Privacy notice houses in multiple occupation-HMO-Licence

Who we are and what we do

Spelthorne Borough Council is a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Spelthorne Borough Council collects your personal data in order to assess your Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licence application. We will only collect the personal data from you we need in order to make this assessment and provide this service to you.

Operating a HMO without a Licence where one is required is a criminal offence, and so this would render you liable for criminal investigation and potentially large penalties.

This notice explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

Why we need your information and how we use it

The legal basis we rely on to process your personal data is Legal Obligation - article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR - the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation we are subject to relating to the following legislation:

• Housing Act 2004
• Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.
• Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007.
• The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018

We will not be able to assess and process your HMO Licence application without the personal data you provide us with.

The legal basis we rely on to process your special category personal data is that the processing is necessary for the reason of substantial public interest.

What type of information is collected from you

In order to administer our services, we will collect some or all of the following information from you:

• Licence holder name
• Property manager
• Property address
• Contact information
• ID (including NI number, birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate
• Information to support your claim, such as tenancy agreements, fire safety records, gas and electrical safety certificates, and insurance documents
• Special category data (including gender, ethnicity, criminal history)
• Descriptions of the property e.g. number of rooms
• Other parties that have a relevant interest in the property
• Evidence from on-site inspections, including photographs, and detailed notes of what was observed, witness statements, fire precautions, disrepair, number and names of people living there
• We may look up other information the council or other statutory agencies already hold about you
• Ownership and charge details from the land registry.

We will only ask for personal information that is appropriate to enable us to deliver our services. In some cases, you can refuse to provide your details if you deem a request to be inappropriate. However, you should note that this may impact on our ability to provide some services to you.

How long we keep your information (retention period)

The information will be retained for 6 years from expiry of the licence. We securely destroy all information once we have used it and no longer need it.

Who we share your data with

We may share some information with other organisations. The information below will be held on a public register as prescribed by the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Misc Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006.  We may share confirmation of application for  an HMO licence for a particular address prior to granting the licence if requested.  

We may disclose information to third parties where it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

The Council is required by law to protect the public funds they administer. We may use any of the information you provided for the prevention and detection of fraud.

We may also share information with other bodies that are responsible for auditing or administering public funds, including the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office requires councils to participate in data matching exercises to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud.

We will share data with other departments within Spelthorne Borough Council to assist us with our legal duties and to detect and prevent crime. These include but are not limited to: Building Control, Planning, Council Tax, Community Safety, Electoral Services, other sections in Environmental Health and Environmental Services.

We may also send your name, address to the Police to assist them in their legal functions to prevent crime.

You have the following rights

You have the following rights under the Data Protection Legislations:

• to access your personal data
• to be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
• to have your personal data corrected
• to have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
• to object to or restrict how your personal data is processed in certain circumstances
• to have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances 

Further information

Further information is available on our website at Data Protection information - Spelthorne Borough Council or you can contact the Data Protection Officer. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner: https://ico.org.uk

Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Spelthorne Borough Council
Council Offices, Knowle Green, TW18 1XB
Email: data.protection@spelthorne.gov.uk