Privacy notice for housing development

Who we are and what we do

The Housing Development Team within Durham County Council (DCC) primarily deals with new build housing in the county. The main work involves the promotion of affordable housing throughout the county and the development of new housing such as community led housing and council housing.

For the purposes of data protection, Durham County Council is the Data Controller.

The type of personal information we collect and how we collect it

We may collect the following types of personal data:

• name
• address
• email address
• phone number
• similar contact details to help provide you with services and to contact you in relation to those service - this could be your date of birth for products which are only available to people of certain ages.

We may collect the following types of special category data:

• financial details in relation to household incomes for Discount Market Sale applications
• health and care information which relates to an affordable housing application.

We will collect this information about you in the following ways:

• by consent or personal contact - this could be over the phone, or via online and/or paper forms either from yourself or via the sales agent for the affordable home
• by third parties, including information from officers or other parties providing information such as electoral services

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information for the following reasons:

• provide services to you to process your affordable home ownership application
• respond to requests for advice
• inform future service delivery

We may not be able to provide a service to you unless you have provided us with enough information.

Some of our services use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support us in our service delivery.

What our lawful basis is to obtain and use your personal information

The lawful basis is provided under Article 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

• 6 (a) The data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes. An example would be when you join a mailing list.
• 6 (c) Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
• 6 (d) Processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person. This would be to protect someone's life or prevent harm.
• 6 (e) Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

The lawful basis for processing special category data is provided under Article 9 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

• 9 (a) The data subject has given explicit consent.
• 9 (g) Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

Reasons we may share your personal information

In certain circumstances your personal information may be shared with other council departments or external organisations, where we have a statutory obligation.

Some organisations your data will be shared with include:

• solicitors who request a copy document of approval letters
• the police in relation to crime investigations
• other council services such as planning enforcement, legal services, Council Tax.

Microsoft Office 365 is the platform used for many of the council's desktop and collaboration services. This cloud-based suite updates our previous versions of Microsoft Office and introduces new tools for a more collaborative working environment. View Microsoft's privacy information.

How your information is kept secure

The security of your personal information is important to us. This is why we follow a range of security policies and procedures to control and safeguard access to and use of your personal information.

We have multiple policies in place that define our commitments and responsibilities to your privacy and cover a range of information and technology security areas.

We also provide training to staff who handle personal information and treat it as a disciplinary matter if they misuse or do not look after your personal information properly.

How long we keep your information for

We will not keep your information longer than it is needed or the law says we can. We will dispose of paper records or delete any electronic personal information in a secure way. Our Records management page provides more details of records management and information within the council.

• For Discount Market Sale applications and supporting information this information is retained until a property is transferred to an applicant.
• For a Discount Market Sale decision letter this will be retained until a property is transferred to a subsequent buyer.

Processing personal information outside of the UK/EU

Your personal data is stored on our IT infrastructure and shared with our data processors, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. It may be transferred and stored securely in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA). If your data is stored outside the UK and EEA, it will have equivalent legal protection through Model Contract Clauses.

We can share information outside of this area when there is an adequacy determination in place. The EU uses the term 'adequacy' to describe other countries, territories, sectors or international organisations that it deems to provide an 'essentially equivalent' level of data protection for people's rights and freedoms.

Marketing

At no time will your information be passed to organisations external to us and our partners for marketing or sales purposes or for any commercial use without your prior express consent.

Your information rights

Your Information Rights are set out in the law. Subject to some legal exceptions, you have the right:

• Your right of access - you have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. This is also known as a Subject Access Request (SAR). You can make a SAR by completing the online form on our Find out what information we hold about you page.
• Your right to rectification - you have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
• Your right to erasure - you have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to restrict processing - you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to object to processing - you have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Further information

Our Data Protection Officer (DPO) provides help and guidance to make sure we apply the best standards to protecting your personal information. If something goes wrong with your personal information, or you have questions about how we process your data, please contact our Information Governance team at inforights@durham.gov.uk or write to:

DPO
Chief Executives Services
Council Offices
Green Lane
Spennymoor
County Durham
United Kingdom
DL16 6JQ

If we have not been able to deal with your complaint, you can also contact the .

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

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745

You also have the right to request a copy of the personal information the council holds about you. To do this, you can apply online or download an application form from our Data Protection & Freedom of Information page or you can contact the data protection team at inforights@durham.gov.uk.

To learn more about these rights please see Information Commissioner's Office: Individual rights - guidance and resources. If you require general information about the Data Protection Act, information is available at Information Commissioner's Office: Individual rights - guidance and resources. Additionally, any complaints can be escalated beyond the ICO as outlined in GDPR Article 77 and GDPR Article 79.