Privacy policy

This policy explains what personal data Better Homes North East Ltd ("Better Homes", "we") collects, why, and what your rights are. It covers this website, enquiries you send us, and the data we hold as a letting and property management agent.

Who we are

Better Homes North East Ltd, company number 16023664, registered office 15 Princes Street, Shiney Row, Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 4RD. Office: 15 Princes Street, Shiney Row, DH4 4RD. We are the data controller. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Contact us about your data at info@betterhomesne.co.uk or 0191 468 2965.

What we collect and why

Website enquiries

When you use the contact form we collect your name, email address, phone number, which type of enquiry you are making and your message. The form is delivered by Web3Forms, which passes your message to our email and does not use it for anything else. We use the information to reply to you. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries, and taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

Landlords

To let and manage your property we collect your contact details, bank details for rent payments, property details, proof of ownership and identity where required, and compliance documents such as gas safety and electrical certificates. Legal basis: performance of our contract with you and our legal obligations as a letting agent.

Tenants and applicants

To let a property we collect your contact details, identity and Right to Rent documents, references, employment and income details, and the information needed to protect your deposit and run the tenancy. Referencing is carried out by a referencing provider acting on our instructions. Legal basis: taking steps at your request before a tenancy, performance of the tenancy, and our legal obligations including Right to Rent checks and deposit protection.

Portals

The landlord and tenant portals are provided by PropertyFile. Your login and the information shown in the portal are held on their systems under our instructions. Their privacy notice applies to how they process it.

Website analytics

We use a self-hosted analytics tool (Umami) to count visits and see which pages are used. It does not use cookies, does not store your IP address in a form that identifies you, and does not track you across other sites. See our cookies page.

Who we share data with

• Deposit Protection Service, to protect tenancy deposits as the law requires.
• Our referencing provider, to reference applicants.
• Contractors, where a repair or inspection needs your contact details to arrange access.
• PropertyFile, which hosts the landlord and tenant portals.
• Web3Forms, which delivers website enquiries to us.
• Professional advisers, our bank, and public bodies where the law requires it.

We do not sell personal data and we do not share it for marketing.

How long we keep it

Enquiries that do not lead to business: up to 12 months. Tenancy and landlord records: for the length of the relationship and then for six years, because of tax and legal obligations. Right to Rent records: for the tenancy plus one year, as the law requires.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it where we no longer need it, object to or restrict some processing, and ask for data you gave us in a portable format. Email info@betterhomesne.co.uk. We respond within one month. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data you can complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk.

Security

Data is held on password-protected systems with access limited to the people who need it. This website is served over HTTPS.

Changes

We will update this page when anything changes and show the date at the top.