General Data Protection Regulation
ALBYN HOUSING SOCIETY LIMITED
DATA PROTECTION ACT (1998)
YOUR RIGHTS
What does the Law say?
The Data Protection Act (DPA) seeks to ensure that personal details are used fairly and lawfully and are kept secure. Albyn Housing Society Limited (the Society) is a Data Controller under the DPA and so must comply with certain legal requirements. This Notice relates to all the activities of the Albyn Group, including Albyn Enterprises Limited, and Highland Residential (Inverness) Limited.
One of these requirements is to advise you of certain details regarding DPA including the purposes for which your personal details are used. This leaflet is designed to give you this information.
What does the Society use your information for?
The Society is a Registered Social Landlord and is therefore required to identify housing need, to house individuals, to create and maintain tenancies, to develop and maintain properties and to promote tenant participation. These are specific requirements of the Housing Act (Scotland) 2014. The Society shall also take steps to recover debt, and shall if necessary take steps to assist in the collection of taxes and to prevent or detect crime.
To do these things the Society uses both personal details and sensitive personal details. Particular examples of sensitive personal details may be health related issues, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, sexual orientation, and criminal record.
While undertaking our business the Society will make disclosures of both personal information and sensitive personal information to local authorities (including the housing benefit department), other housing providers, health authorities, Scottish Government as they relate to your tenancy.
We may also disclose statistical information to local authorities (including the housing benefit department), other housing providers, health authorities, Scottish Government and Scottish Housing Regulator and UK government.
Personal details may be disclosed to tenant organisations to promote tenant participation.
Whilst housing individuals and developing or maintaining properties, the Society may need to make certain disclosures to its suppliers or contractors. Where it is necessary to do the work or to keep the contractors or suppliers safe the Society may disclose sensitive personal details to such people. A written agreement is in place with our suppliers and contractors to ensure that such information is kept secure.
The Society will take steps to manage your tenancy and to recover money owed to it. For that purpose, it may make disclosures to other housing providers, local authorities, tracing agents, utility bodies and central government.
The Society may make other disclosures as appropriate to prevent or detect crime (for instance, to the police) or to assist in the recovery of taxes (for instance to tax authorities) where it is considered appropriate.
Can you see what information we hold?
The DPA gives you a right of access to the personal data that the Society holds about you. You can exercise this right by making a request in writing (which can include e-mail).
Should you have any queries about how the Society deals with personal information under the Act contact the Corporate Officer on 01349 852978 or at our offices in Invergordon.