We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals and take our responsibilities regarding the security of data very seriously. We abide by the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) upheld by the Information Commissioner Officer (ICO). This includes processing any personal data lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner.
Purpose of this Privacy Policy
This privacy policy provides information on how we collect, process and protect your personal data and advises of your privacy rights.
Information Collected via our Website
We collect web usage information when you visit our website including information such as the date, time, page viewed or searched relating to your browsing activity. Where you have provided personal data we may collect web usage information to enable us to build a demographic profile.
We may also use web usage information to create statistical data regarding the use of our website. Where statistical data is produced, we may then use that data to help us assess the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, develop and deliver services and information to improve the overall effectiveness of our website. We may also use IP addresses to analyse trends, track users movements and gather broad demographic information for our own internal use.
Within our website you can interact with us, if you so wish. Where you provide your personal data on our website it will be taken as a positive action that you would like us to contact you for the purpose as set out on our website.
Cookies
When you visit our website, we may store some information (commonly known as a cookie) on your computer. Cookies do not damage your computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your hard drive to store and sometimes track information about you. Cookies are specific to the server that created them. They cannot be accessed by other servers. You do not have to accept cookies. You can decide if you want to accept cookies by changing the settings on your browser to either accept, reject or notify you when a cookie is set. All cookies used by this website are used in accordance with current UK and EU Cookie Law.
Cookie Purpose
Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website. Like most websites, our site uses Google Analytics to track user interaction. We use this data to determine the number of people using our site, to better understand how they find and use our web pages and to see their journey through the website. Although Google Analytics records data such as your geographical location, device, internet browser and operating system, none of this information personally identifies you to us.
Linking to Third Party Websites
This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. We do not take responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of other sites, even where you access them using links from our website. When you leave our website, you are advised to read the Privacy Notice of other websites prior to using them.
What Information do we collect about you if you are interested in our Services and why?
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
As part of our service, we will only collect personal information from you by phone, email, post or via our website and will confirm the accuracy of the data collated. It is important that all the data we hold on you is accurate so that we can advise and / or arrange suitable products or services that may be suitable for you. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
The types of information we will collect from you may include; identify and contact details, occupation, income and expenditure, bank details, credit details and adverse financial history such as CCJs or bankruptcies. In addition, we may collect sensitive personal data such as medical conditions or criminal offence data where required to do so by law, for example when we conduct Anti-Money Laundering searches in the event of marketing your property for sale.
Contact Details received from a Third Party Lead Generator
Occasionally we may receive your contact details from a third party lead generator who you have expressed an interest in the products / services we have to offer. Where we use lead generators, we will request from them that they have obtained your consent and have made it clear to you that they will pass your details on to a business such as ours and that you will be expecting us to contact you.
Examples include property portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla and On The Market.
Information from Other Sources
We may obtain information from other sources such as public records, if required. This is to enable us to verify who you are or facts that you have told us are accurate.
Credit Checks
As part of our process, we may carry out checks with credit reference and fraud prevention agencies in order to verify your identity, assess your application for a quotation or credit. The checks may be against both public data (such as information from the electoral roll) and private data (such as your credit history). A record of the search will appear on your credit report. We may also carry out checks against data that we already hold on you such as data from existing products or account data.
How will we use this Information?
We will only use your data in ways that you would reasonably expect us to and when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
- Estate Agency Services – Help with valuing, selling or buying your property and referring you to any of our mortgage, insurance, survey or conveyancing partners.
- Lettings Services – Help with letting your property or finding you a property to rent, including services such as tenant referencing, credit checks, deposit protection, rent and maintenance collection, inventories, home inspection reports, energy performance certificates, utilities, renewal of tenancies, onward referencing and carrying out maintenance or emergency repairs through one of our approved contractors.
- Block Management Services – Holding leaseholder information such as email, correspondence, address and phone numbers in order to manage the block and correspond with each leaseholder.
- Legal and Regulatory Obligations – Complying with relevant laws where we are obliged to disclose or retain certain information e.g. anti-money laundering and right to rent checks, addressing claims or complaints regarding your use of our services or internal and external auditing purposes. In the interests of improving our services, telephone calls may be monitored and / or recorded for training purposes and to assist us handling any claims or complaints. Where we record the call, you will be informed of this.
- Improving our Services – Keeping client records up to date, allowing us to customise the content which is presented to you based upon your likely interests and analysing website and cookie data to further improve our website and responding to your queries swiftly and effectively.
- Marketing our Services to you – Providing you with information on products and services which we believe to be relevant to you including on social media websites e.g. financial services products or conveyancing services, when you have shown an interest in these with us.
- General – Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you. Taking payments for or collecting a debt for payments which are owed to us or our Clients.
The Lawful Basis on which we use this Information
How we use your information (detailed above) we will do so using the lawful basis legitimate interests. We have decided upon this basis as it allows us to meet with the ICO and rules and is the most suitable lawful basis for processing data with a view to arranging services.
Who will your information be shared with?
We require any third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law and to process your personal data for the specified purposes only and in accordance with our instructions.
Where we have a legal obligation to do so, or where it is required to successfully perform our agreed services to you, we may share relevant aspects of your personal data with third parties as set out below:
Tradespeople and Contractors to effectively manage your rental / block e.g. Gas Safety Engineers, Electricians, Inventory Clerks, Photographers, Floorplanners, EPC Engineers, Health and Safety Inspectors, CCTV providers, other maintenance contractors.
Third parties involved in your property transaction which may include any number of the following depending on the transaction: Landlords, Vendors, Tenants, Purchasers, Mortgage Brokers, Solicitors, Surveyors, Utility Providers, Custodial and Insured Deposit Schemes, Tenant/Guarantor Refencing Companies, AML Checking Services, CRM system providers, another Estate Agency if they become a part of the transaction process.
Other professional bodies with whom we may have cause to share your data, for example Local Authorities, Public Authorities, Government Enforcement Agencies, Regulatory Bodies, Fraud Agencies, Fee Recovery/Debt Collectors, In Court as part of legal proceedings, or in the stages leading to possible legal action.
Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy policy.
What we will do to ensure the Security of Personal Information
We will not share any of the information you provide to third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us regardless of whether the information is in electronic or physical format. We use leading technologies and security measures to safeguard your information and keep strict security standards to prevent any unauthorised access to it.
How long will we retain your data?
We will retain your personal data whilst you use our services (or whilst we provide services connected to you) and/or are in communication with us and for at least seven years thereafter, for legal, regulatory and accounting purposes. If we need to retain your personal data for longer, we will take into consideration the potential risks in continuing to store your data against why we might need to keep it.
What are your Rights?
You have the right to:
- Be informed about how we use, share and store your personal information.
- Request access to the personal data we hold on you (also known as a Subject Access Request). Where a Subject Access Request is received, we will respond promptly and within one month from the date we receive the request.
- Request your personal data is amended if inaccurate or incomplete.
- Request your personal data is erased where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing and we do not have a legitimate interest to retain it.
- Request that the processing of your data is restricted.
- Request the transfer of your data to you or to a third party
- The right to object to your personal data being processed.
- Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.
Where the processing of your data is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us by phone or email. We do not use automated decision making or profiling systems.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.
Fee
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
If you fail to provide Personal Information
Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.
Marketing
As part of our service, we like to keep our Clients and potential Clients up to date with new products or offers that are available and may be of interest. Therefore, we may contact you from time to time through email marketing, phone, text or other types of marketing material. If you wish to opt out of this at any point then please let us know. Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service purchase, service experience or other transactions.
Where we need your consent, we will ask for this separately. We do not use pre-ticked boxes or make assumptions that you have given your consent. Your consent must be freely given by positively opting in or making a clear affirmative action that you are giving your consent. We will do our very best to ensure you know exactly what you are consenting to and remind you that you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by email or phone. Where consent is obtained a record of this will be made confirming what you have consented to, the time and date and how consent was obtained.
Clients Our Clients are important to us, however we appreciate that on some occasions you may wish to look elsewhere. If you do, we would like to stay in touch and therefore will ask for your consent in order for us to do so.
Potential Clients: Where you have expressed an interest in a service but have then decided not to proceed, we would like to keep in touch therefore will ask for your consent to do so, incase a service may be of interest to you at a later date.
Changes to Privacy Information
We regularly review and, where necessary update our Privacy Policy. If we plan to use personal data for a new purpose our Privacy Policy will be updated and you will be notified.
How to Contact Us / Right to Complain
We hope that the service you receive from us is to the high standard you would expect. If at any point you are unhappy with the way we have used your data, or wish to exercise your legal rights, then please notify our Data Protection Officer (Alex Alexander) either by email or post:
Email address: [email protected]
Postal address: Novus Residential, 29 The Green, London, N21 1HS
If you remain concerned about the way we collect or use your personal data you can raise your concern with the Information Commissions Office (ICO) on 0303 123 1113. For further details you may visit the ICO website www.ico.org.uk.
We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.
Please note: we will tend to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about, however if you wish your identity to remain anonymous, we will try to respect that.