Privacy notice neighbourhood services

Some of the information we ask you for is essential – we can’t manage your tenancy without it. Other information is optional, however if you choose not to tell us something, we may not make the right assessment. This means we may not be able to give you the help you need.

While you are a tenant, we’ll ask you for the following essential information:

• personal details including your current name, date of birth, national insurance number and gender
• employment details - if you’re working we will ask for your hours of work, pay and any pay deductions. 
• criminal history - you must tell us about certain convictions or prison sentences.  We will need to know about any bail or licence conditions
• next of kin details of the closest living relative for every member of your household. We will need their name, address and telephone number and their relationship to the household member

Other information that is not essential but optional includes:

• your health information, for example any physical or mental health conditions you have
• financial information such as income, benefits received and expenditure. Bank and building society details and account balances including any savings
• support needs - details of any support you are getting or have previously had from support agencies, like Citizens Advice, MIND, SSAFA (the armed forces charity), Christians Against Poverty
• safety factors - details of any threats or risks to your safety, or to the safety of those around you
• ethnicity, including nationality, race and ethnic group
• sexual orientation - including your gender identity
• religion - if you have a particular belief or worship
• preferred methods of contact, such as telephone number or email address
• other additional information, such as if you have any pets

We collect your information for the following purposes:

• personal information, to identify you when you contact us with a housing enquiry
• health information, so we understand your needs and to ensure your home is suitable
• financial information, we use this information if you need financial help or advice and to help you manage your rent account. We collect your bank details if you want to pay your rent by direct debit
• employment details as we use this information to check if you need financial help or advice
• support needs, so we can assess and understand your needs
• criminal history, as we use this information to manage your tenancy and to make sure we protect other residents who live near you
• next of kin, we need this information in case we need to contact someone urgently on your behalf
• safety factors, this is to monitor your tenancy, understand your needs and ensure your home is suitable
• ethnicity, this is used for statistical purposes and to understand your needs
• sexual orientation, this is used for statistical purposes and to understand your needs
• religion, this is used for statistical purposes and to understand your needs
• preferred way of contact, to ensure we can contact you quickly if we have any questions or problems about your tenancy
• other information - such as if you have any pets, we use this information to help manage your tenancy and to ensure your home is suitable

We might share your information with the following organisations:

• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Your personal information may be shared for statistical monitoring purposes. We are allowed to do this under the Digital Economy Act 2017
• statutory services such as the police and adult & children's social care. Your personal information may be shared for the prevention and detection of crime. We have a duty to do this under the Anti-Social, Crime & Policing Act 2014. We may also share information if we feel there is a risk to a child or vulnerable person. We have a duty to do this under the Children’s Act 2004, as amended by the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and the Care Act 2014
• probation and offender managers, for the prevention and detection of crime under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• magistrates court/county court, if we need to take legal action against you. This could be to remove you from one of our properties under the Housing Act 2004. We may also take legal action against you for anti-social behaviour under the Anti-Social, Crime and Policing Act 2014
• our environmental health team, if you hoard items in your home or have a problem with pests. We are allowed to do this under the Housing Act 2004
• our building control team, if we become aware of an issue with the structure of your home. We are allowed to do this under the Housing Act 2004
• our community safety team, If we have concerns about anti-social behaviour from any person in your home. We have a duty to do this under the Anti-Social, Crime and Policing Act 2014

With your consent we may also share your details with:

• support agencies
• relevant charities
• fire and Rescue Service
• TV Licensing

We use the information you provide so we can meet our public duty under:

• The Housing Act 1985
• The Housing act 2004
• The Localism Act 2011

We will keep your information all the time you have a tenancy with us. When your tenancy legally ends, we will keep your information for a further 6 years, after which it will be destroyed.  

If we take you to court for anti-social behaviour, we will keep your information for 6 years or until the end of the legal action.

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.