Who we are.

Housing Disrepair Newcastle is the trading name of [FULL LEGAL ENTITY NAME], a [limited company / LLP / partnership] authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. [56431]). We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO registration number [Z7549913]) as a data controller.

Our registered office: [ADDRESS LINE 1], Newcastle upon Tyne, [POSTCODE].
Contact for data protection matters: info@housingdisrepairnewcastle.com.

What information we collect.

We collect the following categories of personal data:

Contact details — name, address, email, phone number
Tenancy information — landlord name, property address, tenancy type, rent
Case details — the nature of the disrepair, reports made, impact on you and your household
Health information — where relevant to a personal injury element of a claim (this is special category data under UK GDPR)
Financial information — where needed for settlement, costs, or means-tested benefit assessment
Identification documents — passport, driving licence or similar, to satisfy anti-money laundering requirements
Technical data — IP address and basic browser information when you visit our website

How we collect it.

We collect your personal data when you:

Call us or email us
Complete a form on our website
Send us documents or photos relating to your case
Meet with us in person or by video call
Instruct us as your solicitor

We may also receive data about you from third parties including your landlord, the Housing Ombudsman, expert surveyors, medical professionals, and other solicitors.

Lawful basis for processing.

We rely on the following lawful bases under UK GDPR:

Contract (Article 6(1)(b)) — to provide legal services that you have instructed us to provide
Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) — to comply with anti-money laundering, SRA regulatory and tax reporting obligations
Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — to market our services to existing clients and in responding to enquiries
Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — for certain optional marketing communications

For special category data (e.g. health data), we rely on Article 9(2)(f) — the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Who we share your data with.

We share relevant personal data with:

Your landlord (and their legal representatives) as part of bringing the claim
Independent surveyors and experts instructed on your case
Medical professionals for personal injury reports
After-The-Event insurers
Barristers instructed to advise or represent you
Courts and tribunals
Our regulators (the SRA, the Legal Ombudsman, the ICO) where required
HMRC and other public bodies where required by law
Third-party service providers (case management software, secure storage, accounting) under contracts that require them to protect your data

We do not sell your data to third parties and we do not pass it to marketing companies.

How long we keep it.

We keep case files for a minimum of six years from the conclusion of your case, in line with SRA and professional indemnity insurance requirements. Some documents are kept longer where legally required (e.g. identification documents for anti-money laundering — minimum five years from the end of the business relationship).

Website analytics data is retained for up to 26 months.

Security.

Personal data is stored on secure servers located in the UK or EEA. Access is restricted to authorised staff. We use encryption for data in transit and at rest where appropriate. We train our staff on data protection obligations.

International transfers.

We do not routinely transfer your data outside the UK/EEA. Where a transfer is required (for example to a third-party service provider), we use contractual safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent) to protect your data.

Your rights.

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you (a subject access request)
Have inaccurate data corrected (rectification)
Have data deleted where we no longer need it (erasure)
Restrict our processing of your data in certain circumstances
Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Receive a copy of your data in a portable format (data portability)
Withdraw consent where we are relying on consent

To exercise any of these rights, contact info@housingdisrepairnewcastle.com. We will respond within one month.

Complaints.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
ico.org.uk

Changes to this policy.

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page, with the "last updated" date at the top.

Privacy policy.