First homes and discounted market housing - Privacy notice

Who the council is and what the council does

This privacy notice explains how we use any personal information provided to the Housing and Environment service in respect of ‘first homes’ and discounted market housing. These types of homes aims to provide discounted homes which are a specific kind of affordable homeownership for eligible buyers who meet certain eligibility criteria.

This notice explains what personal data (information) we hold about you and your nominee, how we collect, how we use and may share information about you. We are required to give you this information under data protection law.

Forest of Dean District Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Legislation as the council collects and processes personal information about you in order to provide services and meet their statutory and regulatory obligations

Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent to:

Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Forest of Dean District Council
Council Offices
Coleford GL16 8HG
Email: data.protection@fdean.gov.uk
Tel: 01993 861194

Why the council needs your information and how the council uses it

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information:

In order to verify whether you meet the eligibility criteria for one of the ‘first homes/ discounted market housing’ provided within Forest of District Council (FODDC).

Personal data will have been provided to developers or estate agents and conveyancers by applicants for the first homes/ discounted market housing. The application will be initially made through the housebuilder who will check all information and determine if eligibility criteria are met. The form (but not the evidence) will be sent to the council for confirmation. The council will only request further evidence or data if there are any issues with the application.

Once an application is approved, the purchaser’s appointed conveyancer is then required to complete an undertaking (known as the “Solicitors Undertaking”), confirming purchaser compliance and property valuation. The undertaking will be submitted to the council for confirmation. Again, the council will only request further evidence or data if there are any issues with the undertaking.

Once approved, the purchase can progress to completion, upon which point the purchaser’s conveyancer will provide the council with a certificate of title to ensure a first homes/ discounted market housing restriction has been registered.

We may also receive information directly from first homes/ discounted market housing owners when the properties are to be sold and in response to requests for feedback on the scheme

What is the legal process for collecting and processing this data

Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR gives the council a lawful basis for collecting and using personal data in order to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

First homes/ discounted market housing are a form of affordable homeownership with Local Eligibility Criteria set by the council and the discount, eligibility criteria and terms of use are secured by a section 106 agreement under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

If we seek your feedback on the scheme this will be provided with your consent so our lawful basis will be under Article 6(a).

What type of information is collected from you

In the course of running first homes/ discounted market housing process, we collect the following personal information, when you provide it to us:

First home applicant name(s)
Proposed first homes owner name(s)
Date of birth
Current and proposed address
Occupation
E-mail address
Contact telephone number
Tenure of current home
Household income
Local connections to FODDC
Confirmation of key worker, employer, job title/role (if applicable)
Confirmation of armed forces, unit and job title/role (if applicable)
Number of people expected to live in new household
Whether you are a first-time buyer
Financial information including confirmation of mortgage lending in principle, reservation fee paid, deposit amount, discounted property price, mortgage amount and lender
Reference numbers including Application number, conveyancing reference, mortgage reference
Title registration

We do not process any special category personal data or criminal offence related data.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

Who we share your personal information with:

The Housing Strategy and Enabling service may need to share data within the council in order to secure and register the legal agreement for your first homes/ discounted market housing property. We may also share your information with your nominated conveyancer and Mortgage/Home purchase plan provider.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) may ask the council for data relating to the scheme which will be anonymous as far as possible.

Your data will be processed within the UK and we do not use any automated decision making when processing your data.

How long the council keeps your information (retention period)

We will only keep as much personal data as we need for administering the first homes/ discounted market housing scheme. Because information will be needed at the point of sale we will keep records for the lifetime of the scheme, or until six years after you sell the property.

S106 legal agreements are retained in perpetuity.

How the council protects your information

Your data is stored securely on our systems and accessed only by authorised officers using their own username and password created in line with pre-defined user credentials. Personal data is also held in electronic files on the council’s network drives. These are only accessible through personal logon credentials and access privileges to specific drives. Access to our council sites require a personal electronic pass to access staff only areas. The council has strict procedures for the way this is done. Any and all information about you is treated as confidential and with respect. There are also clear rules and guidance about storing, recording and sharing information which staff receive training on.

The council will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

The council have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse or unauthorised alteration or destruction.

Please note however that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

The council will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.

Your 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
To have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances
To be told if the council have made a mistake whilst processing your data and the council will self-report breaches to the Commissioner.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a ‘Subject Access Request'.

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. The council is working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information the council holds is inaccurate or out of date, please email us or write to us at:

Strategic Housing & Enabling
Forest of Dean District Council
High Street, Coleford, GL16 8HG
Tel: 01594 810000
Email: customer.services@fdean.gov.uk

Further information

If you would like to know more about how the council uses your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this privacy notice, please contact the Data Protection Officer at data.protection@fdean.gov.uk

For more information about data protection please visit: www.fdean.gov.uk/about-the-council/council-data-and-access-to-information/data-protection/

If you are concerned about the way the council is handling your personal information you can contact the Information Commissioner (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

The council reserve the right to update this privacy notice from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.