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Housing

Housing Services Privacy Notice

City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference Z5809563. We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in November 2024.

CYC is committed to ensuring that personal data is handled in accordance with the principles set out in data protection legislation and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when Housing Services processed your information. However, the information we will process about you will vary depending on our relationship with you and the services you use.

CYC is the controller for this information unless we specifically state otherwise in this privacy notice.

You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer at:

West Offices
Station Rise
York
YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 554145.

Email: information.governance@york.gov.uk.

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other relevant CYC privacy notices and/or policies and procedures.

When appropriate we will provide a ‘just in time’ notice to cover any additional processing activities not mentioned in this document.

How we collect your information

We collect most of your information directly from you. However, we may also get your information from third parties such as:

  • other council services or teams such as housing benefits, council tax
  • your previous landlords
  • the police
  • health and social welfare agencies
  • enquiries that are received from councillors, MPs or someone acting on your behalf

We are committed to keeping your information up to date, and we encourage you to inform us about any changes needed to make sure your details are accurate.

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What personal data we process and why

We will collect and use your information such as:

  • name
  • address
  • contact information including email address and phone number
  • gender
  • date of birth
  • photographic ID
  • National Insurance number
  • bank details
  • employment details
  • marital status
  • details of other members of the household, where appropriate to
  • CCTV images
  • benefits/council tax details
  • disabilities or vulnerabilities
  • medical details
  • information about criminal convictions and offences
  • physical or mental health details
  • sexual life
  • racial or ethnic origin
  • religious or philosophical beliefs
  • your opinions, comments, and feedback when you take part in our surveys and consultation
  • other information that is required to support your application, such as;
    • if you are a carer
    • if you are a current or ex member of the armed forces
    • if you are a bereaved spouse, partner or civil partner of armed forces personnel, whose death was wholly or partly attributable to their service
    • if you have been discharged from the armed forces in the last 5 years, serving on the regular forces in the 5 years preceeding application, or have served in the reserve forces and are suffering from a serious injury, illness or disability wholly or partly attributable to that service

We use your information to provide our housing services and to enable us to deliver efficient and effective services to you. These include:

  • letting, renting, leasing properties and shared ownership
  • provide social housing and accommodation services to you
  • carrying out a homelessness assessment
  • collection of money owed to the council including rent, service charges, and more
  • collection of money owed, on behalf of third parties
  • administering waiting lists
  • administering Right to Buy schemes
  • administering Affordable Home Ownership Discounted For Sale applications
  • carrying out research
  • carrying out surveys and consultation to monitor and improve the services we provide to you
  • providing associated welfare services, advice, and support
  • maintaining our accounts and records
  • supporting and managing our employees, agents, and contractors
  • promoting equal opportunities
  • debt and benefit advice
  • employment and training support services
  • dealing with complaints and any feedback from you
  • assess your need for housing
  • enable us to enter into an agreement with you such as a tenancy agreement
  • better understand your needs and provide a better service, such as when we obtain information on disabilities to assess the suitability of accommodation or the need for any adaptations
  • to monitor equality, diversity, and inclusion to ensure services are delivered appropriately, to comply with our legal and statutory duties under equality legislation and to meet our regulatory requirements

We may also contact you with surveys and/or consultations where you have given us your consent to do so. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us on email: yourservice.yoursay@york.gov.uk.

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Automated decision-making

We do not carry out any automated decision-making without any human intervention such as generating low level arrears letters in Housing Services.

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Collecting information automatically

Please see our Cookies Policy for further information about the information we collect automatically when you use our website.

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Children’s information

Where we provide services directly to children or young people, the information in the relevant parts of this notice applies to children and young people, as well as adults.

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Lawful basis for processing your personal data

Any personal data including special category data and criminal offence data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with Article 6, 9 and 10 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).
The legal basis for processing your personal data is in accordance with one or more of the following:

  • Article 6(1)
    • (a) Consent: the individual has given clear consent for the council to process their personal data for a specific purpose
    • (b) Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract the council has with the individual, or because they have asked the council to take specific steps before entering into a contract
    • (c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for the council to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations)
    • (f) Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for the council’s legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests (this cannot apply if you are a public authority processing data to perform your official tasks)
  • Article 9(2)
    • (a) Explicit consent
    • (b) Employment, social security, and social protection (if authorised by law)
    • (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

This is supported by Schedule1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the following legal framework:

  • The Equality Act 2010
  • The Housing Acts 1985, 1988, 1996, 2002, 2004
  • Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
  • Landlord and Tenant Act 1987
  • Localism Act 2011
  • Homelessness Reduction Act

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. In addition, section 11(2) of the DPA 2018 specifically confirms that this includes personal data relating to the alleged commission of offences, or proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed, including sentencing.

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.

Our Appropriate Policy Document provides further information about this processing.

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How long we keep your personal data

We will keep your information only for as long as is necessary and then we will delete it securely and confidentially.

You can find out more information about how long the council keeps records in the council retention schedule.

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Data sharing

We will only share your information with other teams at City of York Council, or external partners and agencies involved in delivering or evaluating our services.

In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share information. We may also share information about you with third parties including our data processors, government agencies and external auditors. For example, we may share information with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for (CORE) to meet our legal requirements.

We will always satisfy ourselves that we have a lawful basis on which to share the information and document our decision-making.

Additionally, we are required under the Public Records Act 1958 (as amended) to transfer records to the City or National Archives (TNA) for permanent preservation. Full consideration will be given to Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation when making decisions about whether such records should be open to the public.

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Data processors and/or third parties

Where we have third parties providing parts or all of our services for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These are listed below:

If we use Microsoft Teams, to contact you, to gather information from you, or if we are recording or transcribing our discussion or meeting with you, we will let you know. You can find more details about this in the City of York Council Microsoft Office 365 (MS365) Teams Meeting recording and transcription privacy notice.

If we use SurveyMonkey for our surveys or consultation etc you can find out how they use your information in the SurveyMonkey Privacy Notice.

If we use Eventbrite for arranging and organising events etc you can find out how they use your information in the Eventbrite Privacy Policy.

If we use Zimma Ltd, trading as Ticket Tailor, for arranging and organising events, you can find out how they use your information in the Ticket Tailor Privacy Policy.

If we use Delib’s CitizenSpace (digital citizen engagement platform) you can find out how they use your information in the Delib Privacy Notice.

If we use Granicus/Gov Delivery to send you updates, newsletters etc you can find out how they use your information in the Granicus Privacy Policy.

If we use Zoom, you can find out how they use your information in the Zoom Privacy Statement and their certifications at Zoom Legal Compliance.

If we use WhatsApp to contact you, you can find out how they use your information in the WhatsApp Privacy Policy.

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Transfers of personal data

We do not routinely transfer personal data outside of the UK but when this is necessary, we ensure that we have appropriate safeguards in place and that is done in accordance with the UK data protection and privacy legislation.

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How we protect your information

We're committed to keeping your information safe and secure. There are several ways we do this, such as:

  • IT security safeguards such as firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software
  • on-site security safeguards to protect physical files and electronic equipment
  • training for all staff and elected councillors
  • policies and procedures

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Your rights in relation to this processing

To find out about your rights under data protection law, you can go to the Information Commissioner's Office website.

You can also find information about your rights in our Privacy Notice.

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, want to exercise your rights, or if you have a complaint about how your information has been used, please contact us on email: information.governance@york.gov.uk, or on telephone: 01904 554145, or write to:

Data Protection Officer
City of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA

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Also see

Data Protection Officer

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 554145

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