ZAP HUB was built to be a safe haven for South Africans — a place where consumers can find verified, licensed professionals across every industry, and where businesses have to take consumer protection seriously.
That mission has now put us in court against the regulator meant to protect those same consumers.
Why We Went to Court
On 9 June, ZAP HUB filed an urgent application in the Johannesburg High Court against the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority. We asked the court to compel the PPRA to enforce the Property Practitioners Act across all twelve categories of property practitioner — including developers, auctioneers and bond originators.
Roughly 56,000 property practitioners are licensed. Hundreds of thousands operate without a licence. The PPRA is slow to issue Fidelity Fund Certificates to those who have paid and complied, and does not fine those who have not. The direct consequence for us is that ZAP HUB cannot onboard licensed developers, auctioneers, bond originators, property managers, homeowners' associations, business brokers, property facilitators, estate agents, attorney employees, or timeshare and fractional owners — because in most cases, the licensing simply is not being enforced.
We spent months formally asking the PPRA to do its job. We were ignored. So we went to court.
What Happened
The High Court dismissed the application — not on its merits, but on the finding that we had not met the threshold for urgency. In the course of the matter, the PPRA argued that property advertising platforms do not need to be licensed, despite the Act saying otherwise.
Costs were awarded against us: approximately R200,000, with the final amount still to be determined.
Where Your Money Goes
Funds raised cover the costs order and/or an appeal against it. Anything raised beyond that will be donated to an organisation continuing this fight on behalf of South African consumers.
If You Cannot Donate
Share the campaign. Sign the petitions. Send a message of support. This fight has been draining, and encouragement genuinely helps.
— Bronwyn Rodrigues, CEO and Founder, ZAP HUB
