Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

VHA Privacy Notice

Your privacy is important to us, which is why we only collect the information we need from you and your household to provide our services. We take great care to ensure your information is kept confidential, handled responsibly, and in accordance with legal requirements.

Who We Are

We are Vectis Housing Association Ltd (VHA), registered with the Regulator for Social Housing and the FCA as an exempt charity under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

Our Privacy Notice Covers:

How we collect personal information 

We collect information in a variety of ways including using this website (see Information we collect via this website and Cookies); on various forms, tenancy agreements, and contracts; through our ongoing contact with you; 

The legal basis on which we will collect information will relate to one of the following: 

·      Contract; 

·      Consent; 

·      Legal Obligation; 

·      Legitimate Interests (CCTV etc.). 

When you apply to access VHA services, we request and hold on file any references necessary to assess your application including as appropriate (but not limited to) references from other housing providers/private landlords, your mortgage lender (if you own/have owned your own home), the Police, the Probation Service, support workers, social workers, mental health workers and credit reference agencies. 

If you provide us with personal information relating to members of your family or your associates we will assume that you do so with their knowledge and their consent to the collection and processing of the information. 

It is important that you notify us of any changes to your personal information. 

under the Data Protection Legislation, VHA may collect personal data: 

·      To fulfil a contract we have with tenants, and/or; 

·      When it is in VHA’s legitimate interest.

Under the Data Protection Legislation we may collect and process personal data in accordance with the following lawful bases: 

·      When you consent to it 

·      To fulfil a contract we have with you 

·      When it is our legal obligation to comply with the law 

When it is our legitimate interest (providing it does not unfairly go against what is right and best for you. If we rely on our legitimate interest, we will tell you what that is).

 
Who the personal information relates to 

We collect personal information about: 

Customers ◦ This includes current, former and potential customers, who live in our properties or access our support and other services and could also include their family and people associated with them. 

Colleagues ◦This includes current, former and potential colleagues, as well as Board and Committee members, apprentices and volunteers. 

Anyone who makes a complaint or enquiry and visitors to our website and offices

How we use this information 

We will collect, process, share and securely store personal information in compliance with the Data Protection Act. 

All information will be retained in accordance with the requirements of our retention schedule. 

We keep these records to allow us to: 

·      Make allocations 

·      Manage tenancies 

·      Receive rent and service charges 

·      Ensure bills and benefits are accurate and paid accordingly 

·      Provide a repairs and maintenance service 

·      Provide home ownership products 

·      Offer help with debts and benefits 

·      Provide Support services which help customers achieve their goals 

·      Prevent & detect crime and resolve disputes 

·      Promote safety and the quiet enjoyment of our neighbourhoods & communities 

·      Engage with customers and make improvements to our products and services 

·      Promote equal opportunities and fair treatment for all colleagues and customers 

·      Provide employment and training advice and opportunities 

·      Manage employment and colleague development 

·      Work with partners to deliver mutual success 

·      Provide information (e.g. about products and services) you request from us

Sensitive personal information 

Under the Data Protection Act certain personal information is classified as “sensitive”. Sensitive data is information relating to physical or mental health, sex life, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, membership of a Trade Union, allegations of criminal offences and criminal convictions and offences. We minimise our holding and use of sensitive categories of personal information but, given the services we provide and our obligations under the Equality Act 2010, there are times when we use it, for example when providing accommodation for disabled persons or those with problems around substance abuse, when resolving neighbourhood disputes involving alleged criminal activity or when helping someone to access care services. 

When we collect specific sensitive data we will notify you of how we will use it, including who it may be shared with.

Job applicants and former colleagues 

Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 6 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalised statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data. 

Once a person has taken up employment with VHA, we will compile a file relating to their employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment. Once their employment with us has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our retention schedule and then delete it

Complaints or enquiries 

We try to meet the highest standards in all areas of our business. We take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures. If you do make a complaint or enquiry we may collect and store personal information in relation to this matter, we will keep it secure and use it only for the purpose it was collected. When the matter is resolved or completed, we will retain the details in accordance with our retention schedule and then destroy them.

Information we collect via the website 

We collect and store personal information via this website for a number of reasons – see above – including to help us provide better services and products to customers and potential customers. The information we collect fits into two categories: 

1. Personal information entered into online forms by visitors to this website. 

2. Anonymous statistical information collected by cookies. 

If you request a publication, call back or information from us via an email, online form or register your interest in a service we will use your information to fulfil that request.

Sharing your information 

Your personal information will be kept secure and confidential. Usually we will not disclose personal data without consent but we may share information with contractors or third parties and other agencies we work with, including Local Authorities, Social Services, Police, other social landlords and other agencies when VHA believes it is in your or the public’s interest to do so, or as required by law. 

Examples of organisations we may share your information with, where appropriate, are: 

·      Contractors 

·      Local Authorities 

·      Housing Benefit 

·      DWP 

·      Social services 

·      Police 

·      Probation Service 

·      Other landlords 

·      Utilities companies 

·      Council tax 

·      Debt recovery agency 

·      Courts 

·      Payroll bureau 

·      Pensions Companies 

·      Job Centre Plus 

·      HMRC 

·      Printers 

·      Fire Service 

·      Support agencies 

·      Health services

In particular, please be aware: 

Current or forwarding addresses may be shared with utility companies and Council Tax offices to ensure billing details are correct. 

If you default upon any tenancy/licence conditions information about you may be provided to authorised debt recovery agencies, to enable them to recover the debt. This may affect future applications for tenancies, credit and insurance. 

We may discuss your financial situation, rent payments (including any arrears) and any claims made for welfare benefits with; an external debt advice agency, Welfare rights advisor, the housing benefit department or the local authorities housing advice and homeless prevention team to make sure that benefits are paid correctly. 

We will not share your personal information without your consent, unless allowed by law. 

We may share customers’ personal information on a collective basis with other organisations to help us gain insights in to our customer base, so we can target and deliver our services in a way that maximises benefits for our customers. Whenever we do this, we will ensure that your personal information is handled under strictly controlled conditions and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Accessing your information 

Please contact us using your preferred contact method if you would like copies of some specific information from your files, and we will try to provide it as quickly as possible. 

If you require a substantial amount of your personal information, there is a formal process for this, under the Data Protection Act, known as a Subject Access Request (SAR). 

What you need to know about making a Subject Access Request: 

You can write to us or email us with your request, or download the SAR form for your convenience, which you can post or email back to us. Please write to the Company Secretary, Vectis Housing Association Limited, Chapel House, 30 Chapel Street, Newport PO30 1PZ. . 

We may require proof of your identity and address – we will let you know this when we receive your request. There is more information on this on the SAR Form (link above.) 

When we receive your valid request – with proof of id/address if required- we will respond and provide your information within one month at the latest. Please note that the time period of one month commences on the day after we receive the request (whether the day after is a work day or not) until the corresponding calendar date in the next month 

You can request to see any of the information that we may hold about you, but the more specific you can be about what you require, the quicker we can respond to your request. 

Please be aware that we may need to edit some information out, if it relates to other people, as we must protect the privacy rights of all individuals. 

If you have any queries about accessing your information please contact [email protected] or 01983 525985.

Changes to our privacy policy 

This privacy notice will be updated to reflect changes either to the way in which we operate or changes to the data protection legislation. To make sure that you keep up to date, we suggest that you revisit this notice from time to time.

Links to other websites 

The notice is limited to this website only. If you follow a link to an external site, we recommend that you check the privacy notice of that site before giving any personal details.

Contacting us 

We welcome any queries you may have regarding this privacy notice, or any information we hold about you. Please contact: 

Company Secretary Vectis Housing Association Limited 

Chapel House 

30 Chapel Street 

Newport, PO30 1PZ 

Other Resources The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent body which upholds information rights in the public interest. Vectis are registered as a Data Controller with the ICO. Their contact details are below: 

Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF 

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number Fax: 01625 524 510 Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Terms and Conditions - website 

VHA makes every effort to ensure that the material contained in this website is accurate and up-todate. However, we cannot warrant the accuracy and completeness of such material. 

We make every effort to ensure that links from this website to third party websites are relevant, current and appropriate. However, we do not accept liability in connection with any third party websites which may be linked or accessible through our websites and we do not endorse or approve the contents of any such site. 

Any data submitted via our online forms is not secure and we cannot guarantee that information submitted will not be intercepted or modified, or that it will be received safely. 

We make every effort to ensure that our systems and website are free from viruses and harmful files. However, the material accessed through the use of our web pages is obtained entirely at your own risk and you will be responsible for any resulting problems or damage to software or computer systems and/or any resulting loss of data. 

VHA will not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of the information held on the site. 

Nothing on this website shall be construed as an offer or the basis for a contract between us and you or any other party. 

Information on this website is provided for information purposes only; you should not rely on it to make any decision without either taking professional advice or verifying the accuracy of the information provided. 

The materials on our website are owned by us and we reserve copyright and all other rights in them. Our name and any image or logo we use to identify ourselves are our trademarks and may not be reproduced without our written permission. 

You may download, print and store information from this website while acknowledging our copyright in it.

Our website and these terms and conditions shall be governed by English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. 

Vectis Housing Association Limited is a charitable Registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority no. 21237R and with the Homes and Communities Agency no. L1005. Registered office: Chapel House, 30 Chapel Street, Newport, PO30 1PZ.