1. Introduction

The new GDPR regulations come into force in May 2018 and our privacy policy lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you. It applies to all products and services, and instances where Lodge Lettings collects your personal data.

Changes to this privacy notice

We may change this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in the law and/or our privacy practices. We encourage you to check this privacy notice for changes whenever you visit our website.

2. What kinds of personal information about you do we process and why do we collect it?

Personal information that we’ll process in connection with our services includes:

• Contact details such as name, address, telephone number & e-mail
• Nationality, gender, date of birth
• Tenant’s next of kin details
• Identifying documentationsuch as copies of passports, utility bills, driving licences and/or orders
• Contact details for a tenant’s dependants, current landlord and employer where applicable
• Contact details for a tenant’s guarantor(s) where applicable
• Contact details for a tenant’s relevant person where applicable
• Bank Details for Landlords & Contractors
• Information we obtained from third parties such as Credit Reference Agencies & Land Registry
• Your residency and/or citizenship statussuch as whether you have the permanent right to reside in UK if applying to rent a home from us
• Your personal data will be processed during and after your tenancy and any subsequent tenancy arranged through us

 

3. What is the source of your personal information?

We collect personal information from the following general sources:

• From you directly either by phone, e-mail or documentation generated by us and completed by you e.g. application forms, management agreements etc
• From property portals e.g. Rightmove
• From Credit Reference Agencies where applicable
• From companies such as Land Registry & HMRC

 

4. What do we use your personal data for?

We use your personal data, including any of the personal data listed in section 1 above, for the following purposes:

• To confirm your identity either as a landlord or a prospective tenant
• To arrange market appraisals of properties you are interested in marketing for rental
• To confirm your ownership of properties you are interested in marketing for rental
• To assess your suitability as a tenant by contacting third parties with the purpose of obtaining references
• To generate applicant property matches and arrange viewings of property you may be interested in
• To prepare tenancy agreements and deposit scheme prescribed information
• To assess applicant’s right to reside in the UK as required by law by the Home Office
• To enable us to contact you throughout your tenancy and with reference to any maintenance at the property whether legislative e.g. gas safety or contractual e.g. general repairs
• Updating your records, tracing your whereabouts and recovering debt
• To provide your contact information to utility companies and local authorities
• To make payments to landlords and contractors
• Managing any aspect of the service and to improve the operation of our business
• To follow guidance and best practice under the change to rules of governmental and regulatory bodies
• To monitor and to keep records of our communications with you and our staff (see below)
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations, requirements and guidance

 

5. What are the legal grounds for our processing of your personal information (including when we share it with others)?

We rely on the following legal basis to process your personal data:

1. Contractual Fulfillment

• to act as the Agent instructed by the Landlord to create tenancy documents between the tenant and landlord
• to manage all aspects of the tenancy as per the terms defined in contracts with the tenant and landlord

2. Legal Obligation

• To comply with current legislation in areas such as gas & electrical safety within the property
• To comply with the terms of the Deposit Protection Scheme
• To comply with legislation defined by HMRC, Home Office and other public bodies

3. Consent

• For direct marketing communication e.g. to send you property matches or details of other services we feel you may be interested in

4. Legitimate Interest

• In specific situations, we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running our business and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests

 

5. Public Interest

 

Processing of your special categories of personal data such as whether you require homes which have specific modifications for areas such as mobility

6. When do we share your personal information with other organisations?

We may share information with the following third parties for the purposes listed above:

• Credit referencing agencies
• Trusted Contractors engaged in property maintenance & contractual fulfilment
• Property management software providers
• Government bodies such as HMRC, MOD and the Home Office
• Business partners (for example, financial services institutions, insurers), account beneficiaries, or others who are a part of providing services or operating our business
• Governmental and regulatory bodies such as HMRC, The Property Ombudsman, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Deposit Protection Scheme and the MOD
• Other organisations and businesses who provide services to us such as debt recovery agencies, back up and server hosting providers, IT software and maintenance providers, document storage providers and suppliers of other back office functions

We provide only the information they need to perform their specific services. They may only use your data for the exact purposes we specify in our terms of business and we work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected at all times.

 

7. How and when can you withdraw your consent?

Where we’re relying upon your consent to process personal data, you can withdraw this at any time by contacting us using the details below.

 

8. Is your personal information transferred outside the UK or the EEA?

We, and the systems we use to store your data, are based in the UK but sometimes your personal information may be transferred outside the European Economic Area. Whilst we do not transfer your data outside the UK or the EEA we make sure that suitable safeguards are in place to ensure that any third parties we contract with are compliant with GDPR regulations.

 

9. What should you do if your personal information changes?

You should tell us so that we can update our records accordingly.

 

10. Do you have to provide your personal information to us?

We’re unable to provide you with services if you do not provide certain information to us. In cases where providing some personal information is optional, we’ll make this clear.

 

11. For how long is your personal information retained by us?

Unless we explain otherwise to you, we’ll hold your personal information based on the following criteria:

• For as long as we have reasonable business needs, such as managing our relationship with you and managing our operations
• For as long as we provide services to you and then only for a period after based on whether we are required to hold the information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements

 

12. What are your rights under data protection laws?

Here is a list of the rights that all individuals have under data protection laws. They don’t apply in all circumstances. If you wish to use any of them, we’ll explain at that time if they are engaged or not. The right of data portability is only relevant from May 2018.

• The rightto be informed about the processing of your personal information
• The right to have your personal information corrected if it is inaccurateand to have incomplete personal information completed
• The rightto object to processing of your personal information where the basis for processing is consent
• The right to restrict processingof your personal information
• The right to have your personal information erased(the “right to be forgotten”) where the basis for processing is consent
• The right to request accessto your personal information and to obtain information about how we process it
• The right to move, copy or transfer your personal information(“data portability”)
• Rights in relation to automated decision making which has a legal effect or otherwise significantly affects you

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office which enforces data protection laws: www.ico.org.uk . You can contact us using the details below.

 

13. Your right to object

You have the right to object to certain purposes for processing, in particular to data processed for direct marketing purposes and to data processed for certain reasons based on our legitimate interests. You can contact us by either e-mailing us or visiting our website, details of which are below.

 

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, or if you wish to exercise your rights or contact us for any other reason you can use the “Contact Us” section of our website www.lodge-lettings.co.uk, by e-mail to enquiries@lodge-lettings.co.uk or write to us at Lodge Lettings Ltd, Unit 6 Bellflower Crescent, Red Lodge, Suffolk, IP28 8XQ.

Online identifiers, IP addresses and cookie identifiers

Where you visit our website we may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers. This is statistical data about our users’ browsing actions and patterns.

We may obtain information by using a cookie file which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. They help us to improve our site and to deliver a better and more personalised service. They enable us:

• To estimate our audience size and usage pattern.
• To store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site according to your individual interests.
• To speed up your searches.
• To recognise you when you return to our site.

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our site. You can find more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org

This policy only applies to our site. If you leave our site via a link or otherwise, you will be subject to the privacy policy of that website provider. We have no control over that privacy policy or the terms of the website and you should check their privacy policy before continuing to access the site.