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Data Protection

FCHA Privacy Notice

First Choice Housing Association Limited is a Registered Social Landlord and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulations 2018.


This privacy policy explains what personal information we hold about you and how we use any personal information we collect about you when you use any of our services or when you visit our website.


What information do we collect about you?


We hold personal data such as your household’s names, dates of birth, contact details and records of any transactions such as payments or requests for information as well as sensitive personal data such as gender; ethnicity; religion or other beliefs, sexual orientation, and medical history.


We collect information about you when:-

  • We receive a nomination from a Local Authority or referring partner or when you fill in an application form for housing and request one of our properties;

  • Select an offer of one of our properties;

  • Request any of our services;

  • Voluntarily complete our customer surveys;

  • Provide feedback or make a complaint;

  • Make an application for employment and become a member of staff;

  • Make an application and become a Board member;

  • We also process personal information using CCTV systems and we monitor and collect visual images for:-

  • Security reasons

  • The prevention and detection of crime; and

  • Staff safety and monitoring purposes.


From time to time we may also be provided with information about you from other agencies such as the housing benefit and social services department in the Local Authority, the Department of Work and Pensions the Police or the NHS.

How will we use the information about you?
We use your personal information to:

  • Enable us to provide you with accommodation and to communicate with you in order to provide services which meet your needs.

  • Ensure that we meet all our legal and statutory duties such as those which apply under the Equality Act 2010.

  • Help with crime prevention and the prosecution of offenders

  • To protect individuals from harm

  • Provide you with welfare services including advice and appropriate support

  • Carry out research and to provide anonymised information to help improve our services and direct funds to the most appropriate areas

  • Assess your suitability for a job vacancy or to assess your suitability to become a Board member.

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Sharing your information


We may sometimes need to share the personal information we process with other organisations where it is necessary to fulfil a contract, or where we need to ensure that you are being paid the correct amount of benefit entitlement such as with the DWP or housing benefits department, or where we are legally required to do so. Where this is necessary we are required to comply with all aspects of (General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)


We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.


Transferring information oversees
We do not transfer any personal information outside of the EEA.


How long do we store information?


Any information we collect is stored using guidance issued by the National Housing Federation. Full details of this are included in our Retention Policy and is available on request.


Your rights to access data


Any requests for information must be made in writing and also include proof of your identity.
If we consider that your request is unfounded, asking for too much information or it is information we have previously provided then we may charge a reasonable fee for this or we may refuse to respond to you. If we refuse to respond to your request we will advise you of our reason with one month of your request. You have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office or to seek a judicial remedy.

GDPR Consent


You have the right to withdraw consent for the use of your information at any time; however this may affect the service that we are able to provide you with. i.e. we need to have access to information you provide in respect of any housing application in order to ensure our compliance with the allocations Policy and to ensure that we provide you with a property that is suitable for your needs.


If you believe that the information we hold on you is incorrect then you should notify us and we will arrange to have the information corrected within one month of you telling us. We will also tell anyone else who we have provided this information to.


You also have an additional right to have a copy of any information that you have provided to us in order to provide that information to another housing association or agency.


What we would also like to do with the data


We may wish to contact you to take part in some independent research or to provide you with specific advice around future services. If you have consented to receive marketing, you may opt out at a later date.


You have the right to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes. If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please contact the association.


How to contact us
Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you:
By email: customerservice@fcha.org.uk
By letter: Data Controller , 10 Village Way , Tongwynlais, Cardiff, CF15 7NE
By Telephone: 02920 703758


Contact details of Data Protection Officer
Name: Donna Webb
Job Title: Director of Corporate Services & Housing
Email: donnawebb@fcha.org.uk

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