Privacy Policy
The information we collect
Personal data. This is information that can identify an individual e.g. name, address, date of birth.
Sensitive data
This is personal information such as: the racial or ethnic origin of the data subject, their political opinions, their religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature among others.
How we collect information
When we ask you for information we will: Tell you why we need it and how it will be used. Collect only as much as we need to provide our services. Take steps to ensure it is accurate and up-to-date. Make sure we don’t keep it longer than is necessary. Keep it secure and confidential. Information is only for those members of staff who need it to do their job.
In return we ask you to:
Give us accurate information. Tell us as soon as possible of any changes in your circumstances. This will help us keep your information up-to-date and accurate.
Why we collect this information
We use your personal data in various areas of work, including:
Management of homes.
Collection of rents, other sums and receipt of benefits.
Maintenance/repair of homes.
Regulatory purposes e.g. requirements of Homes and Communities Agency research.
Legal proceedings.
Ensuring health and safety of staff.
Seeking to meet health and safety and other special needs of residents.
Prevention of crime and crime reduction including potential fraud cases.
Equal opportunities monitoring.
Our legal requirements
We must comply with data protection legislation and guidelines. The principles we must comply with say that information about you must be:
Fairly and lawfully processed.
Processed for limited purposes.
Adequate, relevant and not excessive.
Accurate
Not kept longer than necessary
Processed in line with your rights
Safe and secure
Not transferred to countries without sufficient protection
For more information visit:
Who we share this information with
Generally only our staff has access to your personal information, however, in some cases we share it with our business partners, such as:
Contractors and managing agents.
Local authorities.
Legal advisors.
Police and fire service.
Government departments.
Welfare advisors.
Medical professionals.
Other housing associations.
National Fraud Initiative credit agencies.
Surveying agencies (who only act on our behalf). (Contact us to opt out or more info).
We always make sure the organisations understand that the information must be used for the reasons we have specified and must be kept safe and secure.
These organisations are also bound by contractual data sharing agreements.
Why we share your information:
Legal requirements.
Research purposes.
To provide services to our tenants.
To maintain accuracy.
We may sometimes be required to share information by law, without your consent, on the grounds of:
Crime prevention or detection.
Taxation/fraud reasons (including housing fraud with local authorities).
(Section 29 – Data protection Act).
In any other instances your personal information will not be shared with any other third parties, unless your explicit consent has been granted.
Accuracy of your information
We endeavour to keep our records up to date. However, if any of your personal details change (e.g. telephone number, contact information), please let us know and we will ensure our systems are corrected.
Make a complaint
if you aren’t happy with the way we have used your data you are entitled to contact us at inform us.
Control of your personal information.
The Data Protection Act is in place to protect your privacy. You have a number of rights under the legislation, one of which is that you may ask to see the information we hold on you by filling out a ‘Subject Access Request’.
You can contact us to submit a request or understand more about this process.
Please note:
There are limits to the volume of data we can provide.
We require a £10 processing fee.
We have 20 working days to complete the request.
We can withhold or conceal data if it reveals information on another individual.