Privacy notice houses in multiple occupation licence

We collect information about you in order to provide you with the following service: issue a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence. Our houses in multiple occupation licence privacy notice explains how we use your personal information and tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Information we collect

We will be asking you for:

  • your personal details – name, address, contact number, email address
  • property ownership details – details of company directors, partnerships or trustees
  • managing agent details - name, address, contact number, email address
  • mortgage company details
  • information regarding the property layout, room sizes, type of construction and facilities provided
  • GAS SAFE registered Landlords Gas Safety Inspection certificate
  • electrical safety certificate (Electrical Installation Condition Report / formerly periodic inspection report) obtained in the last 5 yrs including any Part P certificates on electrical works done since the last inspection
  • fire risk assessment
  • fire alarm and emergency lighting maintenance certificate
  • plan of the property including location of fire safety and detection items
  • copy of the tenancy agreement in the case of a single tenancy shared house

Why we collect this information

We collect and check:

  • your personal details to identify you and to ensure that the named licence holder is fit and proper. - you do not have to provide your contact number or email address but it would help us contact you quickly and to share paperwork electronically in order to spend up your application
  • ownership of the property to provide appropriate documentation to all interested parties
  • all the appropriate safety checks have been carried out in relation to electrics, gas and fire safety

The legal basis for using this information is:

  • The Housing Act 2004
  • The Housing Health and Safety (England) Regulations 2005
  • The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006
  • The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, 2007
  • The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and any amendments

Who we might share your information with

We may share your personal information with:

  • West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, as it is a legal requirement to consult in relation to any required fire safety measures
  • our planning and building control department to ascertain if the property has the correct planning use and whether any conversion works or alterations have the correct building regulation and planning permission/approval
  • our land charge department to record that a licence has been issued against the property
  • other internal services where there is a lawful purpose for sharing data, including an investigation by a regulatory function such as for the detection of fraudulent receipt of benefits
  • government departments/agencies such as HMRC
  • the police to assist them with investigations
  • customer satisfaction surveys, to ensure that we are meeting our customers' expectations and to enable us to review what we could do better
  • adjoining local authorities to enable them to fulfil their duties
  • West Sussex County Council to enable them to fulfil their duties
  • public register where there is a legal requirement to, this information will be published on our website

In addition, if we receive a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), to disclose information, we are obliged to do so unless the information is deemed exempt under the Act - we can only withhold information under FOI or EIR if the information falls under one of the exemptions (FOI) or exceptions (EIR) set out in legislation.

What we do with your information

We will use the information to process your licence application and publish specific information to a public register maintained on our website, this will include:

  • name and address of license holder
  • name and address of person managing
  • address of the licensed HMO
  • a short description of the licensed HMO
  • summary of conditions
  • commencement date and duration of license
  • summary of any information referred to the residential property tribunal
  • summary of any information or decisions from the residential property tribunal
  • number of storeys
  • number of rooms providing sleeping and living accommodation
  • description of shared amenities
  • maximum number of persons or households permitted to occupy
  • confirming property ownership details
  • your details for correspondence relating to the license and, if successful, for the duration of the license
  • retaining your details on our private sector housing and environmental health database

How long we keep your information

We will keep your information electronically for seven years from the issuing of the license in order that they are held for the duration of the license and also enable the renewal process upon expiry.

If your license application is refused we will keep your application for one year from the date of our decision.

Your rights

You do have some legal rights in respect of the personal information we collect from you. Please see our Privacy policy page for further details.

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office at: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

You can also contact our Data Protection Officer by email at data.protection@arun.gov.uk.