Website policy

Disclaimer

While Tower Hamlets Community Housing makes every effort to keep the information on this site accurate, we can accept no responsibility for actions arising from the use of it.

All text and images are copyright of Tower Hamlets Community Housing.

Tower Hamlets Community Housing Limited is a Registered Charitable Society and a Limited Company Registered with Companies House, Cardiff, as Company Number 3595080, with a Registered Office of 285 Commercial Road, Stepney, London, E1 2PS

 

Copyright

All text and images are copyright of Tower Hamlets Community Housing.

 

Privacy Notice

Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH) is committed to protecting the personal information we collect about you and obtaining, using and disclosing this information in accordance with legislation. For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), THCH is classified as a data controller. This means that we collect personal data and decide how and why it is used and ‘processed’. We will only use it for the legitimate purposes listed below and for purposes that we have told you about in advance.

Privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and ensuring your data remains safe at all times, in accordance to our legal obligations. Privacy laws govern the way in which we process your information as well as the rights you have to the information we hold about you.

This privacy notice tells you everything you need to know about THCH’s processing of personal data for the purposes of housing management and covers the following 5 areas:

 

1. What Information we collect from you

We collect personal data and special categories of personal data (also known as sensitive personal data, e.g. ethnicity and heath information relating to any disabilities) so that we can understand your needs better and can tailor our service to you. Information is collected from you in a range of ways and at a number of different times. These include but are not limited to:

  • Application forms and supporting information when you apply for a rented property with us. Supporting information can include identification documents such as passports or identity cards
  • As part of the application process for purchasing a shared ownership or outright sale property, e.g. financial information and supporting documentation
  • Information collected during the course of any tenancy or agreement that you are granted, e.g. contact details, welfare benefits, your income and savings, along with any information gathered as part of any investigations into nuisance or anti-social behaviour
  • Information provided by you when replying to surveys, questionnaires, feedback forms, competitions or requests from THCH, e.g. satisfaction surveys, preference and profiling data
  • When you report repairs or other issues, such as nuisance or anti-social behaviour, to us, e.g. details of the issue or access details
  • A forwarding address provided by you at the end of a tenancy agreement
  • As part of the development process, for example, sharing resident names and addresses with contractors or consultants to facilitate consultation meetings, deal with boundary enquiries and defects work etc.
  • We may collect information on your support needs, so we can understand how to best support and assist you, e.g. medical and next of kin details.
  • We may capture images on CCTV in the public areas of our offices or schemes.
  • Photographs taken at THCH events may contain your image.
  • We may record telephone calls made to our Customer Services Team for training or quality assurance reasons but we will tell you if we are going to do this.
  • Information when you complete surveys, questionnaires, feedback forms and participate in competitions.

Any information entered into a form on the website or emailed to us may contain personal information which will be transmitted securely and treated in accordance with this Policy.

We may also process information about you on behalf of another organisation you receive services from:

  • We will receive the information we need to provide a service to you (for example to ensure we can find a property that suits your needs)
  • We may obtain the information, or related information, from you or our partner organisations, our staff or public information sources including credit reference agencies.

 

2. How we store your information

We store personal and special categories of personal information both electronically and in paper format. We use a range of controls to keep your personal information secure from unauthorised access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification and unlawful destruction or accidental loss. These include security policies, processes and technical physical security solutions.

Information kept on computer is protected by system security such as passwords, firewalls, virus protection software and encryption. Systems are backed up daily with copies of the backed-up data kept securely off site.

Information kept in a paper format is placed in secure storage, e.g. lockable filing cabinets. When you call our Customer Services Team, we will ask you security questions to clarify your identify before disclosing any account-related information. We do this to protect you and to make sure that other people are not privy to your personal information.

If you would like another person, e.g. a relative, partner, friend, etc to talk to us about your account or relationship with us, you will need to provide them with your permission and make us aware of this. We cannot discuss your personal situation or disclose information about you without your permission. You can explain this permission verbally every time you call us if the other person is with you or put it in writing so we can make a note of your request on our system and then speak with your chosen contact.

 

3. Why we collect your information

In order to:

  • Provide a service to you more effectively
  • Keep in touch, understand your needs and be able to invite you to events
  • Tell you about changes to THCH
  • Meet your housing management needs and requirements
  • Manage payments from you, to you and for accounting purposes including debt collection
  • Provide additional services at your request, including resident involvement initiatives and every day support services
  • Tackle anti-social behaviour
  • Ensure THCH colleague and customer security and health and safety
  • Deliver quality management
  • To promote the work of THCH by showcasing our activities and events
  • Meet our legal obligations including the requirements of our funders or regulators
  • Resolve complaints and queries
  • Participate in initiatives to assist in the prevention of financial and social exclusion
  • Ensure no group is disadvantaged in the design of our homes

 

4. Who we may share your information with and why

There may be times when we disclose your details to others, as detailed below. Where required, we will ensure that we have appropriate information sharing protocols in place.

  • Our staff, contractors and suppliers who provide services to you, or who provide services on our behalf, e.g. housing contractors who undertake repairs or improvements to your home or research companies who conduct surveys for us
  • Another person who you have provided permission to act on your behalf, e.g. your next of kin
  • Banks, e.g. to carry out payments through a secure system
  • Companies that help us mail out leaflets/newsletters
  • Local authorities, other housing and support organisations and statutory agencies
  • Mediation partner organisations
  • Our solicitors and other advocacy partner organisations
  • Our insurers, in case of public liability claims and similar
  • Credit reference agencies
  • External assistance where you have agreed to the referral, e.g. to investigate money problems or for social services support
  • Training providers or learning institutions
  • Utility companies
  • Debt collection agencies acting for others and on our behalf to collect former debt.
  • Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as part of our social media activities.

In some cases, we may have a duty to disclose your information by law to:

  • Other housing associations
  • Local authorities, regulators and government departments
  • Police, fire services, health authorities, or medical staff
  • Others who may need information from us for their own purposes, for example detecting and preventing crime, prosecuting offenders and for the prevention and detection of fraud.

We do not provide organisations with access to your information in return for payment for their marketing or commercial purposes. However, at times we may be obliged to disclose your information by law to a regulator with appropriate powers (e.g. the Homes and Community agency), or via court order.

We will not share your personal information with anyone who claims to represent you unless we are satisfied that you have appointed them or they act in some recognised official capacity. We will take necessary steps to confirm the callers’ identity or check that we have your consent to deal with them on your behalf.

We are clear with organisations that they must comply with data protection legislation and maintain confidentiality with regard to the personal and special categories of personal information we have provided to them. This includes how they will use, store and share personal information. We have information sharing agreements with them that set out these requirements.

 

5. How you can access the information we hold on you

You have a legal right to access information we hold about you, including the right to:

  • be informed about how we process your personal information – this is why we have developed this privacy notice
  • have access to a copy of the personal information we collect and keep on you – known as a subject access request
  • have inaccurate or incomplete personal information rectified
  • restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example when you have challenged the accuracy or you object to the processing
  • object to processing for direct marketing or for THCH’s legitimate interests or performance of a task in the public interest, or for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics
  • have your personal information erased in certain circumstances where there is no compelling reason for THCH to continue processing it
  • receive a copy of your personal information is a machine-readable format, this right allows you to move, copy or transfer information to another company, e.g. another housing association, this is known as “data portability”
  • object to automated decision making that would affect you significantly, in certain circumstances
  • claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of data protection laws (this can only be remedied via the courts)
  • at any time, withdraw your consent for THCH to use or share your special category personal information where you have previously given consent.

THCH does not use automated decision making to make decisions about tenants, residents, employees or applicants. If you want to exercise any of your rights above, please complete this form and submit to the contact details below.

If you have any questions about the manner in which we collect, use, share and store your information please contact dpo@thch.org.uk.
You can ask any of our staff or write to:

The Data Protection Officer

Tower Hamlets Community Housing

285 Commercial Road

London. E1 2PS

 

Complaints:

If you have any concerns about the manner in which THCH, or any contractors/suppliers working on behalf of THCH has handled your personal information, you can write to the Data Protection Officer at the above address or email  dpo@thch.org.uk. Should you remain dissatisfied you can contact the independent Information Commissioner’s Office by completing their online complaints form https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling or via phone on 0303 123 1113

 

Changes to our Privacy Notice

If this privacy notice changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. By regularly viewing this page you will ensure that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with others.