Data we collect when you live in one of our homes

Personal data we collect

• Name
• Address
• Telephone number and email address
• Date of birth
• National Insurance number
• Your assessment period and payment date for Universal Credit
• Bank details for Direct Debit and payment purposes
• Your preferences for any employment opportunities
• Next of kin, advocate or emergency contact details
• Ethnic details – this is a regulatory requirement for CORE (it helps the Government monitor trends in social housing, like who needs it and where)
• Details of any vulnerabilities you might have
• Medical details to support the above
• Details of your income, expenditure and benefits to assess affordability
• Details of any support agencies you might be involved with
• In modern flat blocks we can monitor key fob usage. This data is only usually used if we suspect the property has been abandoned or where we think the address may not be your principle home
• In certain flat blocks CCTV is used to monitor complaints of anti-social behaviour (ASB)

Why do we collect this?

Information like this enables us to:

• Verify your identity
• Better manage your Universal Credit claim (if appropriate)
• Make sure the property you’re in is best suited to your needs
• Contact your next of kin, emergency contact or advocate if we need to
• Make sure your claiming everything you’re entitled to
• Liaise with any support agencies you might be registered with
• Deal with any succession claims if adult children are left in a tenancy

We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis.

Who might we share this data with and why?

We’re very strict about sharing data and will only do this if there are robust data sharing agreements in place. If we do share your information it might be to:

• Enable repairs and maintenance to take place on your home and to ensure your safety and wellbeing whilst any work is conducted. This might be with our own repairs team or third party contractors with whom we have strict data sharing agreements
• Better offer you housing products suited to your needs from other teams within Torus, for example
• Advise an advocate, where clients are vulnerable and work is being done on a property by a third party contractor
• Utility companies to ensure your gas, electricity and water supply is in place
• Debt collection agencies if you abandon a property without paying
• Social services if support is needed
• The police in order to reduce anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder.

How might we also use this data?

Data we collect in our neighbourhoods can be really useful in giving us an accurate picture of:

• Which are our most popular areas
• Which areas might benefit from more investment
• The types of properties most in demand (Eg. two or three bed houses, flats, bungalows etc)

This in turn helps when we are planning our estates, building new homes or investing in regeneration work.