Private Rented Sector (PRS)

Summary

What personal information does this service use?

To carry out our functions and provide services, we may collect and process the following personal information:

Personal Information

• Name
• Title
• Address
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Marital status and civil partnership information
• Landlord and managing agent details
• Property rental amounts and tenancy costs
• Names and dates of birth of household members
• Household composition information
• Details of household income and expenditure
• Evidence of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits
• Wage slips and employment information
• Education and training information relevant to housing needs
• Tenancy details, including tenancy agreements and occupation arrangements
• Rent account histories and payment transactions
• Company information, including director details and company registration numbers
• Photographs
• Audio recordings
• Video recordings
• Electronic communications, including emails and text messages
• Case records, incident reports, timelines of events and crime reference numbers

Special Category Personal Information

We may also collect, store and process special category personal information where necessary, including:

• Physical health information
• Mental health information
• Disability information
• Information relating to support needs
• Safeguarding concerns
• Health and wellbeing information required to assess the suitability of accommodation
• Other information necessary to provide housing assistance and support services

What is your personal information used for?

We use personal information to deliver housing services and fulfil our statutory duties. These purposes include:

• Assessing applications from people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
• Delivering homelessness prevention and relief services.
• Sourcing, assessing and securing suitable private rented accommodation.
• Undertaking landlord, managing agent and property suitability checks.
• Carrying out property inspections, including HHSRS assessments.
• Assessing the affordability and sustainability of accommodation through income and expenditure assessments.
• Providing tenancy sustainment and resettlement support.
• Determining whether accommodation is suitable for households with specific support, health or accessibility needs.
• Maintaining records relating to housing assistance and accommodation provided.
• Carrying out financial assessments, including those associated with Housing Benefit, Universal Credit or other housing-related support.
• Monitoring, reviewing and improving service delivery.
• Conducting quality assurance activities and requesting customer feedback.
• Recording and responding to complaints, concerns or enquiries.
• Producing statistical and management information to support service planning, performance monitoring and funding decisions.
• Ensuring services are delivered fairly and equitably, including monitoring against equality objectives.

Where a person has a disability, health condition, communication need or language requirement, we may use this information to ensure services are delivered in a way that meets their individual needs.

The information collected will only be used in connection with housing assistance, homelessness prevention or homelessness relief duties, unless we are required to use or share it for another lawful purpose such as fraud prevention, safeguarding, public protection, verification or the prevention and detection of crime.

What is the lawful basis we are relying on?

We process personal information under the following lawful bases within the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

Article 6 UK GDPR

We primarily process personal information where:

• Article 6(1)(e) – Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Council.

This includes fulfilling our duties under:

• Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996
• Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996
• The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017

In some circumstances, we may also process personal information under:

• Article 6(1)(c) – Compliance with a legal obligation.
• Article 6(1)(d) – Protection of vital interests where there is an emergency situation.

Special Category Information

Where special category personal information is processed, we rely on:

• Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest.
• Article 9(2)(h) – Provision of health, social care or housing services.
• Article 9(2)(c) – Protection of vital interests in emergencies.
• Article 9(2)(f) – Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Where has the personal information come from?

Some of the information we hold will be provided directly by you when you make an application for housing assistance or engage with our services.

We may also receive information from other Manchester City Council services, including:

• Legal Services
• Civil Enforcement, Anti-Social Behaviour and Community Resilience Services
• Housing Support Services
• Homelessness Services
• Environmental Enforcement
• Neighbourhood Compliance
• Financial Services
• Adults' and Children's Social Care
• Housing Providers, including Registered Providers and Registered Social Landlords

We may also receive information from external organisations, including:

• Other local authorities
• Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
• Greater Manchester Police
• General Practitioners (GPs)
• NHS organisations and Health Authorities
• National Probation Service
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Manchester City Council Revenues and Benefits Service
• Other agencies involved in supporting housing, welfare, safeguarding or public protection functions

Who will we share your personal information with?

In addition to the arrangements described within the Council's General Privacy Notice, information may be shared with other Council services where necessary to provide services or fulfil statutory responsibilities.

This may include:

• Legal Services
• Civil Enforcement, Anti-Social Behaviour and Community Resilience
• Housing Support Services
• Homelessness Services
• Environmental Enforcement
• Neighbourhood Compliance
• Council Tax Services
• Adults' and Children's Social Care
• Financial Services

Information sharing may be necessary to:

• Prevent or detect crime, fraud or anti-social behaviour.
• Assess housing applications and accommodation suitability.
• Protect children and vulnerable adults.
• Manage safeguarding concerns.
• Protect the safety of the public, Council staff and service users.
• Fulfil legal and statutory obligations.

We may also share information with external organisations including:

• Voluntary sector organisations such as Citizens Advice and Shelter.
• Providers of housing advice and legal aid services.
• Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme providers.
• Greater Manchester Rogue Landlord Database.
• National Rogue Landlord Database.
• HM Land Registry.
• Appointed solicitors and legal representatives.
• Registered Providers and housing organisations.
• Statutory agencies involved in safeguarding, housing or law enforcement.

Where information is shared, appropriate safeguards and legal controls will be applied to protect confidentiality and privacy.

In certain circumstances, we may be required to share information without your consent, including:

• To protect you or another person in an emergency.
• For the administration of justice.
• To comply with court orders or legal requirements.
• To meet safeguarding obligations.
• To support investigations, audits, inspections or statutory inquiries.

How long will we keep your information?

Your personal information and your rights

Contacting us about your data and updates