Proudhouse Property Management are registered with the Independent Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Controller and we comply with Data Protection Laws, for example, The GDPR. All of our data is held on a computer based, private and secure database. The database, and any information on it, is not shared with 3rd parties other than for the following purposes: there are 6 lawful basis’ for processing your data and the ones relevant to Proudhouse Property Management’s services are “Consent”, “Contract”, “Legal Obligation” and “Legitimate Interests”. We do not share your information unnecessarily. Below are the usual examples of how we process and use personal data:
General enquiries from Prospective Tenants
When you make a general enquiry with us we will collect some basic details from you to ensure we can correctly match you to a property. This will be your contact details (email and telephone), a general description of your employment, your partner/housemates’ name, the number of other occupants and their ages (eg children), and details about any pets you have. We may also ask for your current address – this is a basic security measure. This information might be shared with the landlord of the property that you are enquiring about. It will not be shared with anyone else although employees of Proudhouse will access and use your data to contact you about your enquiry. The data is held on a private and secure computer based electronic record keeping system. If you ask us to notify you of other properties that become available to view then we will email you at appropriate times until you tell us to cease communication with you.
Tenant Referencing
Proudhouse Property Management collect personal data from you regarding where you have lived and your financial circumstances. The information collected on the referencing questionnaire form will supplement any information that you provided to us via your initial telephone or email inquiry. The information collected is needed in order to satisfy industry best practice which requires letting agents to undertake suitable referencing on prospective tenants wishing to commence tenancies in rented properties. The information you provide will be used to carry out a Credit Check. Your employer (or income referee) will be contacted to verify your employment and income/salary. Your current landlord or agent (as applicable) will be contacted to verify your tenancy and adherence to the terms of the associated tenancy agreement. Some or all of your data will be shared with the names/referees that you provide on the form. This data might also be shared with the landlord of the property that you are being referenced for. Alternatively, Proudhouse Property Management may elect to use a 3rd party referencing service – this will be a specialist service operating in the lettings industry and who hold suitable accreditation and compliance standards – if we use such a firm, then we will pass on the minimum information to them. This is usually just a contact name and email address which the 3rd party firm then use to contact you as the prospective tenant – and then their privacy policy will apply. Other than the parties indicated in this notice, your data will not be shared with other parties or organisations without your consent. You are reminded that the data you provide on the form remains your data. The references provided by the referee is their data, therefore, the outcome and specific details of referencing cannot necessarily be shared with you.
Tenants in Rental Properties
For tenants in our rental properties we have a legitimate interest, and possibly a legal obligation, to share your information with the Local Authority, Utility Firms and Tradesman (so they can contact you to arrange access for maintenance tasks). Your data will not be shared with anyone other than for the purposes of maintaining your home and assisting the landlord to fulfil their contractual obligations to you under the terms of your tenancy agreement.
Landlords
We keep landlords’ information in our secure and private computer based system. Landlord’s information is not shared with 3rd parties other than for the purposes detailed in the opening paragraph of this statement. Should we proceed with services for you then we will likely need to share your information with the Local Authority, Utility Firms and Tradesman (so they can contact you to arrange access for maintenance tasks). From time to time, we also pass to the Valuation Office details of rental values of our rental properties. No personal data is passed with this information.
As an agent we act on behalf of landlords – as a general rule, we therefore share and use data in a manner that a landlord would expect us to in order to manage and maintain rental properties.
Financial Information
In order to collect rent and transfer rent to appropriate parties, we retain minimal bank details to allow BACS transfers to be processed. This information is requested specifically from you when required. We do not keep or retain any other financial information (eg, credit card details, bank statements etc, although we may request to see these from tenants for referencing purposes) other than rental payment records and associated maintenance/commission records. We use a secure, cloud-based system for invoicing and bookkeeping and minimal personal data is kept in this system – this is usually a name and email address only. Any payments to Proudhouse made via Paypal or to our banks are 3rd party services are not under our control – however, as well known reputable firms, we assume they are compliant with Data Protection Laws also.
You have a right to request your data at anytime – if you have any queries relating to your personal data then please contact us at the contact details on this website.
