

• Identity and contact details — your name, email address, phone number and a copy of your South African ID or passport.
• Affordability and employment information — payslips, bank statements, employer confirmation and your stated income, used to assess affordability (we require a net income of at least three times the monthly rent).
• Credit and identity-check results — the outcome of a credit, identity and affordability check performed through a registered credit bureau (see “Tenant screening and credit checks” below).
• Tenancy details — the property you are applying for, proposed rental amount, number of occupants, lease terms, your initials and on-screen signature, and proof of payment.
• Estate and building information: the access, vehicle and pet details you give on the forms your estate or building requires before you move in.
• Maintenance and inspection information — issues you report and the photographs and notes recorded during inspections.
• Information you send us — messages submitted through the website contact form or sent to us by email.
• Technical information — your device, browser and usage data collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies, and limited data used to protect our forms from spam and automated abuse.

We collect personal information:

• directly from you when you enquire, apply, book, sign or pay;
• from a landlord or letting agent who submits a prospective tenant’s details to us in order to request a screening report on that person;
• from a registered credit bureau that returns the credit, identity and affordability report; and
• automatically from your device when you use the website.

Where a landlord submits an applicant’s information for screening, the landlord confirms that the applicant has consented to the check.

We process personal information to:

• assess and respond to rental applications and screening requests;
• run credit, identity and affordability checks;
• prepare, sign and administer leases, and invoice and receipt rent;
• arrange viewings, inspections and maintenance;
• respond to your enquiries and send you service-related messages;
• send marketing about our services where you have not opted out; and
• protect our platform, prevent fraud and meet our legal obligations.

We rely on one or more lawful bases under POPIA: your consent; the conclusion or performance of a contract with you; compliance with a legal obligation; and our legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving our services, balanced against your rights.

To assess a rental application, we share the applicant’s identity and financial details with TPN Credit Bureau (or another registered credit bureau where TPN is unavailable) to obtain a credit, identity and affordability report. This is carried out with the applicant’s consent, recorded at the point of application or when a landlord requests a screening report on the applicant’s behalf. The report informs our tenancy decisions; we do not sell it or use it for any unrelated purpose.

During your tenancy, and as set out in clause 25.2 of your lease, we also report your rental payment behaviour to TPN, whether a payment is on time, late or missed. Paying on time builds a positive rental payment record in your name.

Some information is required. We cannot assess a rental application without your identity and contact details, your affordability information and your consent to a credit check, and we cannot conclude or administer a lease without the details the lease itself needs. If you do not provide this information, we will not be able to proceed with your application or your lease. Other information, such as your marketing preferences, is optional.

A screening report may form part of the information we consider when deciding whether to approve an application. Decisions are not made by automated means alone — a person reviews each application. If you believe a decision that significantly affects you was based only on automated processing, you may ask us to reconsider it and to take your representations into account.

We share personal information only where necessary, and with parties required to protect it:

• service providers who process information on our behalf (operators), including hosting and infrastructure providers, email and SMS delivery providers, and payment processors;
• the relevant service providers we use to administer your lease, including the managing agent or body corporate of your building or estate (for example, the access, vehicle and pet forms you complete for them);
• registered credit bureaus, as described above;
• professional advisers, and authorities or other parties where we are required or permitted by law to disclose; and
• a successor entity, if our business or its assets are reorganised, merged or sold.

We do not sell your personal information.

We operate a publishing tool that posts short videos to the YouTube channels of Vernac Books and Amatle Institute, using YouTube API Services. Only our own staff sign in to it. When you watch or interact with those videos on YouTube, theYouTube Terms of Serviceapply, and Google handles your information under theGoogle Privacy Policy.

The tool uses YouTube API Services only to upload and manage those videos and playlists and to read channel figures such as views and subscriber counts. It does not collect, store or share personal information about people who watch the videos, beyond the aggregated figures YouTube gives channel owners. Anyone who has given the tool access to a Google account can remove that access at any time atmyaccount.google.com/permissions.

Some of our service providers process personal information outside South Africa, including in the European Union and the United States. Where personal information is transferred across a border, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected to a standard comparable to POPIA, as required by section 72 — for example, through contractual safeguards with the recipient.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working, remember your preferences, understand how the site is used and protect our forms from automated abuse. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings; some features may not work properly if you disable them.

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it, or for as long as the law requires:

• unsuccessful rental applications and the related screening information — up to 12 months, unless you ask us to delete it sooner;
• lease, billing and payment records — at least 5 years after the tenancy ends, to meet tax and other legal obligations;
• marketing contact details — until you opt out.

When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or de-identify it.

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including encrypted connections, role-based access controls and database-level access restrictions. No system is completely secure, but we work to safeguard your information and to limit access to those who need it.

You have the right to:

• ask what personal information we hold about you and request a copy;
• ask us to correct or update information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask us to delete or destroy information we no longer have a lawful basis to keep;
• object to certain processing, including direct marketing; and
• withdraw a consent you have given, without affecting processing already carried out.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@amatle.co.za. We may need to verify your identity before we act on a request.

Where we send you marketing about our services, every message includes a way to opt out, and you can opt out at any time by emailing info@amatle.co.za. Opting out of marketing does not stop the service messages we need to send you about an application, lease or payment.

Our services are intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.

If you are in the European Union or United Kingdom, you may have additional rights under the GDPR or UK GDPR, including rights of access, correction, erasure, restriction, objection and data portability. If you are a California resident, you may have rights under the CCPA, including to know, access and delete your personal information and not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights. We do not sell personal information. To exercise any of these, contact us at info@amatle.co.za.

If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us first at info@amatle.co.za so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa). The Regulator’s current contact details, including its complaints address, are available at inforegulator.org.za.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the “last updated” date at the top of this page, and significant changes will be made clear on the website. Please check back so you stay aware of how we protect your information.