Privacy Policy

Table of Contents

Privacy Policy for The British Landlords Association – The BLA

 

The data controller is Mr Sajjad Ahmad of “thebla.co.uk Limited”, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 11017663.

 

Registered Company address is at 1st Floor, Front Offices, Nightingale House, 1-3 Brighton Road, Crawley RH10 6AE. The British Landlords Association (also known as “The BLA) is the trading name of thebla.co.uk Limited.

 

Any concerns or complaints, regarding your data, should be addressed to Mr S Ahmad at the above address.

 

We take our data protection responsibilities very seriously. Your privacy and security are important to us. We have developed this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use, disclose, transfer and store your information.

 

This Privacy Policy informs you, how and why we collect information about you. How it is used and stored, and who it is shared with. We act in accord with UK law, to protect the security of your data, which we hold.

 

This Privacy Notice sets out the information; we are obliged to give you, under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

 

We aim to collate information about developments affecting the private rented sector, as well as information and training for landlords in the UK. Our services include landlord advice, landlord courses, daily online news, landlord products, credit checks, landlord documents and other landlord and letting related documents, which are relevant to private landlords.

 

We therefore collect, process and store personal data. This is to help us promote the interests of landlords to educate them, keep them up to date. This allows us to provide products and services, as well as administering the memberships.

 

We collect and handle certain information or data about you when you use any of our services.

 

We collect and retain information on:

  • Questions, queries or complaints you submit, including your email address if you contact us.
  • Your email address and subscription preferences when you sign up to our free email letter, and how you use our sent emails – for example, whether you open them, and which links you click on
  • Your IP address, and details of which version of web browser you used
  • Identity and contact details (including joining data for members). This includes names, addresses and contact details.
  • Personal and background details. This is the information you give us about your property business.
  • Membership information.
  • Subscriptions.
  • Bank, card and direct debit information.
  • Products and services supplied/inquired.
  • Landlord courses
  • Web site operation by members.
  • Communications, emails, etc.
  • Complaints.
  • Research and material gathered in connection with our products and services and benefits.

This data can be viewed by authorised people, employed by The BLA and or our suppliers, to:

 

  • To improve our website by monitoring how you use it
  • Gather feedback to improve our services
  • To improve our free email letters, newspaper and promotions
  • Respond to any feedback you send us if you’ve asked us to
  • Send email alerts to users who request them
  • Allow you to access government services and make transactions
  • Provide you with information about local services

 Where your data is stored

We store your data on secure servers in the European Economic Area.

 

Some of our suppliers are based outside the EEA. We have strict controls over how and why your data can be accessed.

 

By submitting your personal data, you agree to this.

When you sign up to our email alerts, we:

 

Use Mailchimp software for our email alerts and newspaper.

 

As a subscriber to our email alerts, or our newspaper, we may contact you to request feedback, on how we may be able to improve our service.

 

We will use your information to send you email alerts. You can find out more about how we collect and store your data.

 

BLA Associates

 

Membership categories may provide for associates who can access membership entitlements. We will need to collect and handle contact details relating to associates which then link to the members in question. This is done for the purposes of performing our membership contract so that membership entitlements are administered and made available.

 

Referrals to the BLA or from the BLA

From time to time, we carry out promotional offers of membership and services, through Landlord Advice UK, from which new members can join free. From time to time if a member requires legal assistance, we may refer them to Landlord Advice UK.

 

This is only done, where we have been requested to help a member, to obtain legal advice.

 

Landlord Advice Line

As a membership entitlement, for contractual performance, members can access advice relating to their lettings and property businesses via our service providers and associated company Landlord Advice the UK.

 

This will involve us in collecting and handling personal information. This may extend to information about tenants and residents or potentially neighbours or others. Telephone calls and other communications with Landlord Advice UK (such as by email and live chat) are treated in the same way. Such communications are considered confidential.

 

We do not inform tenants, etc., that we are processing their data. We believe this would impede the processing of data about them due to the need for confidentiality so that our members feel free to give us information in order that they can receive advice.

 

As indicated elsewhere, calls are recorded. Wherever possible, we anonymous or apply pseudonyms to avoid tenants/residents, etc., being identified. This is, however, not possible always and with telephone recordings. However, access to telephone recordings is limited to designated senior staff.

 

Information held by The BLA about tenants etc.

We collect and process certain information about tenants and residents (including prospective and ex-tenants and residents). This is collected and handled with their consent, to enable us to carry out credit checks on behalf of members.

 

This is also done in the legitimate interests of members so that they can verify suitability for tenancies. Related personal information is held securely and dealt with according to data protection law.

 

We may be provided with personal information about tenants/residents, etc. when members consult our Landlord Advice Line – for further details, see below the Landlord Advice Line.

 

Tenants/residents, etc provide us with personal information about themselves, when they make a complaint under our Code of Conduct, or the disciplinary procedure.

 

This personal information will be collected and handled for contractual performance, as compliance with this Code is a condition of membership with us.

 

The BLA may also provide services, which include collecting and holding data, about tenants and residents. This is done in the legitimate interests of members, to assist them in the management of their letting, and property-related businesses.

 

Data sent by you by email or through the net – security

Any information sent to us, or a third party over the internet is generally not completely secure, and we can’t guarantee the security of your data, while it’s in transit.

 

Any data you send is at your own risk.

 

We have procedures and security features, in place to keep your data secure once we receive it.

 

Disclosing your information

We may pass on your personal information, if we have a legal obligation to do so, or if we must enforce or apply our terms of use, and other agreements. This includes exchanging information, with other government departments for legal reasons.

 

We won’t share your information with any other organisations (save for other associated member service providers) for marketing, market research or commercial purposes.

 

How we Share Your Data

There is a lot of concern about organisations, passing on the information, we collect about you to others. We share these concerns, and we have strict policies in place, limiting the share of information.

 

We only pass on the identity and contact details of members in a limited number of situations.

We do so, in order to administer memberships including:

 

  • Sending out postal items.
  • Credit check information or reports.
  • To Tradepoint for their discounted card and catalogues.

This is done for contractual performance

We do not pass your contact details to others for marketing material to be sent to you, whether electronically or by post. However, from time to time we, ourselves, may send out promotional offers, and details of selected products and services on behalf of other companies. This is, however, sent by the BLA; not these companies themselves.

 

We do, however, confirm the fact that you are a member of the BLA (where applicable) to these companies, to enable you to qualify, for any available discount, promotions etc.

 

The other situation, in which we share data is when we disclose the fact that you are a member of the BLA in connection with our complaint’s procedure. If we receive a legitimate request from a third party, such as a tenant, additional situations in which we do so, are set out in this notice.

 

Further information is provided in the Table under the heading “Who is the data shared with and legal gateways”.

 

Sharing of information between Associated Companies

Associated companies carry out different activities and provide various entitlements and benefits, utilising in some cases the same staff to do so. Therefore, of necessity, in the legitimate interests of all companies, your information may be processed by different companies associated with the BLA depending upon the nature of what is being done.

The BLA itself is the data controller in respect of all personal data. Your information when you seek legal advice will be forwarded to Landlord Advice UK, so they can contact you directly and give you free legal advice.

 

Your rights

You can find out what information we hold about you and ask us not to use any of the information we collect. If you’ve signed up for email alerts, you can unsubscribe or change your settings at any time.

 

Memberships

The BLA is a free membership association, to which private residential landlords can join as members. Those who join the BLA are described in this notice as members. If membership ends, then the former member automatically becomes a guest, for three years from then (unless he/she opts out by giving written notice).

 

We collect different information about you, depending on whether you are a member or guest. As you will expect, we hold less information about our guests. References to members and guests include former members and guests.

Links to other websites

 

Our website thebla.co.uk contains links to other websites.

 

This privacy policy only applies to you. Each service, provided to us or through us have their own terms and conditions, and privacy policies.

 

Following a link to another website

If you go to another website from this one, read the privacy policy on that website, to find out what it does with your information.

 

Following a link to thebla.co.uk from another website

 

If you come to thebla.co.uk from another site, we may receive information from the other website. We don’t use this data. You should read the privacy policy of the website you came from, to find out more about this.

 

BLA Marketing activities and Campaigns 

 

We must, in certain circumstances, obtain your consent to conduct direct unsolicited electronic marketing.

 

We do this on behalf of our insurance partner and our service providers so that they can contact you, by telephone or email, regarding their landlord insurance products.

 

Likewise, we obtain consent where we market products and services on behalf of third-party suppliers.

 

Automatically, unless you are opting out, we send you by email our Email Newsletters and media reviews. This includes information about the BLA products and those of our service providers.

 

You may also receive BLA training courses and other BLA events and research requests. Where you have joined the BLA as a member, we are permitted to do this, so long as we offer you the opportunity to opt-out/unsubscribes at the time of joining. Additionally, you can unsubscribe anytime we send you email communication.

 

Length of storage of data

Data can be stored legally on a time-limited basis and not indefinitely. Generally, we will hold personal data about you for the duration of your membership and for six years after your membership has ended. Where you are a guest, we can keep information for three years from the last time we had to contact you.

 

This includes you open our emails. In some situations, depending on the appropriateness of holding political data, its nature and our business needs, we will only keep data for a shorter period.

 

Storage and security of data

All our information is stored electronically on secure servers. These located within the United Kingdom. Certain information is also retained on a secure basis in hard copy format.

 

Telephone conversations are recorded electronically for monitoring, auditing and training purposes. This includes advice given over the telephone by Landlord Advice Line.

 

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Date: 1st of June 2021

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