Terms & Conditions

1. About ErfFind and these terms

1.1 ErfFind (“ErfFind”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is operated by ErfFind, a South African business. Our contact details are in clause 18 and on our Contact page.

1.2 “You” means anyone who uses ErfFind: people searching for property, private sellers and landlords, estate agents, and agencies. Where you use ErfFind for an agency, you confirm that you are authorised to bind that agency, and “you” includes the agency.

1.3 These terms form a binding agreement between you and us. If you do not agree with them, please do not use ErfFind. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.

1.4 We may update these terms from time to time. We will show the date of the latest version at the top of this page and, for material changes that affect paying customers, give at least 14 days' notice by email or in your account. Changes never affect a period you have already paid for. If you keep using ErfFind after a change takes effect, the updated terms apply.

2. What ErfFind is, and is not

2.1 ErfFind is an online property advertising portal, together with a free customer relationship management system (the “CRM”) for estate agencies, agency websites, accounting and trust record-keeping tools, franchise group tools and related tools. These terms apply equally when you use ErfFind through our Android app.

2.2 We are not an estate agent as defined in the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, and we do not act as an agent, broker, conveyancer, valuer, financial adviser or attorney for anyone. We do not hold, receive or pay out deposits, rent, purchase money or any other trust money, negotiate on anyone's behalf, or earn commission on any sale or letting.

2.3 We are not a party to any agreement between buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants and agents. Any sale, lease, mandate or other agreement is solely between those parties, and they are responsible for it.

2.4 Information on ErfFind, including prices, sizes, maps, calculators and area information, is provided as a guide only. It is not advice. Before you commit to a property, inspect it, check its title and zoning, and take independent professional advice.

3. Accounts

3.1 Give accurate, current information when you register and keep it up to date. Each account is for one person; don't share your login.

3.2 You are responsible for everything done through your account. Keep your password secret, and tell us straight away at info@erffind.co.za if you think someone else has accessed it.

3.3 We may refuse a registration, or ask for proof of identity or authority, where we reasonably need to protect users or the platform.

3.4 Support access. To resolve a support request or investigate a problem, authorised ErfFind staff may sign in to your account as you. A banner is shown on every page while this happens, and staff do only what the support task needs.

4. Estate agents and agencies

4.1 Anyone who lists property as an estate agent (property practitioner) must hold a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate issued by the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), must work for a registered agency, and must hold a valid mandate for every property they advertise. You must tell us immediately if your certificate lapses or is withdrawn.

4.2 We verify agencies before some features become available, and we may ask for supporting documents at any time. Verification is a platform safeguard only. It is not an endorsement, and it does not replace your own compliance obligations.

4.3 An agency's owner and Super Users control its account: who may join, each member's role, billing, branding and the agency website. The agency is responsible for what its members do on ErfFind and must remove access for anyone who leaves.

4.4 Agents and agencies remain fully responsible for complying with the Property Practitioners Act and its Code of Conduct, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (including FICA checks on clients), the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), the Consumer Protection Act and all other laws that apply to their business.

4.5 Franchise groups. A head office can run a group of agency offices on ErfFind. When an agency joins a group, it agrees that the head office may see its performance figures, targets, listings, leads, clients, agents, compliance details and royalty statements, and may message it. The agency is responsible for telling its clients and agents about this sharing where the law requires. An agency that leaves the group stops sharing from that point.

4.6 Franchise agreements, royalties, fees and targets are solely between the head office and its offices. ErfFind calculates royalty statements from the information the offices record, but we are not a party to those arrangements, and we do not collect or pay royalties or fees on anyone's behalf.

5. Listings

5.1 Who may list. You may only list a property that you own or are lawfully authorised to market, such as under a written mandate from the owner.

5.2 Accuracy. You are solely responsible for your listing: its description, price, size, features, photos, video and location. It must be true, current and not misleading, as the Consumer Protection Act requires. Update or remove a listing as soon as it is sold, let or withdrawn.

5.3 Content standards. Listings may not:

• discriminate against anyone on a ground listed in the Constitution or the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act;
• contain photos or video you don't have the right to use, or that identify people without their consent;
• advertise a property that is not genuinely available, or use bait pricing;
• include contact details, links or advertising unrelated to the property.

5.4 Subsidised housing. State-subsidised houses may be subject to restrictions on resale under the Housing Act 107 of 1997. Only list such a property if it may lawfully be sold or let.

5.5 Our review. We review listings before they go live and may reject, edit for formatting, or remove any listing that we reasonably believe breaches these terms or the law, or is the subject of a credible complaint. If we reject a paid listing, our Refund Policy applies. Our review is not a check of ownership, condition or legal status, which we do not verify.

5.6 How long listings run. A paid listing runs for the period shown at checkout, counted from the date it is approved. When that period ends, the listing expires unless it is renewed or covered by an active plan.

5.7 How listings are displayed. We decide how listings are ordered and displayed. Featured listings receive the extra visibility described when you buy them. We compress photos and video for fast loading, and we may show a listing's location on a map as an approximate area rather than an exact address.

6. Fees, plans and payment

6.1 Free to search, free CRM. Searching for property is free. The CRM is free for agencies, for any number of agents.

6.2 Prices. Listing fees, Featured upgrades, plans and add-ons are charged at the prices shown at checkout, which include VAT at the current rate. We may change prices for future purchases; a change never affects a period you have already paid for.

6.3 Payment. Card payments are processed by our payment provider, Yoco. We never see or store your full card details. A VAT invoice for every payment is available under Invoices in your account.

6.4 Free listings and credit. Free listing allowances and account credit (for example, from a rejected listing) are applied as described in your account. They have no cash value and cannot be transferred, except as set out in our Refund Policy.

6.5 Plans. Agency plans are paid in advance for 30 days at a time. There is no contract, and plans do not renew automatically; we remind you before a plan ends.

• While a plan is active, it includes the number of live listings shown for that plan, the agency website and, on the plans that include it, CRM branding.
• Listings beyond your plan's allowance are paid for individually.
• If you switch plans during a paid period, the unused value of the current plan is carried over.
• If a plan lapses, your account moves to the free tier. Nothing is deleted, and listings you added stay live for the rest of their normal listing window, with at least a short grace period after the plan ends, as shown on the Plan & Billing page.

6.6 Franchise packages. Franchise packages are bought by the head office on the same basis as agency plans: paid in advance, no contract and no automatic renewal. A package covers the offices in the group up to the number of branches it allows.

6.7 Add-ons. CRM branding bought on its own runs for 30 days per payment and does not renew automatically.

7. The CRM and your agency's data

7.1 Your data stays yours. Your agency owns the information it records in the CRM: clients, leads, notes, appointments, commissions and documents (“Agency Data”). We process Agency Data only to provide the service to you, as your operator under POPIA. We do not sell it, and we do not use it to market to your clients.

7.2 Your responsibilities. As the responsible party for Agency Data, your agency must have a lawful basis for collecting it, tell your clients how you use it, keep it accurate, and deal with their requests about it.

7.3 Deleted items. Deleted records go to Trash, where they can be restored for 30 days before being permanently removed.

7.4 Copies of your data. We back up the platform regularly, but you should keep your own copies of important documents. Your agency's owner and Super Users can download your leads, clients and listings as CSV files at any time from the Agency page.

7.5 Property alerts. If you set a client's property alert to email them matching listings, you confirm that the client asked for these emails or has otherwise consented, as section 69 of POPIA requires, and you must switch the emails off when the client asks.

7.6 Accounting tools. On plans that include it, the Accounting section helps an agency keep trust account records, business income and expenses, bank reconciliations and reports. It is a record-keeping tool only. ErfFind never holds, receives or moves money, and it does not connect to your bank.

7.7 Your trust account obligations. The agency remains fully responsible for its trust account under the Property Practitioners Act and its regulations. That includes keeping the account with a bank, keeping accurate records, reconciling regularly, having the account audited and reporting to the PPRA. Balances, reconciliations and reports in ErfFind are only as accurate as the information you enter or import, so check them against your bank statements. They are not audited financial statements, and they are not accounting, tax or VAT advice. Use a registered accountant or auditor for those.

7.8 Signed reconciliations. A reconciliation signed in ErfFind is an electronic signature, as described in clause 8.1, and records the name and role of the person who signed it and when.

8. Document Vault and electronic signatures

8.1 The Document Vault lets agencies store documents and have documents such as mandates, leases, disclosure forms and FICA forms signed on screen. These are electronic signatures in terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA). They are not “advanced electronic signatures” as defined in that Act.

8.2 Sale agreements must be signed in ink. Under ECTA and the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981, an agreement for the sale of immovable property, such as an offer to purchase, is only valid if it is signed in ink. ErfFind flags documents that look like sale agreements and switches off on-screen signing for them. You remain responsible for making sure every document is signed in a legally valid way.

8.3 Templates and document wording are the agency's responsibility. We do not provide legal documents or legal advice.

9. Agency websites and portal syndication

9.1 Agency websites. Agencies on a paid plan can publish a website hosted by ErfFind at an ErfFind web address.

• The agency is responsible for the website's content, including wording, photos, testimonials (which must be genuine and used with permission) and its compliance with the Property Practitioners Act's advertising rules.
• Enquiries from the website are delivered to the agency's Leads.
• The website goes offline if the plan lapses or the account is suspended.
• The web address remains ours and may be reassigned after an agency closes its account.

9.2 Portal syndication. Where syndication is available, we send your listings to the third-party portals you connect, using the account details you provide.

• Each portal's own terms and fees apply to what is published there.
• We cannot guarantee that a portal will accept, display or keep a listing.
• We are not responsible for a portal's availability or actions.

10. Enquiries, messages, reviews and acceptable use

10.1 When you send an enquiry or message, including any photos or documents you attach, we pass it and your contact details to the seller, landlord or agent concerned. Use enquiries and messages only for genuine property matters.

10.2 Reviews of agents must reflect your genuine experience. We may decline or remove reviews that are false, abusive, or unrelated to the agent's service.

10.3 Stay safe.

• Never pay a deposit or rent before you have viewed a property and confirmed who you are dealing with.
• You can check an agent's Fidelity Fund Certificate with the PPRA.
• Report suspicious listings to us.

10.4 You may not:

• copy, scrape or harvest listings, photos or contact details, whether by hand or by automated means;
• send unsolicited marketing to other users;
• interfere with, overload or test the security of our systems;
• reverse engineer our software;
• access areas you are not authorised to use;
• upload malicious code;
• use ErfFind for anything unlawful, fraudulent or harmful.

11. Intellectual property and your content

11.1 ErfFind's name, logo, software, design and content (other than user content) belong to us or our licensors. You may use the site for its intended purpose only.

11.2 You keep ownership of the content you upload. You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, copy, reformat, display and distribute that content. The licence covers:

• operating ErfFind and your agency website;
• sending listings to the portals you choose;
• promoting the listing concerned.

This licence ends when you remove the content, except for copies held in routine backups for a limited period (see our Privacy Policy).

11.3 You confirm that you have every right needed to upload your content, including the photographer's permission for photos, and that it does not infringe anyone's rights.

12. Availability and changes to the service

12.1 We work to keep ErfFind available and secure, but we cannot guarantee that it will always be uninterrupted or error-free. We may carry out maintenance, and we will try to do so at quiet times.

12.2 We may improve, change or withdraw features. If we withdraw a paid feature during a period you have paid for, we will extend or refund that period on a pro-rata basis.

13. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

13.1 To the extent the law allows, ErfFind is provided “as is”. We are not liable for:

• the content of listings, websites, messages or reviews supplied by users;
• the conduct of any user;
• any transaction, or failed transaction, between users;
• any loss caused by relying on information on ErfFind.

13.2 To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, such as loss of profit, business, commission or data. Our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the fees you paid us in the six months before the claim arose.

13.3 Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited. That includes liability for our fraud or gross negligence, or where the Consumer Protection Act does not allow the limitation.

14. Indemnity

You indemnify us against claims, losses and reasonable legal costs that arise from:

• your content;
• your breach of these terms or the law;
• your dealings with other users.

This clause does not apply to consumers to the extent that the Consumer Protection Act does not allow it.

15. Suspension and closing your account

15.1 You may stop using ErfFind at any time. To close your account, contact us at info@erffind.co.za.

15.2 We may suspend or close an account, or remove content, where we reasonably believe it is needed. This includes:

• fraud, misleading listings or other serious or repeated breaches of these terms;
• non-payment;
• protecting other users;
• complying with the law.

Where it is safe and lawful to do so, we will tell you why and give you a chance to respond.

15.3 When an account closes:

• its listings are unpublished;
• its personal information is deleted as described in our Privacy Policy;
• invoices and payment records are kept for as long as tax law requires.

An agency should download its data before it leaves (see clause 7.4).

16. Your rights as a consumer

16.1 If you are a consumer, you keep the rights the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and ECTA give you. Nothing in these terms is intended to take those rights away.

16.2 Cooling-off. ECTA gives consumers a seven-day cooling-off period for online purchases. It does not apply to a service that has started, with your agreement, before the seven days end. Listings, plans and add-ons begin when you pay, so they start at your request; our Refund Policy explains what happens if you cancel before a listing is reviewed.

17. Complaints and disputes

17.1 If something goes wrong, please contact us first at info@erffind.co.za. We aim to respond within five business days and to resolve complaints within 20 business days.

17.2 If we cannot resolve a dispute between us within 20 business days, either party may refer it to mediation or to a South African court with jurisdiction. This does not affect a consumer's right to approach the National Consumer Commission, or anyone's right to complain to the Information Regulator about personal information.

18. General

18.1 These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa.

18.2 If any part of these terms is found to be invalid, the rest remains in force. If we don't enforce a right immediately, we have not waived it.

18.3 These terms, our Privacy Policy, our Refund Policy and anything you agree to at checkout are the entire agreement between you and us about ErfFind.

18.4 We may transfer our rights and obligations to a successor business that continues the service on the same terms.

18.5 We communicate with you by email and in your account; notices sent to the email address on your account count as received.

18.6 Our address for legal notices is Vredenburg, Western Cape, and our email address is info@erffind.co.za.