Privacy Notice
Leaseholders - Commercial tenants & residential leaseholders including shared owners
Effective 27 May 2025
We keep our Privacy Notice under regular review and will update it if we undertake any new or amended processing. If there are any significant changes, we will bring these to your attention.
If you or someone you know would like this information in large print, braille, or translated into another language, please contact Customer Services.
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 is for all residential and commercial leaseholders and tells you what to expect when PCH collects and stores data containing personal information. It tells you why we process your personal information and the legal basis for doing so. It will also explain your rights when it comes to your data.
To view how PCH processes your personal information for other purposes, please visit our PCH website where all our Privacy Notices are displayed.
The information provided in this notice gives an overview and examples of data processing, it does not necessarily provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of PCH’s collection and use of personal information.
A. Contact Details
If you have any concerns or questions, please contact our Customer Services Team or our Data Protection Officer:
- Contacting Customer Services: Tel 0808 230 6500 or email
- Contacting our Data Protection Officer: Tel 0808 230 6500, email
- You can also complete the enquiry form on our website: plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk/contact
- Or write to: Plymouth Community Homes, Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth, PL6 5DH
B. 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
C. What is personal information?
Personal information can be anything that identifies and relates to a living personal. This can include information that, when put together with other information, will identify a person.
D. How we collect your information
Residential leaseholders - Most of your personal data 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.
Commercial tenants - Most of this information will be supplied by you directly when completing our Statement of Particulars form, although we may sometimes receive information from third parties including your accountant, current and previous landlords, credit reference agencies etc.
We also collect and process information through telephone calls. Calls made to PCH 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.
E. What information we collect about you
Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect information from you including but not limited to:
- Name, contact details, current address, email and telephone numbers
- Date of birth
- Previous home/business address
- Tenure of private home
- Family composition
- Copy of current tenancy agreement, if applicable
- Photo identification details, e.g. passport, driving licence, birth certificate, NI card etc.
- Bank statements
- Financial information including income, expenditure, savings and other relevant information, if applicable)
- Financial information - credit worthiness and liquidity information
- Contact details of any managing agent and / or emergency contact
F. How we use your information and our basis in law for processing
Collecting, processing and storing your information is necessary for the preparation of the contract or lease you have requested and for the ongoing performance of that contract or lease to deliver an efficient and effective service to all our leaseholders.
The lawful basis for processing your personal data is:
- the performance of a contract (contractual obligation)
- compliance with a legal obligation
- legitimate interests of PCH
Depending on your relationship with us, we may use the information you give us as follows, including but not limited to
- To confirm proof of identity (lawful basis: legal obligation)
- To help assess commercial viability (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- Manage and uphold our contract with you and comply with our legal obligations including the collection of rent and service charges, management of rent arrears/service charges, validate your right to rent, assess whether the home is affordable for you, and to respond to any queries or problems which you may have (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- To comply with our legal obligations, which include carrying out checks to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing (lawful basis: legal obligation)
- To contact you about any issues regarding your property such as repairs and carry out work on defect repairs and inspections (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- Conduct a stock condition survey (lawful basis: legal obligation)
- Conduct an annual gas safety check (lawful basis: legal obligation)
- To provide other services applicable to your property
- Help protect and safeguard you (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- To contact you about improvements relating to fire safety, such as fire door requirements etc.
- Provide you with the 30-day statutory consultation period regarding major works and costs (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- Verify customer satisfaction through surveys following work carried out on repairs and emergency response repairs (lawful basis: legitimate interest)
- Perform a lease extension (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- Manage your staircasing requests if made (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- Facilitate the resale of a property (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
- To enforce obligations under the lease or contract (lawful basis: contractual obligation)
F. Legitimate interests
When we process your personal information for our legitimate interests, we will consider and balance any potential impact on you and your rights under data protection and any other relevant law. Our legitimate business interests do not automatically override your interests – we will not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law).
G. Consent
We may sometimes ask for additional data for specific purposes or projects. If we do this, we will always explain why we need it and ask for your written consent.
Where we are processing your personal data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This may affect the services that we can make available to you, but this will be explained on the consent form.
H. Special Category of Personal data
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 residential or commercial 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.
I. How we store your information
We ensure that appropriate security measures are in place when handling your personal data. It may sometimes be necessary to transfer personal data outside the UK because of our requirements for data hosting services. When this is necessary, this will always be done in accordance with the UK GDPR
J. Transferring your data internationally
We ensure that appropriate security measures are in place when handling your personal data. It may sometimes be necessary to transfer personal information outside the UK because of our requirements for data hosting services. Occasionally, we may share your data with third party suppliers outside of the European Economic Area (‘EEA’), for example we may use Survey Monkey which has servers in the USA. When it is necessary for us to transfer your personal information outside of the UK this will only be done in accordance with the UK GDPR.
K. 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. We will then securely dispose of your information.
If we are in dispute with you, we will retain information until legal proceedings have ended.
There may be a need to retain some data longer, or even indefinitely, to ensure obligations under the lease or contract are fulfilled or if we are required to do so by law, such as permissions to make alterations and statutory consultation documents.
L. 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/contract, 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
Depending on your relationship with us, 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 companies (water, gas, electricity)
- 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
- Partner landlords
- Trade/professional referees
Leaseholders should be aware that:
- Current or forwarding addresses or additional information may be shared with utility companies and local authority council tax departments to ensure billing details are correct. This is because we have a legitimate interest in ensuring that charges are directed to those responsible.
- We may pass your contact information to a third party to conduct surveys and research on our behalf to improve the services we offer. The third party would be bound to strict terms and conditions outlined by us and would not share your data with other organisations. You can opt out by contacting us.
M. Your Rights in relation to your personal data
Data Protection legislation gives you eight individual rights in relation to your personal data, which can be exercised in certain circumstances. These rights 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 Nominated Representatives privacy notice and the Website privacy notice
- The Right of Access - to your personal information, so you can be aware of and verify what personal information we hold. Click here for details on how to apply for this right.
- 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, for example, you have the right to object to being sent direct marketing information.
- The Right Not to Be Subject to Automated Decision Making – PCH does not use automated decision making
More information on the individual rights and how they apply can be obtained by clicking here, 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 0808 230 6500.
N. 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
Website: www.plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
Email: info@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk.
Tel: 0808 230 6500
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.
O. 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.
