Privacy notice
How we handle personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Written for the people whose information it is.
1. Who we are
Magna Carter Community Development NPC (registration 2020/538848/08), operating as Magna Carta Social Housing Development, is the responsible party. Registered office: 16 Invicta Road, Thandanani Office Park, Midrand 1685. Our Information Officer is the Chairperson of the Board, reachable at admin@mcshd.co.za.
2. Enquiries we receive now
This section governs every email and telephone call we receive today. The institution is preparing for accreditation, has no homes and runs no waiting list, so the only personal information we process at present is what people send us when they write or call: a name, contact details, the area someone would like to live in and, if they choose to tell us, their household size or whether their income is inside the qualifying band.
We use it to answer, and, where someone has asked to be notified when a waiting list opens, to send that one notification. We keep your details only to tell you when a waiting list opens, handle them under our privacy notice, and delete them if you ask us to. We ask you not to send identity documents, payslips or bank statements at this stage; if you do, we delete them and tell you so.
Practically, this means the Chairperson and the administration function have access to the admin@mcshd.co.za mailbox on our domain host; messages are kept there until the retention point in section 6 or until you ask us to delete them; and a deletion request is answered within 30 days. Sections 3 to 8 describe both this current processing and the future application and tenancy processing that will only begin once a project is approved. Where a paragraph refers to applications, leases or tenancy records, it describes the future.
3. What we collect and why
If you write or call us
Your name, contact details and the content of your message, used to answer you and, if you asked to be told when a waiting list opens, to do so.
If you ask to be notified when a waiting list opens
Your name, the area you would like to live in, how to reach you and, only if you choose to tell us, your household size. We use it only to tell you when a waiting list opens for a project. It is not an application and creates no place in a queue. It is shared only as section 5 describes (our domain mail host stores it; nobody else receives it unless the law requires).
If you apply for a home (once a waiting list is open)
Identity documents for all adults, proof of income, proof of address, subsidy history and household composition, used to verify eligibility under the Social Housing Act, to rank applications under our published allocations framework, and to report allocations to the regulator.
If you become a tenant
Lease, billing, payment and arrears records, maintenance requests, complaints and incident records, used to administer your tenancy, keep the building safe and meet our reporting obligations to the Social Housing Regulatory Authority.
If you are a partner, supplier or director
Business contact details, due-diligence and conflict-of-interest information, used for procurement, governance and statutory records.
4. Lawful basis
We process personal information where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or take steps at your request before one (section 11(1)(b) of POPIA); to comply with a legal obligation, including the Social Housing Act, the Companies Act and the regulator's reporting requirements (section 11(1)(c)); to protect your legitimate interests or pursue ours (section 11(1)(d) and (f)); or with your consent, which you may withdraw at any time (section 11(1)(a)). Special personal information, such as health information relevant to a housing need, is processed only with your consent or where the law requires it.
5. Who we share it with
- The Social Housing Regulatory Authority and other public bodies, where the law or the conditions of a grant require it.
- Service providers who act on our instructions under a written operator agreement: for example, an email or hosting provider, a credit-check provider during application, or a maintenance contractor who needs access details.
- Our auditors, legal advisers and insurers, under duties of confidence.
- Anyone else only with your consent or where the law requires it.
We do not sell personal information. Where a service provider stores information outside South Africa, we do so only under the conditions in section 72 of POPIA and say so in this notice. At the date of this version, this website is hosted in South Africa and email is handled by our domain mail provider; we will update this section if that changes.
6. How long we keep it
- Enquiries and expressions of interest: until a waiting list you asked about has opened and closed, or three years, whichever is sooner, unless you ask us to delete sooner.
- Unsuccessful applications: one year after the outcome, to handle appeals and regulator audits.
- Tenancy records: for the term of the lease plus five years, as the Tax Administration Act and regulator audit cycles require.
- Governance and statutory records: as the Companies Act requires, typically seven years.
7. How we protect it
Access is limited to the people who need it for the purpose. Records are kept in access-controlled systems, backed up, and destroyed securely at the end of the retention period. If a security compromise affects your information we will notify you and the Information Regulator as section 22 of POPIA requires.
8. Your rights
You may ask what personal information we hold about you and receive a copy; ask us to correct or delete it; object to processing; withdraw consent; and complain to the Information Regulator. Write to the Information Officer at admin@mcshd.co.za. We respond within 30 days. Requests for records under the Promotion of Access to Information Act are handled under our PAIA manual.
9. This website
This website sets no cookies of its own, runs no analytics or tracking, and loads nothing from third parties: its typefaces are served from our own domain. Our hosting provider keeps standard web-server access logs (IP address, page requested, time, browser type) for security and fault-finding under its own rotation; we do not use them to identify visitors. No form on this site collects information; contact is by email and telephone. Links to other websites are subject to their own notices.
10. Information Officer and complaints
Information Officer: the Chairperson of the Board, Magna Carter Community Development NPC, 16 Invicta Road, Thandanani Office Park, Midrand 1685, admin@mcshd.co.za, 010 502 0108.
If you are not satisfied with our response you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa): Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191; POPIA complaints to POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za; general enquiries to enquiries@inforegulator.org.za; telephone 010 023 5200 or toll-free 0800 017 160; official contact page. Regulator details verified against that page on 7 September 2026; they are re-checked at every review of this notice.