Residential Leaseholders

Privacy Notice    

Residential Leaseholders 

Effective 18 September 2023 

At Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) we are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected, and that data is used in accordance with the data protection legislation in force in England and Wales. 

This privacy notice sets out why we collect personal information from you, how we use it and who we may share it with. It also explains your individual rights under the current data protection legislation. 

If we ask you to provide information which can identify you, then we will only use it in accordance with this privacy notice.  

We may change this notice by updating it on our website. You should check the notice from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.  

Any queries regarding this notice and our privacy practices can be sent to the company Data Protection Officer by email using governance@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk or by writing to the Head of Governance, who is also the Data Protection Officer at - 

Plymouth Community Homes 

Plumer House 

Tailyour Road 

Crownhill 

Plymouth 

PL6 5DH 

Alternatively, you can telephone us on 0808 230 6500 

Who we are 

Plymouth Community Homes Limited is a registered housing provider. Our registration number is 30637R. Our registered office is Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill Plymouth, PL6 5DH 

For the purposes of data protection legislation, Plymouth Community Homes Limited is a Data Controller  

Why we collect information  

We collect and process your information because you have entered into or wish to enter into a contract with us in the form of a lease for one of our properties. This is the legal basis for processing your information and carrying out our activities.  

We need your information for service charge billing, to contact you about any issues regarding your property, such as repairs, to provide you with the statutory 30-day consultation period regarding major works and to provide any other services.  

What information we collect about you 

When you become a leaseholder for one of our properties, we will collect the following information from you: 

• Name 
• Address 
• Date of birth 
• Telephone numbers 
• Email address 
• Family composition 
• Bank account details 
• Financial information including income and savings, if applicable 
• Contact details of any managing agent and/or emergency contact 

How we collect your information 

Most of this information will already be held by Plymouth Community Homes in connection with your tenancy. Alternatively, it may be supplied either by you when you first become a leaseholder, by your solicitor during the purchase process, or if you notify us of any changes to your personal details. 

Telephone calls – telephone calls made to Plymouth Community Homes where a call management system is in place are recorded. A recorded message will tell you if your call will be recorded before the call starts. 

Recordings of calls may be used, in pursuit of our legitimate interests, for the following reasons: 

• For staff training and to improve customer service 
• To check and measure whether we meet standards agreed with customers 
• As evidence in investigations or disputes concerning either our customers or staff 

Access to call recordings is through sampling apart from training purposes or when abusive or threatening behaviour has occurred, or a complaint has been made and requires investigation. 

Special Category Information 

Under data protection legislation certain personal information is classed as special category. This is information relating to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, data concerning health, data about sexual orientation.  

We minimise our holding and use of special category personal information and it is not normally necessary to collect this type of data from a leaseholder. However, a leaseholder may choose to volunteer information to help us better understand their needs.  

We will then seek your consent to hold this data and notify you of how we will use it, including who it may be shared with. You have a right to withdraw this consent at any time. However, if you do not wish us to continue to hold this data, we may be unable to support you in the best way possible. 

What we do with it 

We may use the information you give us: 

• to fulfil our obligations under the lease as your landlord 
• to collect service charge payments 
• to consult with you about any proposed major works 
• to contact you about repairs 
• for internal record keeping 
• to undertake credit ratings or similar and affordability checks in the event of service charge arrears 
• to contact you about improvements relating to fire safety, such as fire door requirements etc. 
• to contact you about gas safety records 
• to customise the website according to your interests 
• to comply with our legal obligations, which include carrying out checks to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing 
• to enforce your obligations under the lease 

How long we keep your information 

We will only retain your information for as long as is reasonably necessary for us to fulfil the purposes set out in this guide, or for a maximum of six years after you cease to have a relationship with us, or if we are in dispute with you until legal proceedings have ended, whichever is longer. We will then securely dispose of your information.  

There may be a need to retain some data indefinitely if we are required to do so by law, such as permissions to make alterations and statutory consultation documents. 

How we store your information 

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. Some information is stored on paper, but most is stored electronically. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information. 

Sharing your information   

We will only share your information where we are legally obliged or able to do so, for example: 

• to provide you with services to which you are entitled  
• to comply with the law (e.g., police, health authorities, inland revenue, government departments) 
• to progress the sale of the lease to new buyers with your permission 
• to seek legal advice or in connection with court proceedings or statutory action to enforce compliance with the lease, or when obliged to refer cases to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Residential Property for a decision 
• where there is a clear health and safety risk 
• child protection and safeguarding issues 
• where there is a clear risk to yourself, staff and others 
• for the detection and prevention of crime, prosecution of offenders and for the detection and prevention of fraud 
• We participate in the government's CORE data gathering scheme that gathers information and statistics about new lettings and sales. For more information on what we share and why please see the Privacy notice for tenants/buyers of social housing 

We may share your information with third parties from time to time, such as: 

• Police 
• HMRC 
• Local authorities, the NHS and Primary Care Trusts 
• Legal Advisors, the courts and our insurers and auditors 
• Contractors providing maintenance and other housing-related services 
• Consultants providing services to us 
• Language translation services 
• Utility and telephone companies 
• Mediation partner organisations 
• External assistance where you have agreed to a referral, e.g., to help with money problems 
• The Regulator of Social Housing 
• Credit checking agencies and debt recovery agents 
• A nominated third party where you have given us your permission 
• Organisations to carry out payments through a secure service (e.g., to set up a direct debit) 
• Financial institutions to confirm affordability 
• Companies that help us mail out newsletters etc.   
• Training providers or learning organisations - where you have agreed to a referral 

Your Rights in relation to your personal data  

In certain circumstances, data protection legislation gives you a number of individual rights in relation to your personal data. These are as follows:  

• The Right to be Informed about how your data is managed – this right is met by this privacy notice and a range of other notices which relate to specific aspects of PCH, such as the CCTV privacy notice and the website privacy notice. 

• The Right of Access to your personal information – so that you can be aware of and verify what personal data we hold. Click here for details on how to apply for this right or ask us for more information. 

• The Right of Rectification - to have any personal data corrected if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
• The Right of Erasure of your personal data – this only applies in certain circumstances, such as where you have given consent for us to hold information and you withdraw that consent.
• The Right to restrict processing – in certain circumstances you have the right to block or restrict how we process your data. 
• The Right to data portability – which in certain circumstances allows you to obtain obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services 
• The Right to object - in certain circumstances, to the processing of personal data. In particular you have the right to object to being sent direct marketing information. 

• The Right not to be subject to automated decision making – Plymouth Community Homes does not do this 

More information on the individual rights and how they apply can be obtained by clicking here, by requesting a paper copy of our individual rights guidance information or you can visit the ICO website (ico.org.uk) 

If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please contact: 

Governance Team 

Plymouth Community Homes 

Plumer House 

Tailyour Road 

Crownhill 

Plymouth 

PL6 5DH 

Alternatively, you can make a request electronically, by email, to governance@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk. or telephone the Governance Team on 01752 388134 or 388152 

Making a complaint  

If you believe that Plymouth Community Homes has not handled your personal information correctly you have the right to make a complaint. You can raise a complaint in a number of different ways: 

• To a PCH staff member 
• At our offices at Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth, PL6 5DH 
• Through our website 
• Using social media 
• By telephone 
• In writing 

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office at. 

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire 
SK9 5AF 

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number. 

This privacy notice was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of Plymouth Community Homes collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests should be sent to the PCH Data Protection Officer at the above address. 

If you or someone you know would like this information in large print, braille, or translated into another language, please contact our Communications Team on 0808 230 6500 or email info@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk 

Plymouth Community Homes Group  

Registered Office: Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Plymouth, PL6 5DH  

Legal Status:  

Plymouth Community Homes Ltd is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (which consolidates the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts) and is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (registration 30637R) and the Regulator of Social Housing (registration L4543).  

At the time of issuing this Notice, Plymouth Community Homes Ltd has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Plymouth Community Homes Regeneration Company Ltd (PCHR), company number 7272688 and Plymouth Community Homes Energy Ltd (PCHE), company number 8028170. Both subsidiaries are incorporated under the Companies Act 2006.