Privacy Policy

Why Personal Data is collected and stored as part of Rent Smart Wales

In order to meet the obligations of the Landlord Registration and Licensing Scheme as set out in Part 1 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, the Licensing Authority is required to develop and maintain a system that allows for the collection of information.

What Personal Data we hold and how we obtain it

The Types of personal data held and processed by Rent Smart Wales may include:

Contact details including name, address, telephone numbers, and email address
Identifying details, including date of birth, National Insurance number, passport number, driving licence number
Information about convictions

There is also a voluntary monitoring form to ensure that Rent Smart Wales is making sure that its service is accessible to everyone. This contains additional questions that provide further personal data, however this information is only processed anonymously for statistical and reference purposes.

How we will use your Personal Data

Rent Smart Wales may process personal data to fulfil its obligations under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, and this can include the processing of personal data for all or any of the following purposes:

To make contact
To issue a landlord with a registration; to grant a landlord a licence, or an agent a licence
To make an assessment on the fitness and propriety of an applicant as per the licence requirements set out in the Housing (Wales) Act 2014
For the purposes of enforcing non-compliance with the Housing (Wales) Act 2014
For the purposes of ensuring and monitoring continued compliance with the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 including licence conditions
For the purposes of ensuring and monitoring continued compliance with the Code of Practice
To display (to members of the public who search the Register) if a landlord is registered; and if the landlord or agent (or both) identified as undertaking letting or management tasks at the property is licensed
To facilitate the delivery of training courses
To process financial transactions for payments made for registration, licensing and training costs
To assist Local Authorities and the Licensing Authority to carry out their legal duties under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014
For statistical and reference purposes
To address queries and respond to any actual or potential disputes.
In rare cases or exceptional circumstances Rent Smart Wales may use the Rental Property addresses to correspond directly with tenants for purposes outside of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 when required.

Please be aware that Rent Smart Wales works in Partnership with the 22 Local Authorities in Wales to fulfil its functions under the Act, and therefore information held by Rent Smart Wales will be accessible by the Local Authorities. In addition, Local Authorities may share relevant information they hold with Rent Smart Wales to help determine whether an applicant is a fit and proper to act as a licensed landlord or licensed agent.

Organisations we may share your personal data with

Your information will only be used for the purposes of the Rent Smart Wales Scheme, however on occasions Rent Smart Wales may also share personal data with other organisations. A list of Organisations Rent Smart Wales shares data with is below.

Organisation	Type of Organisation	Data Shared	Reason why
The 22 Welsh Local Authorities	Local Authority	Personal Data	To fulfil their functions under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, partnership responsibilities and to share concerns about non-compliance with legislation.
Approved Rent Smart Wales contractors	Contractors such as web development and training providers	Personal Data	To fulfil Rent Smart Wales functions under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014
Police	Emergency Service	Personal Data	To share concerns of criminal activity
Ambulance	Emergency Service	Personal Data	To share concerns of risk to public health
Fire Service	Emergency Service	Personal Data	To share concerns of fire risk
Health and Safety Executive	Regulatory Body	Personal Data	To share concerns of non-compliance with legislation.
Trading Standards	Regulatory Body	Personal Data	To share concerns of non-compliance with legislation.
HM Revenue and Customs	Regulatory Body	Personal Data	To detect and prevent fraud.
The Welsh Revenue Authority	Regulatory Body	Personal Data	To detect and prevent fraud.
The Auditor General for Wales	Audit body	Personal Data	To detect and prevent fraud as part of the National Fraud initiative. Further information can be found here.
Professional Bodies in the Private Rent Sector	Professional Body	Personal Data	To share concerns of non-compliance with legislation. Further information can be found here.
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales	Ombudsman	Personal Data	To respond to a complaint made to the ombudsman.
The Residential Property Tribunal Wales	Tribunals	Personal Data	To take a case to tribunal, to respond to a case from the tribunal.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service	Government department	Personal Data	To prosecute under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, to take a case to tribunal, to respond to a case from the tribunal.

From time to time, Rent Smart Wales receives requests from other services under data protection legislation. Such requests are considered in accordance with legal requirements, on a case by case basis.

If you receive correspondence from Rent Smart Wales, your information may have been shared with Xerox in order to contact you. For further information on how Xerox manage personal data, view the Privacy Policy via the following link; www.xerox.co.uk/en-gb/about/privacy-policy

How long we keep your personal data

Information collected by Rent Smart Wales will not be kept for any longer than necessary. The Rent Smart Wales retention period is 6 + 1 years after licence and/or registration expires. Following the end of this period, the information collected will be securely destroyed.

Marketing Materials from Rent Smart Wales

Rent Smart Wales wishes to communicate with landlords and agents to help inform them of any information relevant to the wider industry or updates from within their local area (such as upcoming forum events, potential funding opportunities, additional licensing schemes etc.). However, this is optional and must be opted into by landlords and agents by selecting that they are willing to receive communications of this nature. Users can always change this preference by accessing their account or by contacting Rent Smart Wales.

Rent Smart Wales does not sell or provide personal data to a third party for the purposes of marketing.

Who is the Data Controller for Rent Smart Wales

Rent Smart Wales is operated by Cardiff Council. Cardiff Council is therefore the Data Controller in respect of any personal data provided for these purposes. All information provided will be treated in confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 at all times. For further information on the Council’s data protection requirements please contact the Data Protection Officer, by email on: dataprotection@cardiff.gov.uk.

Rent Smart Wales is hosted by Cardiff Council and the Council’s full Privacy Notice is available here.

Your Rights

You are entitled to exercise your individual rights, including access to information, correcting inaccurate information or objecting to the processing of your personal data.

For more information on your rights, you can visit this website.

You can also write to:
The Data Protection Officer,
County Hall,
Atlantic Wharf,
Cardiff,
CF10 4UW
Email: individualrights@cardiff.gov.uk