Privacy

If you apply or sign for a tenancy, lease, or licence (e.g. for a parking space) with EastendHomes, we will need to collect certain details from you. We may collect personal information from written forms or applications; letters, emails, or other electronic messages (such as SMS) which you send to us; recordings of telephone calls; information you provide to us in person; references; information received from third parties; or from any other trustworthy source.

EastendHomes may use personal information to provide and manage, or assess eligibility for, services including:

• managing tenancies and leases
• managing allocations and lettings
• managing licences and other facilities
• obtaining feedback on our services
• investigating complaints
• investigating reports of anti-social behaviour
• resolving disputes
• collecting rent and service charges (including Major Works charges to leaseholders)
• offering support on welfare benefits
• providing repairs and maintenance to properties and estates
• delivering community events and/or support services

We may use mobile phone numbers or email addresses to contact you with information about our services (e.g. to confirm details of an appointment, or to inform you of an event due to be held on your estate). 

We will also ask you for some details of (any) members of your household living with you. It is in our legitimate interests to know who is living in your home, to check that your accommodation remains suitable, to check that household members' needs are met, and to help with sustaining quiet enjoyment of homes for all residents. Where you provide information to us about household members we assume that you do so with their full knowledge and consent.

Because it is important for us in planning and delivering services to know who lives on our estates, we may at times carry out research or analysis using your data and that of all our residents. When we do this, we will anonymise the data - this means taking out any information which would mean that you or any individual could be identified.

We will not use your data to automate decisions based on what we know about you. However you should note that your data may influence how we deliver services - for example, if we know that you have a disability you may be eligible to receive a greater range of repairs or pay a lower fee for a parking space. When we share your data with partners this may involve some automated decision-making, for example in drawing up shortlists when you bid for a property of a partner landlord.

To carry out these functions, and to comply with our legislative obligations, EastendHomes may share your personal information with the following parties:

• an organisation contracted to deliver services on our behalf, e.g. our repairs contractor
• where we are required to do so by law in case of emergency or to prevent crime
• to help prevent or detect fraud or loss
• in case of emergency or to prevent serious harm
• where it is requested by utility companies to pursue a debt
• in response to a request from a local authority or Government agency (in keeping with the law)
• where you have given us permission to share it for a specific purpose.

EastendHomes will not:

• disclose your details to third parties except in keeping with the above
• sell any personal information or allow it to be used for marketing by unconnected parties

We will only hold onto records during the period of our relationship and for a set period afterwards to allow us to meet our legal obligations including resolving any follow-up issues between us.

We have a data and document retention schedule which sets out how long we keep different types of information for. This is based on National Housing Federation guidance, legal requirements, and best practice. Please contact us if you would like any more information.

You have the right to request to see the information we hold regarding you (there are some limited exceptions set by law), by making a 'Subject Access Request'. 

Requests should be accompanied by proof of ID, and be clear as to what information is requested. If your request is very broad or is difficult to identify, we may ask you to be more specific. See this page from the ICO for guidance on Subject Access Requests. Our offices have a form to assist you in making this request.

EastendHomes will respond to your request within one calendar month.

You can also object to EastendHomes holding a piece of data, and/or request that we remove from our records personal information that we hold about you. We will remove your information unless we need that information on an ongoing basis to carry out our role as your landlord. We will consider if we need to continue processing that data, and also refer to our data retention schedule.

If you have a complaint about how EastendHomes has managed your data, we would encourage you to contact us. You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner's Office for advice or to pursue a complaint.

EastendHomes is not a relevant body for the Freedom of Information Act.

If you have a query related to your data, how we may use your data, or anything else related to data protection or privacy you can contact us. Email data.protection@eastendhomes.net and we will respond to your query.