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Housing Advice, Housing Options and Homelessness

Bromsgrove District Council collects personal information about you in order to fulfil their statutory duty in respect of:

  • Housing Advice;
  • Homelessness Prevention;
  • Homelessness Assessment and Decision Making;
  • Temporary Accommodation Placement / Provision;
  • and maintenance of a Housing Register via Choice Based Lettings, grouping applicants into a limited number of 'bands' which reflect different levels of housing need or relative priorities within the allocation scheme.

The legal basis for this processing is a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.  This information is required under the Housing Act 1996.

Health information, gender and ethnicity is classed as ‘special category’ data, and is processed in accordance with Article 9(2)(h), health & social care purposes;  criminal record is also classed as special category data, and is processed in accordance with Article 10, ‘processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences’.

The data collected is:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Family circumstances
  • Evidence of residency, birth certificate, etc.
  • Contact details
  • Medical information
  • Financial information
  • Images (photo ID)
  • Supporting information for priority housing
  • Current circumstances
  • Special needs
  • Disability
  • Criminal record
  • Benefit entitlement
  • Employment

 Under Local Authorities (Contracting Out of Allocation of Housing and Homelessness Functions) Order 1996, the function has been contracted out to Bromsgrove District Housing Trust.  Their privacy notice can be found here:  https://www.bdht.co.uk/legal/privacy-policy/.  Whilst the function has been contracted out, the strategic decision making remains the responsibility of the council as does the review function under Section 202 and 203 of the 1996 Act, ‘Right to request review of decision’.

If you are a successful bidder or housed temporarily, details will be provided to allow the landlord to contact you and confirm your suitability for the property. Making a bid for a property or accepting temporary accommodation is seen as your consent for this information to be passed onto the landlord. Without this information, they would be unable to process the application. 

Your information will only be used for the purpose/s it was originally provided for. We may need to contact any or all of the following departments, agencies and persons to assist in our enquires and provide relevant documentation:

  • Family, friends and persons whom I reside or have resided with
  • Departments within the Council and other Local Authorities and partners
  • Landlords (current and past)
  • UK Government departments and agencies
  • The Home Office
  • Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  • Any lenders (current and past)
  • Department of Works and Pensions
  • Doctors, consultants or any other medical practitioner
  • Mental Health Teams
  • Social Services
  • Support and Advocate Services (current and past)
  • Citizens Advice Bureau
  • Land Registry
  • Police
  • Probation Services
  • Solicitors
  • Employers (current and past)

Bromsgrove District Housing Trust administers the Choice Based Letting Scheme via Home Choice Plus on our behalf.  This scheme is used to advertise and let properties that are available to rent.  These are housing association or private landlord.  All housing applications are assessed by placing you in one of four bands.  These bands indicate the priority you have for housing.  Each band has a number of different band reasons and in accordance with the Council’s Allocation Policy, your application is assessed to see which band reasons match your circumstances.  The band you are placed in will reflect your current circumstances. This decision is automated. Home Choice Plus Privacy Notice can be found here.

This information will not be shared/sold to any other service/organisation unless we have a duty to do so under law. This data will not be transferred outside of the EEA.

Your information is retained for 6 years.

Details of Bromsgrove District Council’s full privacy notice can be found here.