What is data protection?

Data protection is how companies and institutions make sure they look after important information on individuals. The Data Protection Act sets rules for processing personal information. It states that any organisation that records and uses your personal information must handle it properly and be open about how they use it. Information we hold about you must be:

• fairly and lawfully processed
• processed for limited purposes
• adequate, relevant and not excessive
• accurate
• not kept for longer than is necessary
• processed in line with your rights
• secure
• not transferred to countries without adequate protection

What information do we hold about you?

The information we hold in your file is usually related to your tenancy. For example:

• names and dates of birth of people in your household
• telephone numbers
• income details
• rent-payment history
• information about your housing needs
• information about other things like any transfer applications and health issues

We also hold records of most of the contacts that our offices have had with you.

How we protect your information

We treat as strictly confidential all the personal information we receive from you or a third party (such as a doctor or social worker). We will not disclose anything given to us in confidence unless you consent to this.

The only exceptions to this are where the law permits someone access to information we hold. The law allows us to share information with police, Benefits Agency fraud officers and other landlords. We may share information, for example, to prevent or deal with anti-social behaviour, crime and fraud.

If you phone us to ask about your rent account or personal matters related to your tenancy, we will ask you certain questions to prove your identity before we answer, to make sure that we don’t disclose personal information about you to someone else.

How you can find out what information we hold about you

The Data Protection Act allows you to find out what information about you we hold on computer and in some paper records. If you want to know what information we hold about you or your tenancy, you can write to our data protection officer.

You must include:

• a request for information under section 7(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998
• your full name and home address
• your telephone number
• your signature
• a £10 cheque

Once we receive the above information and the £10 fee we can send your information.

What will we send you?

We will send you a copy of the information we have about you within 40 days of receiving your application. However, your right to see certain information may be limited. For example, if providing you with the information would be likely to affect a police investigation or a criminal prosecution, then we are not allowed to give you the information. In some cases your right to see certain health and social work details may also be limited.

If you think we have kept information from you that we shouldn’t have, you can complain to: The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545700