We keep the Healthy and Sustainable Homes Service Privacy Notice under review. It was last reviewed and updated in August 2023.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice contact the council’s Data Protection Officer.
View the privacy and transparency information for all of the City of York Council (CYC).
- collecting personal data
- using personal data
- our legal basis for using personal data
- sharing personal data
- retaining personal data
- further processing of personal data
- your rights relating to personal data
Collecting personal data
We'll:
- only ask for what is necessary to provide our Healthy and Sustainable Homes services
- protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn’t
- ensure you know if you have a choice about giving us information
- only share your personal information with other City of York Council departments or with external partners, agencies and contractors involved in delivering services on our behalf
- delete or destroy it securely when we no longer have a need to keep it
We ask that you:
- give us accurate information
- tell us as soon as possible of any changes
- tell us as soon as possible if you notice mistakes in the information we hold about you
See further details about the steps we take when we collect your personal data.
Using personal data
We will use the personal data you give us to provide the following:
- advice and regulatory services for housing stock of all tenures in the city
- advice and regulatory services in connection with the private rented sector and caravan sites
- energy efficiency and fuel poverty assistance
- disabled adaptations and falls prevention services
- repair loans for homeowners and handyperson services
- improved services through analysis of customer satisfaction survey data
- access to training for landlords to improve their knowledge and contribute towards their continued professional development
Our legal basis for using personal data
Any personal data including special category personal data that we process is done in accordance with Article 6 and 9 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). These are:
- Consent - for some data such as personal data stored by the service, including contact preferences and financial information, we require explicit consent from you as the data subject to allow us to store and process your data
- Legal Obligation - certain data we have a legal obligation to process and keep in accordance with legislation, for example to make licensing decisions in relation to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) or Caravan/Park Home Sites
- Public Task - in some cases it will be necessary to process your data in order to carry out a public task which the service has a duty, or power, to carry out
- Contract - we have to keep some data for contractual reasons, such as supplier contracts or other agreements between you and us
- Vital Interests - in very rare situations we can process personal information in order to protect an individuals life
- Special Category Data - we will only process special category data in order meet our Public Services Equality Duty, and if you have provided explicit consent
Where we process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences such as to inform a ‘fit and proper person’ decision in relation to the licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (as required under section 66 Housing Act 2004), this is 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, that 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. Read Our Appropriate Policy Document.
Sharing personal data
We take your privacy seriously and will not share your personal data unless it is strictly necessary such as sharing with contractors who provide services on our behalf.
Before referring you to another organisation for additional advice and support with housing issues, we will ask for your consent, if needed.
We do not sell any data to third party organisations, however where required by legislation, we may have to charge a reasonable fee for a full copy of the HMO licence register, in line with section 232 Housing Act 2004.
As a rule, we do not transfer your personal data to third party processors outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
Sharing data under Data Protection legislation
We may be required or permitted, under data protection legislation, to disclose your personal data without your explicit consent, for example if we have a legal obligation to do so, such as for:
- law enforcement
- fraud investigations
- regulation and licensing
- criminal prosecutions
- court proceedings
We must protect public funds and may use personal data and data-matching techniques to detect and prevent fraud, collect taxes and ensure public money is targeted and spent in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. To do this, your personal data may be shared with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, including the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs, the Police and other local authorities.
Retaining personal data
We will keep your personal data only for a long as is necessary for the purpose it was obtained. In general we only hold your personal data for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 7 years.
The exception to this is data relating to the following, which are subject to their own retention periods:
- disabled facilities grants
- loans for owner occupiers
- HMO and Caravan Site licences
- works in default
- Prohibition and Closing Orders
At the end of the retention period, we may pass any relevant information to the City Archives where it is required or appropriate to do so.
Where your personal data is held
The locations where your personal data is stored include:
- the Civica APP database, a customer and case management computer system
- Verso, a third party web software managing online HMO Licence applications
- DASH Services, a joint-working initiative with Local Authorities, to provide landlord training
- Mosaic Social Services database
In a few cases this information will also be held in a paper file. Other information, including emails, photographs and letters may be held on the council’s email and document servers. All personal information about you that is held by us is subject to appropriate security policies and restrictions.
Further processing of personal data
If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Privacy Notice, then we'll provide you with a new notice.
The new notice will:
- explain this new use before we start the processing
- set out the relevant purposes and processing conditions
Where and whenever necessary, we'll seek your consent to the new processing, if we start to use your personal data for a purpose not mentioned in this Privacy Notice.
Your rights relating to personal data
When we collect your personal data we'll tell you how we are going to use it. Where we process your personal data, you have a number of rights under data protection law.
See further details of your rights relating to personal data.