Private sector housing privacy notice

The data controller for the information we collect

This Privacy Notice is provided to meet the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) to explain how we process your personal data in delivering Private Sector Housing Service.

Leeds City Council is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and other regulations, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, which means it determines what your data is used for and why it is collected. The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you about what information we collect about you when you use our service, how we use that information, and who we may share it with. The contact details of the data controller are Leeds City Council, Merrion House, 110 Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8BB.

The data we collect

This Privacy Notice covers HMO licensing, selective licensing, caravan site licensing, regulatory enforcement across all privately rented properties (licensed and non-licensed) and long-term empty properties, home improvement grants, and loans.

To deliver the service, we will process the following data:

  • name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • National Insurance number
  • financial information (for example, bank statements)

Special category data:

  • personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin
  • data concerning health

And criminal offence data, such as information related to criminal investigations (for example, statements from the police). )

Where we process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, this is also under Article 10 UK GDPR that covers processing in relation to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures. This is supported by the following Schedule 1 Part 3 conditions:

  • statutory and government purposes
  • preventing or detecting unlawful acts

Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category and criminal offence data require an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) to be in place, which sets out and explains the procedures for securing compliance with the principles in Article 5 and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data. This document explains this processing and satisfies the requirements of Schedule 1, Part 4 of the DPA 2018, and supplements this privacy notice.

How we collect information about you

We collect information about you from you directly (for example, by asking you to complete one of our forms, via the telephone, through our contact centre, or face-to-face).

We may also obtain your information from other sources, such as:

  • your family members, carers or other persons acting on your behalf
  • government departments
  • internal Council departments
  • law enforcement agencies
  • partners (Unipol, who administers the Leeds Rental Standard, Green Doctor, Empty Homes Doctor and others)
  • other local authorities
  • NHS trusts

Why we process your data

We use your information to:

  • assess your eligibility to the scheme
  • verify the eligibility of your property
  • identify responsible person for managing private rented property
  • ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and other standards

All the data collected will be treated in strict confidence and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The data provided by you will only be used for the purposes specified.

Lawful basis for processing

We will process your data in accordance with the following:

Article 6(1)(a): processing shall be lawful only if the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes. We require your consent for processing loan and grant applications and complaints received about private rented and empty properties (where applicable).

Article 6(1)(b): processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party. 

This refers to the group repair contract where the upgrade of properties is undertaken by a contractor appointed by the council and also to contracts with the individual property owners.

Article 6(1)(c):  processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject and

Article 6(1)(e): processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller. This is supported by the following legal framework:

  • Housing Act 2004 (Parts 1-4 & 7),
  • Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
  • Management of HMO Regulations 2006
  • the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
  • Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Part 2)
  • Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part 3)
  • Building Act 1984
  • Prevention of Damage by Pest Act 1949
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990
  • Local Government Act (Miscellaneous provisions) 1976, 1982
  • Public Health Act 1936, 1961
  • Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England & Wales) Order 2002

The lawful basis for processing your special category data is in accordance with the following:

  • 9(2)(a) the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes
  • 9(2)(b) processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law
  • 9(2)(g): Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

Article 10, which covers processing in relation to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures.

The processing of special category data under Article 9 and criminal offence data under Article 10 is further supported by the following conditions in Schedule 1, Parts 1, 2, and 3:

  • 1. Employment, social security and social protection
  • 6. Statutory and government purposes
  • 10. Preventing or detecting unlawful acts
  • 11. Protecting the public

All the listed conditions require an Appropriate Policy Document to be in place, which sets out and explains the procedures for securing compliance with the principles in Article 5 and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data. Our Appropriate Policy Document provides further information about this processing and supplements this privacy notice.

Withdrawing your consent

You have the right to withdraw your consent from participating in the scheme or service at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect any services or benefits you receive from the authority or statutory duties of the authority. However, it may mean you will not be eligible for a group repair grant or an empty property loan to improve your home. If you decide that you no longer wish to participate in the scheme, please contact us.

Data retention, storage and destruction

Our data retention policies and procedures are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention. This means that your information will be kept in accordance with the retention schedule, typically six years after we cease to provide a service to you, unless the law says that we need to hold it for longer or if there is a business requirement to do so. After this, your information will be deleted or archived.

Who we share your data with

We share your data with agencies shown below as follows:

  • Partner organisations (for example, Leeds Rental standard)
  • Empty Homes Doctor or Green Doctor schemes

In addition, we will share your personal data:

  • where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject
  • in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person
  • for the purposes of security and prevention of fraud and other criminal activity
  • where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure

Automated decision making

Your data will not be used for any automated decision-making, including profiling.

Your rights

The following rights under data protection law are available under the UK GDPR:

  • the right to access (where you can ask for copies of your personal data)
  • the right to rectification (where you can ask us to rectify inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete personal data)
  • the right to erasure (where you can ask us to erase your personal data)
  • the right to restrict processing (where you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data)
  • the right to data portability (where you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you)
  • the right to object to processing (where you can object to the processing of your personal data)
  • the right to complain to a supervisory authority (where you can complain about our processing of your personal data)
  • withdraw consent (to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent)

All data rights apply where we process your information based on your consent. 

Where we process your information under legal obligation, certain rights do not apply, such as:

  • erasure
  • data portability
  • objection to processing
  • the right to withdraw consent

Where we process your data under the public task basis, the following data rights do not apply:

  • the right to erasure
  • the right to portability 
  • the right to withdraw consent

Where we process your data under the performance of a contract basis, the right to object to processing does not apply. You can object to the processing of your personal data by withdrawing your consent.

These rights are subject to certain limitations and exceptions. You can learn more about your rights and how to exercise them, with further details on the Information Commissioner’s Office website. You may exercise any of the above rights in relation to your personal data by writing to us using the contact details provided below.

If your data is sent to other countries

The information you provide will not be transferred to another country outside of the UK.

Contact us

Any queries in relation to this Privacy Notice should be forwarded to:

Email: Prs.housing@leeds.gov.uk 

The council privacy notice is available online. 

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way in which your information has been handled, you should speak with the specific service in the first instance. 
Any data protection complaints about how the council has processed your personal data, will be handled in accordance with the council’s Complaints Policy. You can find out how to submit a complaint.
If we cannot resolve your complaint, you can refer to the Information Commissioner if you consider that there has been an infringement of data protection legislation. Further details can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website.

Changes to this notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. We will notify you of significant changes to this notice by email or other means as appropriate. This privacy notice was last updated November 2024.