Privacy Notice
Plymouth Community Homes - Private Homeowners
Effective 18 September 2023
At Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) we are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected, and that data is used in accordance with the data protection legislation in force in England and Wales.
This privacy notice sets out why we collect personal information from you, how we use it and who we may share it with. It also explains your individual rights under the current data protection legislation.
If we ask you to provide information which can identify you, then we will only use it in accordance with this privacy notice.
We may change this notice by updating it on our website. You should check the notice from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.
Any queries regarding this notice and our privacy practices can be sent to the company Data Protection Officer by email using governance@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk or by writing to the Head of Governance, who is also the Data Protection Officer at -
Plymouth Community Homes
Plumer House
Tailyour Road
Crownhill
Plymouth
PL6 5DH
Alternatively, you can telephone us on 0808 230 6500
Who we are
Plymouth Community Homes Limited is a registered housing provider. Our registration number is 30637R. Our registered office is Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill Plymouth, PL6 5DH
For the purposes of data protection legislation, Plymouth Community Homes Limited is a Data Controller
Why we collect information
We collect and process your information because we wish to enter into a contract with you for the purchase of your home. This is generally the legal basis for processing your information and carrying out our activities. We need the information to assist with the purchase your home and to provide the service you require from us.
What information we collect about you
We will collect the following information from you:
- Names of the property owner
- Addresses
- Contact details
- Details of people who occupy the property on any basis
- Financial information
We may also hold other information which is necessary and that will vary on a case-by-case basis.
Most of this information will be supplied by you directly, although we may sometimes receive information from outside organisations.
How we collect your information
Plymouth Community Homes collects information from you via a variety of sources, including when you write, call, email or meet with us or respond to a survey.
Telephone calls – which are made to Plymouth Community Homes through our call centre, are recorded. Recordings of calls may be used, in pursuit of our legitimate interests, for the following reasons:
- For staff training to develop confidence and potential of staff and to improve services
- To check and measure whether we meet standards agreed with customers
- For use in appraisals with staff to develop better customer service
- As evidence where there are disputes
- As evidence in investigations concerning either our customers or staff
Access to call recordings is through sampling apart from training purposes or when abusive or threatening behaviour has occurred, or a complaint has been made and requires investigation.
We operate a CCTV system at Plumer House in pursuit of our legitimate interests of building security and the detection and prevention of crime. For more information refer to the separate Privacy Notice for CCTV at Plumer House or request a paper copy.
Photographs - We may take photographs at or events and in our communities to use for general marketing and publicity. However, photographs of individuals will only be used for those purposes with your consent.
We may receive information about you from third parties including:
- The Land Registry will provide property information
- Devon Home Choice in relation to your application for rehousing, if applicable
- Your council or benefits office relating to your housing
- Credit agencies when you sell your home
- Police, welfare or support organisations dealing with you
- Councillors, MP’s or other representatives acting on your behalf or with your instruction
- Financial institutions when you sell your home
- Solicitors and estate agents used in the sale of your property
Special Category Information
Under data protection legislation certain personal information is classed as special category. This is information relating to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, data concerning health, data about sexual orientation.
We minimise our holding and use of special category personal information but, given the services we provide, there are times when we use it to understand our customers and their needs better.
We will normally only hold special category data with your explicit consent, and you have a right to withdraw this consent at any time. However, if you do not wish us to process this data, it may have an impact on the services we provide to you.
What we do with it
We may use your personal information as follows:
- To understand your needs and provide you with a better and more supported service
- To comply with our legal obligations
- For internal record keeping
- To survey you or undertake market research about our delivery of services for quality improvement and monitoring purposes
- We may also use this information for safeguarding our staff and residents
How long we keep your information
We will only store your information for as long as is reasonably necessary for us to fulfil the purposes set out in this notice. We will then securely dispose of your information.
- This is normally for up to 12 months after the completion of the phase. However, it may be necessary to retain it for longer if there are any outstanding legal matters.
- Recorded telephone conversations are usually kept for up to 6 months. Recorded calls that are deemed abusive or threatening are kept until any investigation action is completed.
- Live chat scripts made through our website are kept for 28 days.
- CCTV footage is normally kept for a period of 28 days unless it is to be used in relation to allegations of anti-social behaviour or criminal activity, when it may be retained for a period of up to two years after any legal proceedings have finished.
- If you have consented to having your photograph taken, consent given is valid for three years, after which the images and recordings will be either securely destroyed or archived. Group shot photographs will be archived and photographs of individuals securely destroyed. If we’d like to use any individual material after three years, we will contact you to ask if you would be willing to renew your consent.
Sharing your information
We will only share your information where we are legally entitled to do so, for example:
- To provide you with the support services you require
- To comply with the law (e.g., police, health authorities, inland revenue, government departments)
- Where there is a clear health and safety risk
- Child protection and safeguarding issues
- Where there is a clear risk to yourself, staff and others
- To seek legal advice or in connection with court proceedings
- For the detection and prevention of crime, prosecution of offenders and for the detection and prevention of fraud.
- Where you have provided your consent
We may therefore share your information with third parties from time to time such as:
- Contractors who may carry out surveys, for example ecological or topographical surveys
- Utility companies (water, electricity, gas)
- Consultants providing services to us
- Police
- Fire Service
- HMRC
- Local Authorities (e.g., PCC) and Government agencies, such as Department of Work & Pensions
- Regulatory Bodies such as such as the Regulator of Social Housing or Homes England
- The NHS and Primary Care trusts
- Health professionals
- Legal advisors, the courts
- Solicitors for property conveyancing purposes
- Our insurers and auditors
- Language translation services
- Mediation partner organisations
- External assistance where you have agreed to a referral, e.g., to help with money problems
- A nominated third party where you have given us permission
- With your agreement, organisations who generate statistical information and carry out research.
How we store your information
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. Some information is stored on paper, but most is stored electronically. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information.
Your Rights in relation to your personal data
In certain circumstances, Data Protection legislation gives you a number of individual rights in relation to your personal data. These are as follows:
- The Right to be Informed about how your data is managed – this right is met by this privacy notice and a range of other notices which relate to specific aspects of PCH, such as the CCTV privacy notice and the website privacy notice.
- The Right of Access to your personal information – so that you can be aware of and verify what personal data we hold. Click here for details on how to apply for this right or ask us for more information.
- The Right of Rectification - to have any personal data corrected if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
- The Right of Erasure of your personal data – this only applies in certain circumstances, such as where you have given consent for us to hold information and you withdraw that consent.
- The Right to restrict processing – in certain circumstances you have the right to block or restrict how we process your data.
- The Right to data portability – which in certain circumstances allows you to obtain obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services
- The Right to object - in certain circumstances, to the processing of personal data. In particular you have the right to object to being sent direct marketing information.
- The Right not to be subject to automated decision making – Plymouth Community Homes does not do this
More information on the individual rights and how they apply can be obtained by clicking here, by requesting a paper copy of our individual rights guidance information or you can visit the ICO website (ico.org.uk)
If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please contact:
Governance Team
Plymouth Community Homes
Plumer House
Tailyour Road
Crownhill
Plymouth
PL6 5DH
Alternatively, you can make a request electronically, by email, to governance@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk. or telephone the Governance Team on 01752 388134 or 388152
Making a complaint
If you believe that Plymouth Community Homes has not handled your personal information correctly you have the right to make a complaint. You can raise a complaint in a number of different ways:
- To a PCH staff member
- At our offices at Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth, PL6 5DH
- Through our website
- Using social media
- By telephone
- In writing
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office at.
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number.
This privacy notice was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of Plymouth Community Homes collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests should be sent to the PCH Data Protection Officer at the above address.
If you or someone you know would like this information in large print, braille, or translated into another language, please contact our Communications Team on 0808 230 6500 or email info@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
Plymouth Community Homes Group
Registered Office: Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Plymouth, PL6 5DH
Legal Status:
Plymouth Community Homes Ltd is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (which consolidates the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts) and is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (registration 30637R) and the regulator of Social Housing (registration L4543).
At the time of issuing this Notice, Plymouth Community Homes Ltd has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Plymouth Community Homes Regeneration Company Ltd (PCHR), company number 7272688 and Plymouth Community Homes Energy Ltd (PCHE), company number 8028170. Both subsidiaries are incorporated under the Companies Act 2006.
