Read our privacy notice for information on how we collect, store and process your data.
Brighton & Hove City Council is committed to protecting your personal information. As a data controller we have a responsibility to make sure you know why and how your personal information is being collected in accordance with relevant data protection law.
The primary laws which govern how Brighton & Hove City Council collects and use personal information (known as “data”) about you are:
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Data Protection Act (DPA) (2018)
However, Housing is also subject to other specific laws which define when and for what purposes it can use your personal data.
In order for the council to provide its many housing services throughout the city we must collect and process personal and special category data. What we use your data for will depend on your involvement with our Housing service.
If, for example, you are a council tenant then we must use your data to meet our obligations set out in the tenancy agreement, including providing support services, as well as ensuring you are meeting yours, which includes the managing of your rent account.
Those who have purchased their council property under the Right to Buy scheme will become a leaseholder, therefore, as the council still owns and manages the building we are required to hold data to fulfil our duties as a freeholder.
The council is also responsible for the licensing of houses of multiple occupancy as part of their work within private sector housing, which may include investigations and enforcement action and conducting immigration checks.
Some data may be analysed and modelled in order to provide insights about the prevalence and distribution of a range of housing factors including prevalence of private rented accommodation, housing hazards, HMOs and anti-social behaviour, which may be used to provide an evidence base to determine whether discretionary licensing schemes in the private rented sector could be introduced.
The Homemove team will also collect and process data in their role to allocate social housing according to the needs of those who apply. Data will be collected in order for the team to recognise the applicant’s housing needs, as only those who meet the requirements set out in the allocations policy are eligible for social housing.
Information may be collected and processed in order for the council to respond appropriately to any complaints, queries and claims received. Depending on the nature of this type of contact will depend on how the information is used, which may include using your information for any legal defence.
Data may be collated into statistics and reports, including from surveys, in order for us to monitor our performance which can help us make the necessary improvements to the services we provide. When possible your data will be anonymised in these situations.
There are various lawful bases as to why we would collect and process data. Most commonly it will be done under performance of a contract. For example, a tenancy agreement.
We'll also process data due to a legal obligation or it may be necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller. We will collect and process data because of one of the following pieces of legislation:
At times we may collect and process data because you have given your consent for us to do so. In most instances you will be asked to give your consent at the point of collection.
Sometimes it's also essential for us to collect special category data, and in these instances the lawful basis would fall under either:
Personal data may be shared internally to relevant teams or externally but is always done:
Information is only shared with those agencies and bodies who need to know or where you have consented to the sharing of your personal data.
We may use the information we hold about you to assist in the detection and prevention of crime or fraud. We may also share this information with other bodies that inspect and manage public funds.
We will not keep your data for longer than is necessary, subject to any legal obligations we have to retain the data. How long we keep it will vary according to the services you are involved with and the lawful basis for processing within those services.
The principles we use to determine how long your data will be kept include:
Your information will be stored in electronic databases, document management systems and on paper records.
We will only make your information available to those who need to know in order to perform their council role.
Examples of the security measures we use are:
Your information is not processed outside of the European Economic Area.
You have the following rights in relation to your personal information:
If you have a concern about how we collect or use your personal data you can contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer.
We aim to resolve all complaints about how we handle personal information. You also have the right to make a complaint about data protection to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Contact them by post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or phone 0303 1231 113.
You can also make a complaint or find out more information on the Commissioner's Office website.
If your complaint is not about data protection, find details on how to make a complaint about a council service.