Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Habitat Realty ("we", "us", or "our") is a real estate agency operating in the Western Cape, South Africa. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have in relation to your personal information. By using our website and services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.

2. Information Officer

In terms of POPIA, our designated Information Officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with this Act and for addressing any queries or complaints regarding the processing of your personal information.

3. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you use our website, register for an account, make an inquiry, or otherwise contact us. The types of personal information we may collect include:

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Contact details: Name, email address, phone number
• Account information: Username, password (stored in encrypted form)
• Inquiry details: Messages, property preferences, viewing requests, and correspondence
• Property preferences: Search criteria, saved properties, preferred areas, price ranges, and property types

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device information
• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, property listings viewed
• Cookies and similar technologies: Session cookies for authentication and site functionality

4. How We Collect Information

We collect personal information through the following means:

• Contact and inquiry forms: When you submit a form on our website requesting information about properties or our services
• Account registration: When you create an account to save properties or manage your preferences
• Property viewing requests: When you request to view a specific property
• Email and phone communication: When you contact us directly
• Automated collection: Through cookies and server logs when you browse our website

5. Purpose of Processing

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

• Responding to inquiries: To reply to your questions about properties, services, or general real estate matters
• Property matching: To match you with properties that meet your stated preferences and criteria
• Account management: To create and maintain your user account, including saved properties and preferences
• Service delivery: To facilitate property viewings, negotiations, and related real estate services
• Communication: To send you updates about properties, market insights, or changes to our services where you have consented
• Website improvement: To analyse usage patterns and improve our website and services
• Legal compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations

6. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on one or more of the following legal grounds under POPIA:

• Consent: Where you have given us explicit consent to process your information (e.g., submitting an inquiry form, creating an account, opting in to marketing)
• Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract (e.g., facilitating a property transaction)
• Legitimate interest: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided these are not overridden by your rights (e.g., improving our services, website analytics)
• Legal obligation: Where we are required to process your information to comply with the law

7. Voluntary or Mandatory Provision

The provision of your personal information is generally voluntary. However, certain information is required to use specific features of our website:

• Inquiry forms: Name, email, and message are required for us to respond to your inquiry. If not provided, we will be unable to assist you.
• Account registration: Email and password are required to create an account. Without these, you cannot save properties or manage preferences.
• Phone number: Optional, but providing it allows us to contact you more efficiently.

8. Sharing of Information

We may share your personal information with the following parties, only to the extent necessary:

• Our agents and staff: Estate agents and administrative staff who need access to your information to provide you with property services
• Service providers: Third-party providers who assist us with website hosting, email delivery, and technical infrastructure, bound by confidentiality agreements
• Property listing platforms: Your property listing data may be published on third-party portals such as Property24 to maximise exposure, in accordance with our mandate
• Legal and regulatory bodies: Where required by law, court order, or regulation, including the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA)
• Professional advisors: Attorneys, conveyancers, and financial institutions involved in property transactions at your request

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

9. Cross-Border Transfers

Our website infrastructure uses the following service providers, some of which may store or process data outside of South Africa:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS): Cloud hosting and image storage (Cape Town, South Africa region where available)
• MongoDB Atlas: Database hosting
• Cloudflare: Content delivery, security, and DNS services
• Google: Analytics and mapping services

Where your personal information is transferred to a country that does not provide an adequate level of data protection, we take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is treated securely and in accordance with POPIA. This includes ensuring that service providers are bound by appropriate data protection agreements and comply with internationally recognised security standards.

10. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required by law. Our general retention periods are:

• Inquiry records: 2 years from the date of the last interaction
• User accounts: For the duration of the account, plus 1 year after account deletion
• Transaction records: 5 years, in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements
• Server logs and analytics: 12 months
• Marketing preferences: Until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe

After the applicable retention period, your personal information will be securely deleted or anonymised.

11. Cookies & Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyse site traffic, and understand where our visitors come from. A cookie is a small text file stored on your device when you visit a website.

11.1 Types of Cookies We Use

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function correctly, including session management, authentication tokens, and security features. These cannot be disabled without affecting core site functionality.
• Functional cookies: Used to remember your preferences such as saved properties, search criteria, and display settings. These improve your experience but are not strictly necessary.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website, including which pages are visited most often and how users navigate the site. This data is collected in aggregate and does not personally identify you.

11.2 Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies are set by third-party services that appear on our pages. We use the following third-party services that may set cookies:

• Google Analytics: To analyse website traffic and usage patterns. Google's privacy policy applies to data collected through their services.
• Google Maps: To display property locations and maps on listing pages.
• Cloudflare: To provide security, performance optimisation, and content delivery services.

11.3 Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

• View and delete existing cookies
• Block cookies from specific or all websites
• Set preferences to be notified when a cookie is set

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. Essential cookies are necessary for the site to operate and cannot be turned off without losing core features such as authentication.

12. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information
• Right to correction: You may request that we correct or update inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading personal information
• Right to deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information where it is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds, including the processing of your information for direct marketing
• Right to data portability: You may request a copy of your personal information in a structured, commonly used format
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time
• Right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been infringed

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer at privacy@habitatrealty.co.za. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

13. Direct Marketing

We will only send you direct marketing communications where you have provided your explicit, opt-in consent. You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by:

• Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email
• Contacting us at privacy@habitatrealty.co.za
• Updating your preferences in your account settings

Opting out of marketing will not affect service-related communications (such as responses to your inquiries or account notifications).

14. Security Measures

We take the security of your personal information seriously and have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it, including:

• Encrypted password storage using industry-standard hashing algorithms
• Secure authentication using JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
• HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers
• Role-based access controls limiting staff access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Regular security reviews of our systems and infrastructure

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

15. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

16. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information as soon as possible. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact our Information Officer.

17. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a security breach that compromises your personal information, we will:

• Notify the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible after discovery of the breach
• Notify affected data subjects as soon as reasonably possible, providing details of the breach, the potential consequences, and the measures we have taken or intend to take to address it
• Take immediate steps to contain the breach and mitigate any potential harm
• Investigate the cause of the breach and implement measures to prevent recurrence

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our website after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

19. Contact & Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Information Officer:

If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator: