Privacy Policy

The responsible party for personal information processed through the Service is Housely (Pty) Ltd ("Housely", "we", "us", or "our"). Company registration number: to be updated.

Physical address: Disa Park, Cape Town, South Africa

Information Officer contact: housley.za@gmail.com (see Section 16 for full contact details).

This policy applies to you if you are:

• A visitor to our website or apps
• A renter or landlord who creates an account or uses the Service
• Someone who lists a property, matches, messages, uploads documents, or pays via the Service
• Anyone who contacts us by email, phone, or other correspondence

By creating an account, uploading personal information, or otherwise requesting our services, you acknowledge this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Service.

You may not use the Service if you are younger than 18 or lack legal capacity to conclude binding contracts. You may only submit your own personal information, or another person's information where you have their permission (or another lawful basis) to do so.

"Personal information" means information relating to an identifiable living natural person, and where applicable a juristic person, as defined in POPIA. It excludes anonymous or permanently de-identified information that cannot reasonably be linked back to you.

4.1 Information you provide

• Account and identity details (name, email, phone number, user type: renter or landlord)
• Profile and preference information (bio, budget, preferred location, pet preferences, occupation or related details you choose to add)
• Listing information (address, city, rent, deposit, photos, property rules, availability)
• Messages and communications sent through the Service
• Viewing requests, notes, and scheduling details
• Support requests and feedback you send to us

4.2 Verification and financial documents

To support safer renting, you may upload documents such as South African ID or passport copies, payslips, bank statements, employer letters, pet information, or proof of ownership / management mandate. Some of this may constitute special personal information or sensitive information under POPIA (for example identity numbers and financial information). We process such information only where necessary for the Service, with your consent and/or as required to perform our contract with you, and for fraud prevention and verification.

4.3 Information collected automatically

• Device and usage data (IP address, browser type, pages viewed, approximate timestamps, crash or diagnostic data)
• Location information based on addresses you provide or city-level preferences (we do not need precise GPS tracking for core matching)
• Cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy)

4.4 Payments

Payment card and Instant EFT details are processed by PayFast (or another payment provider we nominate). We do not store full card numbers, CVV, or similar sensitive payment-card data. We may retain payment references, amounts, status, and related transaction records for accounting and legal compliance.

4.5 Authentication providers

If you sign in via Clerk or a third-party identity provider (for example Google or Apple, where enabled), we receive account identifiers and profile information subject to your settings with that provider. Please also read their privacy policies.

We process personal information to:

• Provide and improve the Service (profiles, listings, swipes, Matches, messaging, viewings)
• Verify users, reduce fraud and scams, and support admin document review
• Calculate soft-screening indicators from information you provide
• Process payments and keep transaction records
• Send service communications (account notices, match alerts, viewing reminders, security notices)
• Send marketing or product updates where you have opted in (you may unsubscribe at any time)
• Comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our Terms, and protect the rights and safety of users and Housely
• Analyse usage in aggregate to improve product quality (including through analytics and error monitoring tools)

Depending on the context, we rely on:

• Your consent (for example document upload, certain marketing)
• Performance of a contract with you or steps prior to contracting
• Our legitimate interests (such as securing the platform, preventing fraud, and improving the Service), balanced against your rights
• Compliance with legal obligations under South African law

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing already lawfully carried out.

We may share personal information with:

• Other users — when you Match or communicate; landlords may see renter profile snapshots you make available; renters may see Listing and landlord profile details
• Document recipients — verification documents are shared only with matched parties or when you explicitly consent to sharing. We do not make ID or financial documents public
• Operators / service providers — who process data on our instructions to run the Service, including authentication (Clerk), hosting and databases, file storage, payments (PayFast), and analytics or error monitoring. They may only use your information to provide services to us
• Regulators and law enforcement — when required by law, court order, or to protect safety and investigate abuse
• Business transfers — if we undergo a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may transfer to a successor. We will take reasonable steps to continue protecting your information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share aggregate, non-identifying statistics with partners or for business reporting.

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, access, or disclosure. These include encryption in transit (HTTPS), encryption at rest for stored documents where supported by our storage providers, access controls, and authentication.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential.

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes in this policy, unless a longer period is required or authorised by law, or you consent to longer retention.

• Account and profile data: generally while your account is active
• Inactive accounts: we may delete or de-identify data after prolonged inactivity (for example after about two years), after giving reasonable notice where practical
• Payment and tax-related records: typically up to seven years, as required for financial and legal compliance
• Dispute or safety records: as long as needed to resolve the matter or meet legal obligations

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Access personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion or destruction of information, subject to legal retention limits (for example payment records)
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Object to certain processing or request restriction, where applicable
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (see below)

To exercise these rights, contact us using the details in Section 16. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

Information Regulator (South Africa): for POPIA complaints you may contact the Information Regulator via https://inforegulator.org.za/ or the contact details published on that site.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, contact:

Email: housley.za@gmail.com

Phone: 079 607 6265

Location: Disa Park, Cape Town, South Africa

Information Officer (data protection): housley.za@gmail.com