privacy

Housing 21 is committed to safeguarding the rights of individuals and to protecting personal information.

The Data Protection Act 1998 (The Act)

As a registered data controller (Reg.No. Z5515259) Housing 21 is required by law to be open about how information is used and must make sure it is handled properly by observing the following key principles:

• Obtained and processed fairly and lawfully
• Processed only for specified and lawful purposes
• Adequate and relevant to the purposes for which is was gathered
• Accurate and up to date
• Right of data subject to have inaccurate records removed
• Removal if no longer required
• Processed in line with the rights of the individual
• Individuals have the right to access information about themselves and to prevent its use for unauthorised activity such as marketing
• Secure and protected against loss damage and inappropriate processing
• Not transferred to Countries outside the EEC without permission

Further information about the Act and the principles contained therein can be obtained by contacting the Information Commissioner's Office or by visiting their website at the following address: www.ico.gov.uk

What information do you hold about me and why?

When you provide information about yourself via this website you are consenting to allow us to store and use that data in compliance with the Act and for the express purpose of providing you with the services you need. Records are stored which relate to your service history with us and may contain some or all of the following:

• names and dates of birth of people in your household
• contact details
• rent payment history
• information related to a transfer application, such as information on your health
• we are committed to a policy of equality and diversity so we may ask you for other personal information such as ethnicity, language, gender and disability.

This list is not exhaustive, as we hold records of most contacts between yourself and our offices.

How do you protect my details?

We have strict security procedures covering the use and storage of your information in order to prevent unauthorised access and to comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.

We ensure:

• We may ask for proof of identity before we process an enquiry.
• Information is only given to our staff and agencies on a need to know basis.
• All records are kept securely.
• Personal information is treated as strictly confidential.
• If another person seeks access to your personal data purporting to act on your behalf, we will only supply that data if you complete a consent form in full and return to us. You can download the consent form by using the link at the bottom of this page.
• There are occasions when the law requires us to share information with the Police, Benefits Agency Fraud Officers or other landlords to prevent or deal with fraud, anti-social behaviour or other crime.
• We will not pass your personal data onto a third party for marketing purposes without your consent. However, your data may be processed, used and stored by third parties on your behalf and to provide the services you require. Agencies with whom we share information observe our confidentiality policy.

Accessing your data stored by us

Under the Act you have the right to make a formal request to see the following information:

• a copy of all personal data we hold on your behalf
• the reasons why such data is being stored and how it is processed
• details of to whom they have been disclosed

A formal request is made by submitting a subject access request to the address below. A form can be requested from sima.sud@housing21.co.uk.

We will respond to your request within working 10 days. If we require further information or fees, we will request these before proceeding. If not, we will agree what information will be provided and its format and send you a copy within 40 days of receiving your completed application. You may be invited to view the data at one of our offices if we are unable to send it.

Please note that if your right access is deemed to affect a police investigation or a criminal prosecution then we are not permitted to disclose the information to you.

If you have made other requests to view information in the last 12 months, you may be asked to pay a £10 fee to cover the administration costs.

Inaccurate records

If you feel our records are inaccurate, you can write to us, asking for them to be amended.

If you feel we have unfairly withheld information or have improperly refused to amend our records, you can make a complaint to our Customer Relations Team using our standard complaints and appeals procedure.

Alternatively you can contact The Information Commissioners Office using the following link: www.ico.gov.uk

Changes to our privacy policy

We reserve the right to update our privacy policy in accordance with changes in law and Housing 21's policies, and to reflect changes to the website.

How to contact us

Requests for information about our privacy policy can be e-mailed to: sima.sud@housing21.co.uk or by writing to:

The Company Secretary
The Triangle
Baring Road
Beaconsfield
BUCKS HP9 2NA