Plain-language answers on simplifying tenant applications, POPIA, FICA under the FIC Act, the National Credit Act, and how LetSignal fits with TPN.
Replace the email-and-WhatsApp scramble with one structured online flow. The tenant fills in their details, uploads ID, payslips, bank statements, and proof of address, pays the application fee by EFT, and uploads Proof of Payment - all in one mobile-friendly session. You receive a single Application Report PDF in the dashboard, with the affordability ratio already worked out and the documents ready to send to a TPN screener. The follow-up emails, missing-document chases, and copy-pasting between inboxes go away.
The lawful baseline for a residential rental is identity (ID or passport), proof of address (recent utility bill or bank statement), the latest payslip, recent bank statements, and a landlord reference. Each item is collected for a specific, named purpose: verify the applicant, assess affordability under the National Credit Act, and contact a previous landlord with consent. POPIA does not stop you collecting these documents; it requires that you tell the tenant why you need them, retain them only as long as needed, and delete them on request.
Each agency only sees its own data, scoped at the database level. Tenants give consent at the point of application, with the lawful purpose named in plain language. Records are retained for a defined period and can be deleted on request. The audit trail timestamps every submission, upload, and review action, so when a regulator or a tenant asks who accessed what and when, you can answer.
The same FICA flow runs against any party to a lease or sale. You send the reusable per-firm link, the party completes the verification on their phone, and the structured FICA pack is filed against their record. Identity, address, PEP, source of funds, and signed declarations are captured for every party. Beneficial ownership is captured for corporate and trust applicants. The output is one branded PDF per party, ready for the audit pack.
TPN is a credit and rental-history bureau. LetSignal does not replace TPN. What it does is give you a clean, structured Application Pack PDF and ZIP that you can hand to a TPN screener (or any other screener) without re-keying anything. The two products fit together: LetSignal collects the application and the FICA, TPN tells you about the tenant's payment history.
The NCA requires a reasonable assessment of the tenant's ability to meet the rent. LetSignal captures gross and net income, itemised other income, and bank statements at the structured-fields level, and the Combined Report rolls up the household so you can apply your minimum income ratio (commonly three times the rent) on real numbers rather than declared estimates. The same fields populate the Application Report so the affordability finding is visible in one place.
Schedule 1 of the FIC Act lists the Accountable Institutions that must run client due diligence and keep records. In a property context that includes residential letting agencies, property managers, transfer attorneys, sales estate agents on certain transactions, and body corporates handling FICA on owners and tenants. The data points the schedule asks for - identity, address, beneficial ownership, PEP, source of funds - are the same fields LetSignal's FICA flow collects.
Yes. FICA Verification is sold as a standalone product, not just an add-on to tenant applications. A transfer attorney can FICA the buyer, seller, and any related party with one reusable link. A body corporate can FICA new owners and tenants in the scheme. The pack is filed against the party's record so it is easy to hand to an auditor.
Expect to provide your ID or passport, current and previous addresses, employer and income details, a landlord reference (with your consent before they're contacted), household and pet information, and an application fee paid by EFT with a Proof of Payment upload. The form is mobile-friendly and you can save and resume it.
Documents are stored in South Africa and are visible only to the letting agency you applied to. The agency cannot share them outside its dashboard without explicit action. You can request deletion at any time, and the audit trail records when an agent viewed your file.
Yes. Each application has a resume link sent to your email. Open it on the same phone or a different device and you'll pick up where you left off, with your uploads already saved.
The FIC Act requires the agency to verify identity and address for every party to a lease. Beneficial ownership only applies when the applicant is a company or a trust - the regulator wants to know which natural person ultimately benefits. If you're applying as an individual, the beneficial ownership question is skipped.
Current rates are published on the pricing page (/pricing). The launch plan is R199 a month plus R30 per submitted application, locked in for 24 months from sign-up. We never take a commission on application fees or rent.
Yes. The entire platform runs on infrastructure in South Africa, which simplifies the cross-border data-transfer questions POPIA raises when personal information leaves the country.
No long-term contracts. We charge a flat monthly fee plus a small fixed fee per submitted application - see the pricing page for current rates. Application fees go directly to the agency's own bank account via EFT - LetSignal never sits in the middle of the money.
Read the deep-dive guides for letting agencies and property managers, or get in touch.