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 September 2025.

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 process your information. However, the information we will process about you will vary depending on our relationship with you and the housing 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 555719.

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

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other CYC privacy notices that are available in our Privacy Notice and/or CYC 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 get information about you from the following sources:

  • directly from you
  • from third parties acting on your behalf such as family member(s), advocates, councillors, MPs, and so on
  • from our commissioned partners or contractors who undertake work on our behalf

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What personal data we process and why

We will only process the information that is necessary 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 footage and recordings
  • disabilities or vulnerabilities
  • medical details
  • information about criminal convictions and offences
  • sexual life
  • racial or ethnic origin
  • religious or philosophical beliefs
  • 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 preceding 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

Where we ask for your consent:

You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at housing.serviceimprovements@york.gov.uk.

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

  • assess your need for housing
  • enable us to enter into an agreement with you such as a tenancy agreement
  • letting, renting, leasing properties and shared ownership
  • provide social housing and accommodation services to you
  • carrying out a homelessness assessment
  • carrying out valuation and negotiation services for compulsory purchase orders (CPOs)
  • collection of money owed to the council including rent, service charges, and money owed, on behalf of third parties
  • payments to you such as overpayments, reimbursement and disturbance allowance
  • administering waiting lists, Right to Buy schemes; Affordable Home Ownership Discounted For Sale applications
  • carrying out research, surveys and consultation to monitor and improve the services we provide to you
  • providing associated debt and welfare services, advice, and support
  • 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

Where environmental sensors are installed in your property, we will use the data collected from them to provide an insightful overview of the property’s health and condition, to facilitate early identification and proactive resolution of issues that could impact upon your health, safety and well-being. You can also choose to access this information through an “app”. To find out more about this please contact housing.serviceimprovements@york.gov.uk.

You can find more about Housing Services online.

Find out more information about how the council uses CCTV in the CCTV Privacy Notice.

When you complete an online form on the council’s website and you have provided your email address, we will send you a copy of your completed online form.

When you make an online payment on the council’s website, you can find details at our Online Payments Privacy Notice.

We may use your information to create reports and statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to you, your family or individuals such as:

  • statistical analysis
  • statutory returns
  • audit framework
  • see how the council and its partners are supporting individuals
  • help design better services
  • inform funding decisions

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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 one or more of the following Article 6, 9 and 10 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

  • 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)
    • (e) Public task: the processing is necessary for the council to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law
    • (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
  • Social Housing Act 2023

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 only keep your information for as long as it is needed then it will be securely and confidentially deleted or disposed of.

You can find details on how long the council keeps records in the Council Retention Schedule.

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Data sharing

We will only share your information where it is appropriate to, with:

  • other CYC services
  • other councils, government departments and agencies such as Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for (CORE)
  • other organisations such as NHS
  • third parties including our data processors, partners or contractors, who undertake work on our behalf
  • internal and external auditors

In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share information.

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

When we have third parties providing parts or all of our services, systems, software, platforms, applications (apps), and so on for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These include:

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Transfers of personal data

We do not routinely transfer personal data, special categories of personal data or criminal offence 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 Commissioners Office (ICO).

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 555719, 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 555719

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