For clients, vendors, purchasers, landlords, contract holders and guarantors

Data controller: WRIGHTS ESTATE AGENCY (SOUTH WALES) LIMITED.
Registered Office: 6 Ocean Way, Cardiff, CF24 5HF
Data Protection Officer: Jack Wright – jack@wrightsagency.co.uk

1. Introduction

WRIGHTS ESTATE AGENCY (SOUTH WALES) LIMITED is a “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how your personal information is held and used.

WRIGHTS ESTATE AGENCY (SOUTH WALES) LIMITED for the purposes of this Privacy Notice is known as “The Agent”.

The Agent collects, stores and processes personal data relating to vendors, sales clients, purchasers, prospective buyers, landlords, contract-holders, guarantors, and prospective contract-holders in order to provide property sales, valuation, marketing, negotiation, sales progression, and rental accommodation services.

This privacy notice sets out what personal data we collect, why it is collected, how it is held, how it is processed, and with whom it is shared. We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data, being clear and transparent about how we collect and use it, and meeting our data protection obligations. obligations.

2. Data protection principles

The Agent will comply with data protection law. This means that the personal data held about you must be:

• used lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent way;

• collected only for valid purposes that have been explained to you clearly and not used in any way that is incompatible with these purposes;

• relevant to the purposes you have been about and limited to those purposes only;

• accurate and kept up to date;

• kept only for such time as is necessary for the purposes you have been told about; and

• kept securely

3. What information is to be collected and processed?

The Agent collects and processes a range of personal data about you. Personal data means any information about an individual from which the person can be identified. Different information may be collected depending on whether you are a vendor, purchaser, sales client, landlord, contract holder, resident or guarantor. This includes:

• Identity and personal contact details, such as your name, title, address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, national insurance number, car registration;

• Privacy Notice to Sales, Letting and Related Services.

• Background information such as previous landlord details, employer details, accountant details, next of kin, dependants, and emergency contacts;

• Bank account details, bank references, and credit check results;

• Occupation contract details including renewals, joint contract-holders, other residents, and guarantors;

• Deposit information (if any) including return on termination;

• Rent and utilities payment records;

• Recovery of arrears, claims, or possession proceedings; • Repair and health and safety records;

• Breach of occupation contract terms/complaints;

• Council Tax and utilities records;

• Universal credit/housing benefit records;

• Notices and correspondence regarding termination;

• CCTV and audio recordings (if any);

• General correspondence in all formats (letters, emails, text messages etc); and

• Data sent from web browser to the Agent’s server (including pages visited and time and date and duration on the Agent’s server).

  For sales-related services, we may also collect:

• AML checks on both purchasers and vendors • Proof of property ownership and title documents

• Proof of funds and source of funds documentation

• Sale price and offer details

• Marketing instructions and property particulars

• Viewing records and feedback

• Conveyancing details and transaction milestones

• Records of negotiations, agreed terms, and completion statements

  We may also collect, store and use the following special categories of more sensitive personal data (known as “special category personal data”):

• Information about medical or health conditions, including whether or not you have a disability for which the Agent needs to make adaptations; and

• Equal opportunities monitoring information, including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health and religion or belief.

  Personal data may be collected directly from you, generated by us (e.g. rent payment records, offer logs), or obtained from third parties such as:

• Former landlords, employers, and personal referees

• Credit reference agencies

• Other contract-holders, residents, neighbours, guarantors

• Local authorities, police, Department for Work and Pensions

• Utility companies and service providers

• Letting/managing agents

• Mortgage advisors, mortgage lenders, and financial institutions

• Surveyors engaged by buyers, sellers, or lenders

• EPC assessors, floorplan providers, photographers, videographers, and marketing agencies

• Sales progression service providers

• Online property portals for lettings and sales

• Personal data is stored in paper files and on our IT systems, including CRM software, email, and cloud storage.

4. Why does the Agent process personal data?

We process your data to:

• Consider applications for sales and lettings services

• Manage contracts and transactions

• Ensure compliance with legal obligations (e.g. AML, deposit schemes, HMRC)

• Fulfil legitimate interests before, during, and after a client relationship

  For sales, this also includes:

• Arranging and conducting valuations

• Preparing and distributing marketing materials

• Arranging and managing viewings and open houses

• Negotiating offers between buyers and sellers

• Liaising with solicitors, surveyors, mortgage brokers, lenders, and other parties

• Verifying identity and financial standing of prospective purchasers

• Progressing agreed sales through to completion

5. Situations in which your personal information will be processed

Your personal information will be processed in the situations below:

• To verify the identity of a proposed contract-holder/resident;

• To decide on the suitability of a proposed contract-holder/resident;

• To arrange lettings;

• To assess the financial standing/suitability of a proposed contractholder/resident;

• To deal with joint contract-holders and residents who are linked to the occupation contract;

• To enter into an occupation contract;

• To secure payment of rent and performance of contract-holder obligations;

• To collect rent and other payments;

• To manage the occupation contract and the property;

• To arrange an energy performance certificate;

• To arrange an inventory check or report on the condition of the property;

• To keep accurate records relating to the Agent’s rental business;

• To arrange repairs and maintenance of the property;

• To monitor and enforce performance of contract-holder’s obligations;

• To recover debts and/or obtain possession of a property;

• To ensure Council Tax and utilities charges are billed and paid appropriately;

• To ensure that welfare benefits (such as Universal Credit and housing benefit) are paid to the landlord or contract-holder where appropriate;

• To handle termination and the return of any deposit;

• To handle complaints;

• To address health and disability issues relating to contract-holders/residents;

• To create and keep audio and CCTV recordings;

• To provide information to public or local authorities who are legally entitled to require this information;

• To contact next of kin or close relatives in case of emergency

• To store emails, records of calls, and other communications;

• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements;

• To bring and defend legal claims;

• To prevent, detect and investigate crime and anti-social behaviour;

• To perform our letting contract to deal with joint contract-holders and residents who are linked to the occupation contract;

• To take payment for the services provided by the Agent; and

• To provide you with general updates in relation to the property market and information relating to the Agent’s services in accordance with your express consent.

  In addition to lettings-related purposes, we may process your data to:

• Verify the identity of vendors and purchasers

• Assess purchaser suitability and financial standing

• Prepare and circulate property particulars and marketing materials

• Arrange and manage viewings

• Submit and negotiate offers

• Carry out AML and proof-of-funds checks for sales transactions

• Liaise with all relevant parties during sales progression

• Track and manage the transaction through to completion

  We may also process data for internal administration, compliance monitoring, dispute resolution, and fraud prevention.

6. If you fail to provide personal information

If you do not provide certain required information, we may not be able to proceed with an instruction, contract, or sale.

7. Change of purpose

Your personal data will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected unless it is reasonably considered that it is needed for an additional reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose(s). If your personal data is needed for an unrelated purpose, you will be notified and an explanation of the legal basis which allows this to be done.

You should be aware that your personal data may be processed without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.

8. Use of sensitive personal information

Some special categories of personal data, such as information about health or medical conditions, are processed to comply with legal obligations (for example, in relation to contract-holders/residents with disabilities and for health and safety purposes).

9. How long is the data kept?

Your personal data will only be retained for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is collected, including any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

• Lettings transactions: 7 years after the end of an occupation contract

• Sales transactions: 6 years after completion of the sale

• Unsuccessful applicants/viewers/buyers: 2 years from last contact

10. Who is information shared with?

Your information will be shared internally, including with staff members.

The Agent also shares your data with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary in order to administer the relationship with you or where there is another legitimate interest in doing so. Information can be shared with:

• Professional advisers, including surveyors, architects, valuers, quantity surveyors, structural engineers, solicitors and accountants;

• Freeholder and/or their managing agent (for property in block of flats);

• Existing or previous landlords;

• Existing or previous employers;

• Credit referencing agencies;

• Debt collectors and tracing services;

• Local authorities and government/public bodies;

• Ombudsman/redress schemes;

• Professional body/regulator;

• Courts/Tribunals;

• Police/enforcement agencies;

• Internet service providers;

• Banks/building societies;

• Contract-holder’s/resident’s next of kin or close relatives in case of emergency;

• Joint contract-holders and other residents;

• Guarantors;

• Joint owners of the property;

• Deposit Schemes;

• Universal Credit/housing benefit/other benefit administrator;

• H.M. Revenue and Customs;

• Council Tax authority;

• Utilities and service providers;

• Future owners of the property;

• Contractors and trades people providing services at the property;

• Prospective purchasers of property;

• Other landlords including where you apply to another landlord for an occupation contract (or tenancy in England).

• Property portal providers (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket)

• EPC assessors, floorplan providers, photographers, and videographers

• Sales progression providers

• Mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, and financial advisors (with consent)

• Marketing agencies are engaged to promote your property

  We may also share your data internally with Partner/Franchise agents operating under the WRIGHTS. brand. All such agents are bound by the same GDPR obligations and this Privacy Notice. The Agent will only store and/or transfer your personal data within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). Transfers of personal data from the UK to the EEA are permitted without additional safeguards.

11. How is data protected?

The Agent takes the security of your personal data seriously. Internal policies and controls have been put in place to prevent your personal data being lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed. Details of these measures are available on request.

When the Agent engages third parties to process personal data on its behalf, they do so on the basis of written instructions, are under a duty of confidentiality and obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data.

If a breach occurs that risks your rights or freedoms, we will notify you and the ICO without undue delay.

12. Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal data I/we hold about you must be accurate and current. Please be sure to keep me/us informed if your personal data changes during the application process or during the course of an occupation contract.

13. Your rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:

• access and obtain a copy of your data on request (known as a “data subject access request”);

• require the Agent to change incorrect or incomplete data;

• request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask the Agent to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing;

• object to the processing of your data, if you believe your fundamental rights and freedoms outweigh our legitimate interests; and

• ask the Agent to suspend the processing of your personal data for a period of time if data is inaccurate or there is a dispute about its accuracy or the reason for processing it.

• You can update your marketing preferences or opt out of property alerts at any time by contacting us or using unsubscribe links in our communications

To exercise your rights, contact WRIGHTS ESTATE AGENCY (SOUTH WALES) LIMITED), through Jack Wright at jack@wrightsagency.co.uk. If you believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you can complain to the ICO.

If you believe that your data protection rights have not been complied with, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.