LSH Data Protection Policy
Introduction
Liverpool Student Homes need to keep certain data for example on accredited landlords and students using the service. To comply with the law, information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed to any other person unlawfully. To do this, Liverpool Student Homes must comply with the Data Protection Principles which are set out in the Data Protection Act, 1998 and superseded by General Data Protection Regulation 2018.
Principles
Personal data shall:
- Be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless certain conditions are met
- Be obtained for a specified and lawful purpose and shall not be processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose
- Be adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes
- Be accurate and kept up to date
- Not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose
- Be processed in accordance with the data subject's rights
- Be kept secure from unauthorised access, accidental loss or destruction
- Not be transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area, unless that country has equivalent levels of protection for personal data
Liverpool Student Homes and all its staff who process or use personal information must ensure that they follow these principles at all times.
Who the information is processed about
We process personal information about:
- customers
- tenants
- professional advisers
- complaints, enquiries
- suppliers
- landlords
- employees
Who the information may be shared with
We sometimes need to share the personal information we process with the individual themselves and also with other organisations. Where this is necessary we are required to comply with all aspects of the Data Protection Act (DPA). What follows is a description of the types of organisations we may need to share some of the personal information we process with for one or more reasons.
Where necessary or required we share information with:
- business associates
- suppliers of goods or services
- financial organisations
- credit reference agencies
- debt collection and tracing agencies
- local and central government
- police forces
- security organisations
- current, past and prospective employers
- employment and recruitment agencies
- educators and examining bodies
Data security
The need to ensure that data is kept securely means that precautions must be taken against physical loss or damage, and that both access and disclosure must be restricted. All staff are responsible for ensuring that:
* Any personal data which they hold is kept securely
* Personal information is not disclosed either verbally or in writing or otherwise to any unauthorised
third party
Detailed advice on data security is contained in the Data Protection Guidance Notes.
Rights to access information
Landlords, students and other users of the University have the right to access any personal data that is being kept about them on computer and also have access to paper-based data held in certain manual filing systems. Any person who wishes to exercise this right should make the request in writing to Liverpool Student Homes.
Liverpool Student Homes aims to comply with requests for access to personal information as quickly as possible, but will ensure that it is provided within 40 days of receipt of a completed form unless there is good reason for delay. In such cases, the reason for delay will be explained in writing to the individual making the request.
Publication of Liverpool Student Homes information
Information that is already in the public domain is exempt from the 1998 Act. This would include, for example, information on the Liverpool Student Homes website, information within externally circulated publications such as the housing guide.
Retention of data
Liverpool Student Homes will keep information and records on accredited landlords for a minimum of six years. Information and records relating to complaints and advice given to students will be held for a minimum of six years.
Student user privacy policy
To view this please click here.