Customer Privacy notice

To allow us to provide the service you would expect from us, we process the personal information you provide us with, which includes:

• your name (and any previous names);
• address (and previous address information);
• telephone number(s);
• e-mail address;
• national insurance number;
• date of birth;
• details of your next of kin;
• names and dates of birth of those living in the property with you;
• notes from conversations we have with you in relation to arrears or complaints;
• details of when you have contacted us to request a service, for example to request a repair or for a housing officer to call/visit you.
• next of Kin/Power of Attorney/Guardianship
• details of Relevant Medical Conditions, support needs and mobility issues
• if you are a registered offender
• bank details

As a Registered Social Landlord we collect this information as the tenancy agreement we have with you is a legally binding contract.  We need the information to make sure we are abiding by the law in providing you with the house in the first place and then to allow us to continue to provide you with the services and support required by that contract.

As a tenant you have a number of rights and we need to make sure that you are aware of them if your circumstances change and this information allows us to do that.

 As a landlord we also have a duty to charge and collect a fair rent for the property, we use the information you provide to make sure we keep in touch with you and keep you informed of any action, including legal action we are taking if we have not been able to collect the rent for the property.

As your landlord we are also responsible for carrying out repairs to your property or improvements such as new kitchens, bathrooms or double glazing and the information you provide is used to organise this work.

We also collect some information that is called ‘special category data’. We collect this as we are legally required to make sure we provide services fairly and equally. 

This information is also collected prior to allocating someone a house to comply with legislation in making sure those in priority need are considered for a tenancy.

This will include information such as:

• ethnicity;
• disability;
• religion;

We do not share this information, and disability and ethnicity information is reported in an anonymous format to the Scottish Housing Regulator annually.

We store your information in what is called a ‘Housing Management System’ – this is basically a large database, an electronic information storage system.  We also keep some information on paper based forms; these are stored in our office. It’s also possible, if you have contacted us by email, that some information will be held in the email system. 

 We also have an electronic filing system or document management system, where any forms or correspondence are scanned and stored.

 Your Housing Application information may also be held on Argyll and Bute Council’s Home Argyll online Application system to which we have access.

We review our data retention periods regularly and will only hold your personal data for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as required by law (we may be legally required to hold some types of information), or as set out in any relevant contract we have with you.

To view how long we keep your personal data, please visit our retention schedule here.

The tenancy agreement between West Highland Housing Association and you, as a tenant, is a legally binding contract. We rely on the contractual legal basis for processing to ensure that are able to meet the requirements of the contract. 

There are a number of pieces of legislation that require us to collect the information from you

The information you provide to us will be treated by us as confidential.

We will disclose your information to third parties who act for us for the purposes set out in this notice or for purposes approved by you, including the following:

• repair contractors; to carry out repairs to your property or home improvements
• any company we engage to carry out surveys; for example where we are proposing a change to a policy and are legally required to consult with our tenants or where we need to how well we are carrying out repairs and maintenance
• local authorities; this will include notifying council tax departments of when you leave a property or start a tenancy
• police (if necessary for the prevention or detection of crime);
• Department of Work and Pensions; where we are assisting you in making a benefit claim or trying to resolve an issue of unpaid rent due to a benefit claim
• utility companies (where you have left the property)

We will also, where appropriate, receive the following information from third parties:

• benefits information, including awards of Housing Benefit/Universal Credit;
• payments made by you to us via your bank, allpay or post office
• complaints or other communications regarding behaviour or other alleged breaches of the terms of your contract with us, including information obtained from Police Scotland;
• reports about your conduct or condition of your tenancy, including references from previous tenancies, and complaints of anti-social behaviour.

If your details change, please contact 0300 323 11 70  to inform us to ensure that all of the information we hold about you is up to date.

This guide informs you how your data will be processed and sets out clearly West Highland's lawful basis for processing.

You can submit a Subject Access Request to access the personal data that West Highland holds about you. You can do this by writing to:

Managing Director or Company Secretary

West Highland Housing Association

Crannog Lane

Oban

PA34 4HB

West Highland will then have 30 days to respond to your request. As part of the subject access request process we will ask for two forms of identification to be submitted before any information is released.

If any of the personal data we hold about you is wrong, you have the right to ask us to correct it.

You may request that West Highland erase any of your personal data that is processed by us. This is also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’. Please note that this is subject to a number of exemptions and so is not an absolute right.

If you believe that we are processing personal data unlawfully, where it is no longer needed or think that the personal data held is inaccurate you can ask us not to process that personal data.

You can ask us to pass on the personal data we hold about you to a third party, where you have provided that personal data to us and we have been processing it to deliver a service to you.

You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data. However, if West Highland can demonstrate that there is an appropriate ‘condition of processing’ in place then we may refuse to stop processing your personal data.

You have the right not to be subject to a decision solely based on automated processing. If a decision is made by an automated process you may ask West Highland to have the decision investigated by a member of staff.

If you wish to object to the use of your personal data, would like to restrict processing or have data rectified, please contact mail@westhighlandha.co.uk.

If you have a concern about the way West Highland is processing your personal data, you may raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

0303 123 1113

www.ico.org.uk

We will never share or sell your personal data to a third party for marketing purposes.

Electronic information that contains personal information is kept in secure systems. Laptop computers and other devices which may be taken out of the office are encrypted and password protected. Any paper files containing personal information are stored in locked filing cabinets.