Empty homes strategy privacy notice
Who will own my data once I submit it?
We will own your data once it has been submitted.
Why do you need my information?
When we collect and use your information, we need this to:
- help us identify house ownership
- make enquires so we can encourage houses back into reuse using a variety of tools including the offer of grants and use of enforcement
The information that we collect about you could include your name, address, postcode and date of birth.
What allows you to use my information?
When we collect and use your personal information for our empty homes scheme, we do so as part of our public duties as a local authority in order to take steps to identify and bring vacant dwellings back into use. This includes giving advice on grant availability and the purchase of long-term privately owned empty homes. The legislation, policies and guidance that allow us to do this includes but is not limited to:
- General Data Protection Act part e
- The Housing Act 1998 s17
- Town and Country Planning Act s221a
- Housing Act 2004
- S85 Local Government Act 2003
Under some circumstances where an empty house is negatively affecting the area the local authority has a public duty to require an improvement. Your data will be sourced and used as part of this process to seek a warrant for inspection and compulsory purchase of a property.
Who will my information be shared with?
The information you give us will be processed by our Empty Homes team and shared with our Strategic Housing team. With your specific consent it will also be shared with any local businesses or landlords who may wish to contact you about helping to bring your property back into use.
Your data could also be shared with other local or national agencies to prevent crime, protect the public from harm or fraud and protect public funds.
Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don't?
If you do not provide information we may source your information using alternative legitimate sources. Non – co-operation is likely to encourage us to consider enforcement action under the terms of our enforcement policy.
How long will you keep this data for and why?
The data will be stored until we are aware that your property has returned to use or if we have supported you with a grant or loan your data will be kept for seven years from the payment being made in line with local government best practice.
How will my information be stored?
Your information is held securely on systems within our IT network. Any paper documents are held in a restricted access area.
Your rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
- your right of access - you have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information
- your right to rectification - you have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
- your right to restriction of processing - you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances
- your right to object to processing - you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
To make a request follow the instructions on our Data Protection for you page.
Who can I complain to if I am unhappy about how my data is used?
You can complain directly to our Data Protection team online or by post:
- By post: Data Protection Officer, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details:
- By post: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
- Telephone: 08456 30 60 60
Will this information be used to take automated decisions about me?
No.
Will my data be transferred and why?
No.