Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997)Part 2 : National Government6. National housing data bank and information system |
| 1) | The Director-General must establish and maintain a national housing data bank (in this section referred to as the "data bank") and, associated therewith, a national housing information system (in this section referred to as the "information system"). |
| 2) | The objects of the data bank and information system are to— |
| a) | record information for the purposes of the development, implementation and monitoring of national housing policy; |
| b) | provide reliable information for the purposes of planning for housing development; |
| c) | enable the Department to effectively monitor any aspect of the housing development process; |
| d) | provide macro-economic and other information with a view to integrating national housing policy with macro-economic and fiscal policy and the co-ordination of housing development with related activities; |
| e) | serve and promote housing development and related matters; and |
| f) | collect, compile and analyse categorized data in respect of housing development, including, but not limited to, data categorized according to gender, race, age and geographical location. |
| 3) | For the purposes of subsection (1) the Director-General must— |
| a) | as far as possible obtain access to existing sources of information; |
| b) | co-ordinate information required for the purposes of the data bank with other official sources of information; and |
| c) | take into account the reasonable needs of provincial governments and municipalities for information regarding housing development. |
| 4) | For the effective performance of the duties imposed by subsection (3) the Director-General may— |
| a) | require any provincial government or municipality to provide any information reasonably required for the purposes of the data bank or information system and determine the form and manner in, and time within, which such information is to be supplied; |
| b) | render to provincial governments and municipalities any assistance reasonably required for performing their duties contemplated in paragraph (a) and subsection (5); |
| c) | link the data bank or the information system or both the data bank and information system to any other data bank, information system or other system within or outside the public administration: |
| d) | subject to other legislation prohibiting or regulating the disclosure of information, limit or refuse access by any person or category of persons to any information in the data bank or information system, or in any part of that bank or system— |
| i) | that was obtained from— |
| aa) | any state source, if access by any such person or category of persons to such information in or at that source is limited or prohibited; or |
| bb) | any source other than a state source on the condition that such information would not be accessible to any such person or category of persons; |
| ii) | if the disclosure of such information would unfairly prejudice any person or give any person any unfair advantage over any other person; |
| e) | determine and collect, for the benefit of the Fund, fees payable for the supply of, or the granting of access to, any information or category of information in the data bank and information system; and |
| f) | take any steps reasonably necessary to carry out his or her duties or to achieve the objects of the data bank and information system. |
| 5) | Provincial governments and municipalities must— |
| a) | co-operate with the Director-General in performing his or her duties and exercising his or her powers in terms of this section; |
| b) | support the objects for which the data bank and information system have been established; and |
| c) | refrain from any act which may prejudice the effective functioning of the data bank and information system. |