HMO and selective licensing privacy notice

The Private Sector Housing and Licensing Team administers the licensing of properties and enforces legislation in relation to the conditions of homes in the borough. We carry out proactive work as well as responding to complaints from tenants or neighbours. We also support landlords where we can to ensure that all privately rented properties in Waltham Forest are safe for their occupants.

The Private Sector Housing and Licensing Team processes three types of property licences:

• Houses in multiple occupation (“HMO”) mandatory licences;
• HMO additional licences; and
• Selective licences.

This notice explains why we ask for your personal information in relation to these three licenses, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.  Guidance on the licensing process: Houses in Multiple Occupation.

If you have questions regarding these licensing schemes or our privacy practices, you can contact us in writing or by e-mail at the address below:

Private Sector Housing and Licensing Team
3, The Square
Leyton
London
E10 5NR

Email: propertylicensing@walthamforest.gov.uk

In order to administer the licensing scheme we will collect the following information from you:

• Your name and contact details
• Property address
• Information to support your claim, such as tenancy agreements, fire safety records, gas and electrical safety certificates, and insurance documents
• Evidence from on-site inspections, including photographs, and detailed notes of what was observed, witness statements, fire precautions, disrepair, number and names of people living there
• We may look up other information the council or other statutory agencies already hold about you
• Ownership and charge details from the land registry.

We will only ask for personal information that is appropriate to enable us to deliver our services.

Licensing fees for all forms of property licenses processed by the Council will be payable by credit or debit card through our third-party payment processor, Stripe Inc. (“Stripe”).

All payment card information will be collected and processed by Stripe, independent of the Council, to a PCI-DSS Level 1 standard. Stripe’s privacy notice.

We need the information from you so that we can determine your licence application and administer the licensing schemes.

We collect information from you directly and from other sources to process your HMO licence application. This includes information from other council departments and statutory services such as the fire brigade, police, community safety and neighbours, national rogue landlord register, Greater London Authority (“GLA”) rogue landlords register, landlord accreditation schemes, credit referencing agencies, freeholders, leaseholders, mortgage companies and other interested parties.

Stripe, our third-party payment processor, will use the information you provide to them to securely process your payment card details on our behalf.  Stripe will also act as a data controller in relation to your data to (1) monitor, prevent and detect fraudulent payment transactions; (2) comply with legal or regulatory obligations applicable to the processing and retention of payment data to which Stripe is subject, including applicable anti-money laundering screening and compliance with 'know your customer' obligations; and (3) improve Stripe’s products and services.

We may contact you from time to time if we feel there are developments in the law you need to be aware of, if we have information that may benefit you or if we would like to consult with you about a new policy or procedure.  We will also contact you before the licence renewal date to ensure your property remains licensed.

The legal basis we rely on to process your personal data is Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation we are subject to:

• Housing Act 2004
• The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006
• Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007
• The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018; and
• The Selective Licensing of Houses (Additional Conditions) (England) Order 2015.

We will not be able to assess and process your licence application without the personal data you provide us with.

The information regarding your licence application will be held on a public register as prescribed by the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006.

We may also be obligated to share your personal details with other organisations, partner agencies and external regulatory partners for purposes of law enforcement and fraud and for the prevention or detection of crime, the capture or prosecution of offenders; and the assessment or collection of tax or duty.

We will retain all records relating to your licence application for the duration of the licence plus 6 years. 

In order to see information regarding the card payment information retained by our third-party payment card processor see Stripe’s privacy notice.

Our Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer is Mark Hynes, you contact him by email at data.protectionofficer@walthamforest.gov.uk

Protecting your information

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Your information choice and rights

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Complaints and contact details

These are included in the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Information Commissioner’s Office

If we’re unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)