Privacy & Cookie Policy - Statement
Cookie Policy
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of the Gecko Homes website (“our site”). This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our site and also allows us to improve our site. By continuing to browse our site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Gecko respects an individual’s right to data privacy and data protection in line with data protection legislation. By this we mean the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This Privacy Statement explains how Gecko will collect, store, use, share, and protect (collectively known as ‘process’) your personal information.
By giving Gecko your information, or by using our website or platforms you are confirming that you are accepting the practices outlined in this Privacy Statement. If you do not accept the outlined practices, please do not give us any information or use our website or other digital platforms or portals.
Privacy Policy
Who are we?
Gecko provides Property Sale and Rental Services for the Southway Group.
Southway is a registered provider of social housing and property developer whose registered office is: Southern Gate, 729 Princess Road, Manchester, M20 2LT
Southway is listed with the Office of the Information Commissioner as a Data Controller with the reference number: Z1389491.
Southway owns a commercial subsidiary, Southway Plus. Southway Plus is listed with the Office of the Information Commissioner with the reference number: ZA244003.
The Data Processing Activities described in this Privacy Statement are for both Southway and Southway Plus. For the purposes of the data protection legislation, Gecko is the Data Controller and is the company responsible for the information that you supply. On occasion this information may be shared with a third party who will act as a Data Processor to carry out a specified function.
Why do we process personal information?
Data Protection legislation determines the lawful basis by which organisations can process data. In the majority of cases, Gecko uses your data for legitimate interests (to run our business), or for the performance of a contract. In occasional circumstances we may process data to comply with certain law or regulation, or protect the vital interests of data subjects.
What information is being collected?
The types of information that we collect are as follows:
Personal Data
- Name (including previous names)
- Date of birth;
- Nationality;
- Residential status;
- Income;
- Employment;
- National insurance number.
We would typically collect this type of information in order for you to access a service or enter into a contract with us.
Personal contact information
This is the information that you have given us in order for us to be able to contact you and includes:
- Telephone numbers;
- email addresses;
- Postal addresses
Online account login information
If you have set up an online account with us this can refers to your; first name, surname, e-mail address, password, date of birth, tenancy id and postcode.
How do we collect your information and what is it used for?
We collect customer information using the following media:
- websites and mobile sites
- online portals
- social media
- Telephone Conversations
- Letters and Application forms
- Personal interviews
There are a number of reasons why Gecko processes your information.
Property lettings
We routinely collect the following:
- Name, address and date of birth, National Insurance Number and other formal identification, so we can identify you.
- Contact details so we can get in touch with you when we need to.
- Your financial circumstances. If you’re going to be a tenant, we need to confirm you are eligible to rent the home and can afford to pay the rent.
- Communication preferences – we have a diverse range of customers and it is helpful for us to know information about you which helps us to communicate with you in the way you find easiest.
- We may collect the name, age and if appropriate contact details of the people who live with our tenants. We may use this information to:
- Confirm that you aren’t sub-letting your home
- Contact someone in the house if we can’t get hold of you or have concerns for your safety
- Identify potential tenancy fraud
Tenancy management
In order to maintain your tenancy with us, we may use the information that was given to us when the tenancy was set up. This would include your personal information and contact information along with information about the other people in your household. This will allow us to ensure that you are paying your rent, deal with any repair issues, investigate tenancy breaches and offer other general tenancy management services.
Anti-social behaviour
Gecko has a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour (ASB). If we receive reports of ASB from your property, we may share your information with the Police or our solicitors.
Use of CCTV and sound monitoring
We use CCTV for the prevention, detection and investigation of anti-social behaviour and crime. We comply with the GDPR under the use of CCTV and the Information Commissioner’s current CCTV Code of Practice.
Residents and other third parties may not view CCTV footage, with the exception of residents who have been recorded on the CCTV and make a valid Subject Access Request.
We hold CCTV recordings, not subject to an investigation, for a maximum of 3 months.
Property sales
When selling you a Gecko property we will take all necessary information to allow the sale to progress. This will include your name, address, income, national insurance number and details of any relevant debts that may preclude you from purchasing one of our properties.
Marketing and communications
We may collect and use your personal and contact information to send you marketing communication, through emails, text messages, and postal mailings.
We will only send you marketing materials that you have consented to receive, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. There are some items that we are legally obliged to send you and from which you cannot withdraw consent, an example of this is the annual rent statement.
If you participate in a promotion that involved a third party and you agree to receive marketing information from them, you’ll need to contact them directly to withdraw consent from receiving further marketing materials from them.
Monitoring
We may monitor and record communication with you (such as telephone conversations and emails) for the purpose of quality assurance, staff training, fraud prevention and dispute resolution.
Information about other individuals
If you give us information on behalf of someone else, you must confirm that the other person has appointed you to act on their behalf and has agreed that you can give consent on their behalf to the processing of their data. If you request data about other individuals, you will need to provide proof that they have consented for you to have the information this
Children
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, Gecko will also seek consent from parent/guardian of children in order to process their information and if they’re over 16 years old, we will seek their consent.
Protecting your personal information
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. At all times Gecko will take both technical and organisational measures to protect the confidentiality and security of personal information, irrespective of the method of collection.
Refusing to give us personal information
There is certain information that we must hold in order to fulfil our obligations and deliver services. You have the right not to share further information with us. However, this may mean that we are unable to offer you additional services or tailor our services effectively to your needs.
Disclosing your personal information
We will never share information with any third party that intends to use it for direct marketing unless we have received specific consent from the individuals involved.
There are occasions where we will need to share your information with selected third parties. In these cases, Gecko will have a Data Sharing Agreement which ensures that your information is private, secure and only processed for the reasons specified.
Information will only usually be shared with the following types of third parties:
- Contractors – To provide repairs.
- Mortgage Advisers – To provide assistance with mortgage provision
- Solicitors – To facilitate property sales
- Credit Reference Agencies – To make sure you are eligible to rent a property
- Deposit Protection Scheme- – To fulfil our legal obligations around tenancy deposits.
Legal and business transfer
In the event of a merger or acquisition of part or the whole organisation, the partner or new owner will have access to the information obtained by Gecko and its information could be transferred as part of reorganisation or similar event if permitted by and carried out in accordance with the applicable law.
Your individual rights
Under the terms of GDPR you have a number of rights. These include:
Right to be informed
You have the right to ask us why we’re collecting your information, how will it be processed, for how long, who we will be sharing it with.
Right to access
You have the right to access the personal information that we hold about you and to obtain a copy of it if you wish.
Right to rectification
If the information we hold on you is incorrect, you have the right to ask us to correct it without undue delay and free of charge.
Right to erasure/be forgotten
You have the right to request that all personal data held about you by Gecko is deleted. You can make this request at any time but please note that we may be compelled to retain your information due to legitimate business reasons.
Technical computer information
Servers
The servers which host our computer systems are all based in the UK. We have agreements in place with service providers to ensure that your information is kept safe and in line with data protection law.
Cookies
Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information. The information contained within the cookie can include the IP address, operating system and browser information. This information is used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. For further information, visit: www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the above websites tell you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, in a few cases some of our website features may not function as a result
Spamming
Spamming is where unsolicited e-mails are sent to you containing advertisements or marketing-related materials without your consent.
By the General Data Protection Regulation, Gecko will not send you spam emails and we will not share your email address with third parties for them to use in this way. If for some reason you believe you have received spam e-mail from Gecko, please contact us.
We use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt and protect email traffic in line with email information security policy. If your email service does not support TLS, you should be aware that any emails we send or receive may not be protected in transit.
Links to third-party sites
On occasion our websites or platforms may have links to third party sites, visiting these sites is done so at your own risk and we do not control or have any responsibility for the content or practices of any third-party site, application or feature. Please check the relevant third party’s privacy policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.
Retaining your personal information
We will only keep your information as long as is reasonably necessary and in line with our Data Retention Policy. This does mean that your information may be retained for a period of time after you have stopped using Gecko services
If you want to know how long we keep a particular type of information, you can ask our Data Protection Officer (see below).
Contacting us
Gecko has a designated Data Protection Officer who you should contact with enquiries regarding the use of your information:
Matthew Maouati
Southern Gate,
729 Princess Road,
Manchester,
M20 2LT
m.maouati@southwayhousing.co.uk
Legal notice and version control
On occasion Gecko may make amendments to this Privacy Policy.
Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
If you have any concerns, wish to make a complaint about how Gecko has handled your data, or just want some general advice then you can refer to the Information Commissioners Office.
You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office in the following ways:
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
