Privacy Notice Taf Fechan Co-operative

Privacy notice

MVH Leaseholders of Taf Fechan Co-operative

Merthyr Valleys Homes Limited (MVH) is a Registered Social Landlord and the first tenant and employee mutual in Wales. Merthyr Valleys Homes has a management services contract with Taf Fechan Co-operative.

This privacy policy explains what personal information we hold about you and how we use any personal information we collect about you when you use any of our services or when you visit our website.

We will comply with data protection law. This says that the personal information we hold about you must be:

Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.
Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes.
Relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes.
Accurate and kept up to date.
Kept only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.
Kept securely.

What information do we collect about you?

We collect, store and use (process) a variety of personal data about Taf Fechan Residents. The sort of personal data that we hold about you includes: your address, household’s names, dates of birth, contact details, records of any transactions such as payments, income recovery papers, anti-social behaviour reports, and complaints and a copy of your leasehold agreement and any requests for information. .

Special category Data

We may also process special categories of personal data such as race, gender; ethnicity; religion or other beliefs, sexual orientation, and medical history.

Information about your physical or mental health or disability status may be used to ensure that we are able to provide you with accommodation that is suitable for your needs. We also want to ensure that we communicate with you in the most appropriate way so we will ask you questions about your first language, or whether you need information in larger font, or braille.

It may also be necessary from time to time for us to process data about you relating to criminal convictions or offences.

As a landlord, the primary purpose we have in collecting, storing, and using your personal data is to enable us to manage your occupational contract with us. We collect information about you when you:-

Fill in an application form for housing and you request one of our properties;
Accept an offer of one of our properties;
Ask to move to another property;
Request any of our services;
Voluntarily complete our customer surveys;
Provide feedback or make a complaint;
Visit our website; and contact us by email or over the phone.

We will also collect additional personal information in the course of landlord/tenant activities throughout the period that you rent with us.

Website usage is collected using cookies. More information on our cookies policy can be found here. (Hyperlinks to cookies information).

We also process personal information using CCTV systems and we monitor and collect visual images for:-

Security reasons
The prevention and detection of crime; and
Staff safety and monitoring purposes.

All telephone calls made to our Contact Centre are recorded and are used to coach staff and improve the services that we provide to you. Call recordings are retained for 42 days and then deleted, unless you make a complaint or a Data Subject Acess Request within this timeframe; and we will then be able to retain the recording for a longer period.

From time to time we may also be provided with information about you from other agencies such as the housing benefit and social services department in the Local Authority, the Department of Work and Pensions the Police or the NHS.

How will we use the information about you?

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal information in the following circumstances:

Where you have given us consent, although this is only necessary in a limited number of circumstances.
Where we need to perform the contract we have entered into with you.
Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.
Where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests).
Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.
Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

We need all the categories of information we collect about you primarily to allow us to perform our contract with you and to enable us to comply with legal obligations. In some cases we may use your personal information where it is in the public interest (or for our official purposes) for us to do so or to pursue legitimate interests of our own or those of third parties, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. In more rare situations, we may need to use your personal information to protect your interests or someone else’s interests.

We use your personal information to:

Enable us to communicate with you and provide services which meet your needs.
Monitor compliance with the occupation contract.
Ensure that we meet all our legal and statutory duties such as those which apply under the Equality Act 2010.
Help with crime prevention and the prosecution of offenders.
To protect individuals from harm.
Provide you with welfare services including advice and appropriate support
Carry out research and to provide anonymised information to help improve our services and direct funds to the most appropriate areas.
Manage repairs and alterations to properties

Information about criminal convictions

We envisage that we will hold information about criminal convictions. We will use information about criminal convictions and offences to assess risk and suitability when housing tenants and to deal with nuisance and antisocial behaviour complaints.

We are allowed to use your personal information in this way because it is in the public interest for us to do so. We may also use information relating to criminal convictions where it is necessary in relation to legal claims, where it is necessary to protect your interests (or someone else's interests) and you are not capable of giving your consent, or where you have already made the information public.

We are allowed to use your personal information in this way because it is in the public interest for us to do so. We have in place an appropriate policy and safeguards which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data.

Sharing your information

As data controller for much of the personal data we hold about you in connection with your occupation contract, MVH is the primary organisation which will process personal data about you in relation to your occupation contract. However, in order to enable us to carry out our role as your landlord, we may sometimes need to share the personal information we process with other organisations where it is necessary to fulfil a contract, or comply with a regulation, or where we need to ensure that you are being paid the correct amount of benefit entitlement such as with the DWP or housing benefits department, or where we are legally required to do so. Where this is necessary, we are required to comply with all aspects of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018. We also require third parties to respect the security of your data and to treat it in accordance with the law.

Third parties with whom we share personal data include:

All our framework contractors and subcontractors and utility companies.

Where you live in a property which has been fitted with an IES Device and Smart Meter (or needs to be fitted with an IES Device/Smart Meter), in order to comply with our obligations to Welsh Government, we will share your key contact details with Welsh Government service providers as part of their initiatives (such as the optimised retrofit programme) in order to achieve ‘net zero’. The data collected by the IES device is about the property and will not be linked back to your personal data. The data will only be used to provide statistical information to Welsh Government.

You may be offered the option of having a smart meter activated by a service or utility provider, there are additional services available which can provide you with feedback on how to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs, this is up to you if you agree to have your utility/usage data analysed.

We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Transferring information overseas

We do not transfer any personal information outside of the EEA.

Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

How long do we store information?

Any information we collect is stored in accordance with guidance issued by the National Housing Federation. Full details of this are included in our Retention Procedure and is available on request.

Individual rights

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes during your tenant relationship with us.

Access

You can request to see a copy of your personal information (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). Any requests for information can be made in writing which includes e-mail, and fax, or they can be made verbally. We may also ask you for proof of your identity. This is an appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We will provide you with this information within a month of receiving a request. However, if we consider that your request is unfounded, asking for too much information or it is information we have previously provided then we may charge a reasonable fee for this or we may refuse to respond to you. If we refuse to respond to your request, we will advise you of our reason within one month of your request. You have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office or to seek a judicial remedy, and their contact details are provided below.

Correction

If you believe that the information we hold on you is incorrect, then you should notify us as soon as possible either in writing or by telephone. We will investigate your request and if we agree, we will arrange to have the information corrected within one month of you telling us, unless the information is complex, and we will then correct it within two months. We will also tell anyone else who we have provided this information to.

If we consider that your request is unfounded, asking for too much information or it is information we have previously provided then we may charge a reasonable fee for this or we may refuse to respond to you. If we refuse to respond to your request we will advise you of our reason within one month of your request. You have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office or to seek a judicial remedy, and their contact details are provided on below.

Erasure

You have the right to request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).

Any requests for erasure must be made in writing and also include proof of your identity. This is an appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We will provide you with this information within one month of receiving a request.

Object

You can object to the processing of your personal data where it involves direct marketing, but we will need to keep a record of this to ensure that we comply with your request.

Although you can also object to other types of processing such as processing for research or statistical purposes or where processing is based on legitimate interests, this right is restricted. We will respond to any requests within one month.

Restriction

You have the right to request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

We will provide you with this information within a month of receiving a request.

Transfer

You can request the transfer of your personal information to another party.

Right to withdraw consent

In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing, and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time and this can be done in writing, either by letter or email, or you can telephone us using the numbers provided below.

Automated Decision Making

We do not undertake any automated decision making at Merthyr Valleys Homes.

What we would also like to do with the data

We may wish to contact you to take part in some independent research or to become a member of our Mutual or to provide you with specific advice services in the future.

If you have consented to receive marketing as a member of the mutual, but you change your mind in the future, you may opt out at a later date.

You have the right to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes

If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

How to contact us

Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you:

By email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By letter: Ty Brychan, 22 Lansbury Road, Gellideg, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 1HA.

By Telephone: 0800 085 7843

01685 727772

Contact details of Data Protection Officer

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Information Commissioner’s Office

If you wish to make a complaint regarding the way your information has been processed, then you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Offfice at the asdress provided below:-

Information Commissioner’s Office

2nd floor

Churchill House

Churchill way

Cardiff

CF10 2HH

Tel: 02920 678400

Fax: 02920 678399

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Changes to this privacy notice

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time.

This Privacy notice was last updated on: 14 August 2023