Policies & Procedures

Identity and contact details of controller

Causeway Irish Housing Association is a controller of personal information for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our registration number is Z5325111

The Data Protection Officer for Causeway is Alan D’Arcy. Our contact details for data protection purposes are:

Causeway Irish Housing Association
Haringey Irish Centre
Pretoria Road
London, N17 8DX
Tel: 020 8365 1751

Purpose of this Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice explains how Causeway uses the personal information we collect. It applies to information about applicants, current tenants, former tenants who live in our properties and other services users. It tells you the purposes for which we may process your personal information and the legal basis for the processing.

Legal basis for processing

Causeway processes personal data under the legal basis of having a legitimate interest. The processing of your information is necessary for Causeway to be able to enter into a tenancy / license agreement with you and manage services to you.

Why do we collect personal information?

Causeway collects client personal information in order to:

• Process and manage housing applications and allocations effectively and efficiently
• Manage tenancies and the related Causeway properties
• Receive rent and service charges
• Provide a repairs and maintenance service
• Investigate and resolve complaints
• Monitor compliance with the terms of your tenancy agreement or licence
• Identify and deliver support to clients
• Conduct surveys to monitor and improve our services
• Monitor Equality and Diversity
• Provide information about Causeway’s performance and service through resident newsletters
• Provide information about additional services Causeway offer, including training, advice, events and meetings.

Causeway will only collect and process personal information to carry out these functions, unless otherwise advised.

How we store your personal information

Personal information is stored securely in our computer systems and / or tenancy / applicant file.

Causeway is committed to ensuring that personal information is kept secure. Causeway has separate ICT policies which detail how Causeway keeps personal information safe. Causeway also has a number of physical security measures, such as locked filing cabinets, office security and confidential shredding of all waste paper.

Causeway will retain housing application and tenancy records for a maximum of 6 years from acceptance. After this period all personal data will be deleted and / or destroyed in a secure manner.

Sharing information

Causeway will not usually share personal information without written consent. However, Causeway may share some personal information with certain third parties as set out below:

• To tailor our services
• To detect possible fraud
• To deal with rent arrears (e.g. tracing and / or debt collection agencies)
• To help communications (e.g. external printers etc.)
• To assist the Police in solving a crime

Examples of Third parties we may share your information with, where appropriate, are:

• Contractors
• Local Authorities
• Housing Benefit
• DWP
• Council Tax
• Social Services
• Police
• Probation Services
• Utilities Companies
• Debt Recovery Agency
• Courts
• HMRC
• Printers
• Police / Fire / Ambulance Services
• Health Services
• Job Centre Plus

We may share client personal information on a collective (anonymous) basis with other organisations to help Causeway gain insight into our client base, so we can target and deliver our services most efficiently and maximise benefits to clients. This will be done in strict accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.

The right to access your information

Under the GDPR 2018, you have the right to find out if we hold any personal information and request a copy of your information. This is known as a ‘Subject Access Request’. This request must be made in writing to the Data Protection Officer. Once the request is received Causeway must respond within 1 month to the request. Causeway will require proof of identity before disclosing information.

Causeway can refuse a request or charge for a Subject Access Request if they are excessive or patently unfounded. If a request is refused Causeway will contact you and detail why your request has been refused and also that you have the right to make a formal complaint.

The right to rectification

You can ask the Data Protection officer to correct your personal data if it in inaccurate or incomplete. Please help us keep our records accurate and inform us of any changes to your details.

The right to erasure

In certain circumstances, you can ask Causeway to consider deleting or removing your personal data. This is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’. Causeway will consider the circumstances of any such request and balance this against our need to continue processing the data and in some instances may decide to override this request.

Your right to lodge a complaint with the ICO

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think that there is a problem in the way Causeway Irish Housing Association is handling your personal data. You can contact the ICO at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113

www.ico.org.uk