Terms of Service

1. 1. Who we are and what these terms cover

   PropertyPA is an online platform for direct residential rentals in South Africa, operated by PropertyPA (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2024/476468/07), a private company incorporated in the Republic of South Africa with its registered office at WeWork — The Link, 173 Oxford Road, Rosebank, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2196 ("PropertyPA", "we", "us"). You can contact us at info@propertypa.co.za.

   These terms are an agreement between you and PropertyPA (Pty) Ltd and govern your use of the www.propertypa.co.za website and the PropertyPA platform, including the waitlist. By joining the waitlist, creating an account or using the platform, you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the platform.

2. 2. PropertyPA is a tool, not an agent

   PropertyPA provides software that helps landlords and tenants transact directly. Understanding what we are not is as important as what we are:

   • We are not an estate agent or property practitioner. We do not market, negotiate or conclude leases on anyone’s behalf, and we charge no commission on rent.
   • We are not a law firm. Lease templates, notice-period calculations and compliance aids are tools, not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a legal professional.
   • We are not a credit bureau or a financial adviser. Screening reports are produced by third-party providers from their own data, and any decision made on them is the landlord’s own.
   • We are not a party to any lease concluded through the platform, and we are not a payment intermediary for rent — rent and deposits flow directly between tenant and landlord.

3. 3. Eligibility and your account

   • You must be at least 18 years old and able to conclude a binding agreement to use the platform.
   • The information you provide when registering and using the platform must be accurate, current and your own.
   • You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. Tell us immediately at info@propertypa.co.za if you suspect unauthorised access.
   • We may decline, suspend or close accounts used in breach of these terms (see section 17).

4. 4. Waitlist and pre-launch

   Joining the waitlist creates no payment obligation. No card details are requested and nothing is charged unless and until you actively subscribe to a paid plan after launch. We use your waitlist details to send launch updates; every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can stop them at any time.

   While PropertyPA is pre-launch, features described on this site reflect what is built and what is planned for launch. Subscribers will be told clearly which is which before they pay anything.

5. 5. Plans and fees

   Current pricing, always stated inclusive of VAT where applicable:

   • Free plan — listing a property, browsing and applying cost nothing.
   • TenantPRO — a once-off fee of R 99.00 for a verified tenant profile valid for 30 days.
   • LandlordPRO — R 295.00 per month, per managed property.
   • No plan charges commission on rent — not at signing, not monthly, never.

   Prices may change over time; changes are announced in advance and never apply retroactively to a period you have already paid for.

6. 6. Billing and cancellation

   • LandlordPRO is billed monthly in advance and is month-to-month: no lock-in period and no cancellation fee. Cancel at any time; the subscription runs to the end of the paid period and does not renew.
   • TenantPRO is a once-off purchase for a defined 30-day validity period; it does not renew automatically.
   • After cancellation your documents (leases, statements, reports) remain downloadable from your account.
   • Where the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 applies to a transaction, nothing in these terms limits the rights it gives you.

7. 7. Rent, deposits and payments

   • Rent and deposits are paid directly between tenant and landlord using their own bank accounts. PropertyPA provides payment references (format PPA-XXXXXX-MMYY) and reconciliation tooling but does not hold, route or control rental money.
   • Landlords remain responsible for handling deposits as the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 requires, including interest and inspection obligations.
   • Subscription fees are processed by our third-party payment processor; we do not store card numbers.

8. 8. Tenant screening and verification

   • Screening (identity verification, credit checks and bank-based affordability assessment) runs only with the explicit consent of the person being screened, given per check.
   • Reports are produced by third-party verification providers (for example Home Affairs identity verification and TransUnion credit data via our verification partner) from their own records. We pass them on in good faith but cannot guarantee they are complete, current or error-free; disputes about report content must be raised with the relevant bureau or provider.
   • Screening results are decision support. The decision to accept or decline an applicant is the landlord’s alone, and landlords must make it lawfully — including without unfair discrimination.
   • Misrepresenting your identity or financial position in an application is a material breach of these terms.

9. 9. Leases and electronic signatures

   • Lease templates are designed around the Rental Housing Act, and the platform enforces its notice periods for the cancellation scenarios it models. The parties to the lease remain responsible for its content and for their obligations under it.
   • Leases are signed electronically. As permitted by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, you agree that electronic signatures applied through the platform bind the signing parties.
   • PropertyPA is not a party to any lease and is not responsible for either party’s performance under it — including payment of rent, the state of the property, or the return of deposits.

10. 10. Your content and listings

    • You retain ownership of the content you upload — listings, photos, documents and messages. You grant us a non-exclusive licence to host, display and process that content solely to operate the platform.
    • Listings must be accurate and for genuine, available properties you are entitled to let. Misleading listings are removed.
    • You warrant that content you upload does not infringe anyone else’s rights and does not include another person’s personal information without a lawful basis.

11. 11. Acceptable use

    You may not:

    • Use the platform for anything unlawful, fraudulent or misleading — including fake listings, rental scams or misrepresenting screening results.
    • Harass, threaten or unfairly discriminate against other users.
    • Attempt to bypass security or access controls, scrape the platform, or use others’ personal information for purposes outside the rental relationship.
    • Interfere with the operation of the platform, or introduce malicious code.
    • Resell or white-label the platform without our written agreement.

12. 12. Privacy

    We process personal information as described in our Privacy Policy and, in more formal detail, in our PAIA & POPIA Manual. Both are part of how we operate rather than optional extras: consent is collected before processing, South African ID numbers are encrypted at rest, and you can export or request deletion of your data from your account.

13. 13. Third-party services

    The platform depends on third-party services — hosting, verification providers, payment processing, email delivery and mapping. Where a third-party service imposes its own terms on end users, those terms apply to your use of that service. We are not responsible for third-party services failing, but section 15 governs how we handle the effect of such failures on the platform.

14. 14. Intellectual property

    The platform — its software, design, branding and content we created — belongs to PropertyPA (Pty) Ltd or its licensors. These terms give you a personal, non-transferable right to use the platform while you have an account; they transfer no other rights. Documents generated for you (for example your signed leases and statements) are yours to keep and use.

15. 15. Availability and disclaimers

    We work to keep the platform available, secure and accurate, but it is provided "as is" and "as available". To the extent the law allows, we do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will always be corrected immediately, or that third-party data (including screening reports and map data) is accurate. Planned maintenance is announced where reasonably possible. Nothing in this section excludes warranties or guarantees the Consumer Protection Act or other law makes non-excludable.

16. 16. Limitation of liability

    To the maximum extent permitted by South African law: PropertyPA is not liable for indirect, consequential or special damages, loss of profit, or loss of data arising from use of the platform; and our total aggregate liability for any claim arising from the platform is limited to the greater of R 1 000.00 and the amount you paid us in subscription fees in the 12 months before the claim arose.

    Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded — including liability arising from gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or liability under the Consumer Protection Act where it applies.

    You indemnify PropertyPA against claims by third parties arising from your breach of these terms, your listings or content, or your conduct in a rental relationship concluded through the platform.

17. 17. Suspension and termination

    • You can close your account at any time. Data deletion then follows the process in our Privacy Policy, including the 30-day grace period.
    • We may suspend or terminate an account that materially breaches these terms — including fraud, fake listings, abuse of other users or attempts to compromise the platform — with notice where practicable.
    • Where an account is closed, clauses that by their nature survive (content warranties, liability limits, disputes) continue to apply.

18. 18. Changes to the platform or these terms

    We improve the platform continuously and may change or retire features. If we make a material change to these terms, we will notify registered users by email or in-app notice at least 14 days before it takes effect. Continuing to use the platform after that date is acceptance of the updated terms; if you do not accept them, close your account before they take effect.

19. 19. Governing law and disputes

    These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction over disputes arising from them. Nothing prevents either party from using dispute resolution a statute provides — including the Rental Housing Tribunal for landlord–tenant disputes, the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud where applicable, or the Information Regulator for privacy complaints. We would, however, appreciate the chance to resolve any issue first: email info@propertypa.co.za.

See also our Privacy Policy and PAIA & POPIA Manual. Questions? Email info@propertypa.co.za.