Johannesburg - From fingerprints, to driver’s licences and IDs being scanned, gaining entry into some of the country's residential estates can be quite a feat.
The Residential Communities Council (RCC), which comprises some 200 residential estates across SA, is looking to amend its code of conduct regarding how personal information is handled in South Africa.
The RCC is the representative body for the Residential Community Industry, which includes estates, complexes, gated communities, homeowners associations (HOAs) and others.
The new proposed code of conduct from the RCC was published by the Information Regulator earlier this month, as the regulator has to give notice when it is considering issuing a code of conduct as per section 61(2) of the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia).
Founder and Director of the Association of Residential Communities (ARC), which is also part of the RCC, Jonathan Gilmour said this is a standard move to comply with the Popi Act.
“We require quite a bit of information from visitors, domestic workers, deliverymen and contractors but this is in the interest of everyone’s safety. ARC was founded in 2008. We are guided by the Community Schemes Ombuds Services (CSOS) and we have to comply with the rules of the custodian,” he said.
Partner at Webber Wentzel, Peter Grealy said the proposed code has to go before the information regulator and that there is nothing sinister behind the move.
“A number of associations are looking to do the same. The code, if approved, would collectively impact people in specific groupings. For now it’s only in its draft form,” he said.
The proposed RCC code will, among other things, introduce the following: promote appropriate practices by members of the RCC when processing personal information, establish procedures for the submission, consideration and resolution of complaints against the RCC or its members, lay down guidelines for the lawful processing of personal information by various stakeholders in the residential community industry; and provide guidelines to establish a complaints handling process by RCC members. The new Code of Conduct will apply to all RCC members as it is a compulsory requirement of being a member of the RCC.
It will also apply to third parties who have entered into agreements with an RCC member to process personal information.
Members who do not follow the new RCC code may, at the discretion of the RCC, have their membership reviewed by an assessor or independent adjudicator appointed by the RCC.
Broadly, the code of conduct aims to set HOAs up as the accountable parties when dealing with the private information of residents. It also aims to put limitations on the gathering and processing of private information in line with the Popi Act.
The code is important, given that estates and gated communities often collect a lot of personal information on owners, residents and visitors, including biometric data.
Stakeholders agree that private data be obtained with consent, and retained within the limits of the Popi Act.
Gilmor said RCC and ARC members account for between 35%-40% of membership in Gauteng, 20% in the Western Cape, just under 10% in KZN, 8% in Mpumalanga and 5% in the Eastern Cape. The RCC Code is currently open for public comments until September 22 and all comments must be sent to the Information Regulator at [email protected].