Privacy policy

We ask that you read this privacy notice carefully as it contains important information on who we are, how and why we collect, store, use or share personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and the supervisory authority in the event that you have a complaint.

Who we are?

Homesearch is owned and operated by Wakefield and District Housing Limited (WDH). WDH is a registered charitable Community Benefit Society that provides social housing, Independent Living Schemes and other housing related support. WDH are the Data Controller of personal information and is registered with the Information Commissioner (ICO reg. no. Z9160379). We are regulated under The Data Protection Act 2018, including The UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

Our contact details for data protection purposes are as follows.

Information Governance Team
WDH
Merefield House
Whistler Drive
Castleford
WF10 5HX

Email: informationgovernance@wdh.co.uk

The individual responsible for data protection compliance is our Data Protection Officer, who can be contacted using the above details.

How we use your information

Homesearch membership

We receive information about eligible individuals from the housing teams at the local authority of the areas where we own properties, so that we can contact them about their housing needs and help them to register with Homesearch and deal with nominations for our properties. We have a written agreement with each local authority covering the sharing of this information and we rely on the lawful basis of Public Task for processing these referrals.

You may also apply for Homesearch membership directly through our website, contact us by phone, or in person at one of our hubs. The lawful basis we rely on for providing a Choice Based Lettings Service is Public Task. When you provide information about other people in your household, we assume that you have their consent to do so.

When you apply to be a Homesearch member we use the information on the paper or online application form to check whether you are eligible for Homesearch membership. If your application is successful, we will send you your membership number and how to log in.

Expression of interest in a property

When a Homesearch member submits an expression of interest in a WDH property, or a person who is not a member is nominated by a local authority, or where the local authority submits a proxy bid on behalf of an applicant, we further process the information, relying on the lawful basis of entering a Contract (tenancy). If you express an interest in a property advertised by another housing provider we will share your details with them, please refer to the section 'Who we share your information with'.

Direct lettings

Once registered, we may further process your data because you meet the criteria for the direct let of a particular property. This may be through our liaising with a local authority. If you are eligible we will contact you, and we rely on the lawful basis of entering a Contract (tenancy).

Phone call recordings

When you call the Homesearch Team, or when they call you, we have a Legitimate Interest to record the call for training, quality and dispute resolution purposes.

Promotional communications

We may use your personal information to send you updates (by email, text message, phone or post) about our products and / or services and of selected third parties. We have a Legitimate Interest in processing your personal information for promotional purposes to promote our business to existing and former customers. This means we do not usually need your consent to send you promotional communications. You have the right to opt out of receiving promotional communications at any time by using the 'unsubscribe' link in emails or the 'STOP' number in texts.

We will always treat your personal information with the utmost respect and will never sell it to outside organisations for marketing purposes. We may ask you to confirm or update your marketing preferences if you instruct us to provide further products and / or services in the future, or if there are changes in the law, regulation, or the structure of our business.

Types of personal information we collect

For your Homesearch membership and any subsequent tenancy application

• Your contact details, including an email address so that you can login.
• Your name and other identifying information, including date of birth and National Insurance number.
• Employment details and history.
• Income and benefits.
• Account information for collecting your rent.
• Family / household members' details.
• Previous addresses and landlords' details.
• Your nationality and immigration status.
• Recordings of phone calls to / from our call centre.
• Details of communications from and to you, relating to your application.

Special categories of personal data

Health, medical, disability and carer details.

We use this information, to better understand your needs and provide a better service, to assess the suitability of accommodation, the need for any adaptations and whether we recommend you engage with support services that we offer, such as Wellbeing Caseworkers. The lawful basis we rely on to process this information is GDPR Article 9 2(b) and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, Schedule 1, Part 1 (Social Protection Law).

We also collect faith, ethnicity and sexual orientation data to monitor equality, diversity and inclusion, to help ensure our services are delivered fairly. The lawful basis we rely on to process this information is GDPR Article 9 2(g) and the DPA 2018, Schedule 1 Part 2 (8) (Equality of opportunity & treatment).

If you provide information about a history of suffered abuse; only with your consent, will we share your information with Wakefield Council Domestic Abuse Service.

We collect information that you provide about criminal convictions, behaviour and offences so that we can safeguard our employees and the communities where we are the landlord. The lawful basis we rely on to process this information is GDPR Article 9 2(b) and the DPA 2018, Schedule 1, Part 1 (Employment and Social Protection Law).

The DPA 2018 requires us to have an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) for the above conditions of processing special category and criminal offence data. Our APD sets out and explains our procedures for securing compliance with the principles of GDPR and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data.

Failure to provide information

If you fail or refuse to provide the required information you will be unable to register as a Homesearch member or apply for a tenancy through Homesearch.

Data Processors

To provide online, telephone, cloud storage and other services we use Data Processors that we have a written agreement with. All Data Processors are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our Data Processors to use your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in line with our instructions.

Who we share your information with?

Expressions of interest in non WDH properties

Several registered social housing organisations advertise properties on Homesearch; their name is displayed as part of the information about the advertised property. When you express an interest in a property that is not owned by us, we transfer your information to the relevant housing organisation, and they become a Data Controller of your information. They will contact you directly from that point on, including providing you with privacy information. You can find a list of the housing organisations we deal with on our Other Housing Providers who advertise on Homesearch page.

Local authorities

We have Information Sharing Agreements with Wakefield Council, and other local authorities, which allow both parties to exchange information limited to that required for housing purposes. This agreement also allows the local authority housing team to access Homesearch in the course of their normal duties, such as assisting with, or checking progress of applications. Access to Homesearch is strictly controlled. Please read the local authority's Privacy Notice for information on how they process your information.

Verifying your information

When you express an interest in a WDH property we may verify information you have provided with your employer, current or previous landlord and credit reference agencies.

Protecting your interests

To protect your health, social or economic wellbeing we may share your information with other agencies, where it is of substantial public interest or in an emergency to protect your vital interests.

Our public interest duties

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities require us to share data about properties we let and who we let them to. You can read more about this here.

We participate in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise carried out by the Cabinet Office. This is a national scheme run by the Government, which aims to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. You can read more about this here.

Utility broker

We have a Legitimate Interest to ensure utility bills are accurate and assigned to the correct tenant. When you move into a WDH property we share your name, contact details and the start-date of your tenancy with a utility broker. We use a utility broker as a single point of contact to liaise with tenants and the utility companies. For some of our properties we also give Yorkshire Water details of new tenants.

Other agencies

We may disclose and exchange information with law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, legal representatives, auditors and insurers, to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and to protect us from legal claims.

How long we retain your information

If you are a Homesearch member and you successfully apply to live in a property your membership will cease. If you live in a WDH property you can read our privacy notice for tenants here.

If you have not expressed an interest in a property, you can request that we cancel your membership at any time. If you do not express an interest in a property over a 12 month period we will contact you and, if we do not hear from you, we may cancel your membership.

Your information will be retained by us in accordance with our records retention schedule.

Keeping your personal information secure

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 are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have a Personal Data Breach Plan, 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.

Transferring your personal information out of the United Kingdom (UK)

To deliver services to you, it may be necessary for us to share your personal information outside the UK, for example if we were to use a cloud service provider based outside the UK. These transfers are subject to rules under UK data protection law. In such a situation, we will make sure that we have adequate safeguards and security measures in place as required by the GDPR.

Visitors to our website

We take a proactive approach to user privacy and ensure that appropriate steps are taken to protect the privacy of users of our website. For further details please see our cookie policy.

Your data protection rights, including your right to complain

Please read our Data Protection Rights Notice for more information.

Changes to this privacy notice

We may change this privacy notice from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page regularly so that you are aware of any changes.

Do you need extra help?

We are committed to giving everyone equal access to information. If you would like us to communicate with you in a different way, or receive written information from us in another format, please phone 0345 8 507 507 or email onecall@wdh.co.uk

• accessibility
• do you need help?
• feedback
• privacy policy
• terms and conditions