Privacy Policy
BACKGROUND:
Property118 Ltd understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used and shared online. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website,
www.property118.com (“Our Site”) and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a manner that is consistent with Our obligations and your rights under the law.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. Your acceptance of Our Privacy Policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of Our Site
. If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using Our Site immediately.
- Definitions and Interpretation
In this Policy the following terms shall have the following meanings:
“Account” |
means an account required to access and/or use certain areas and features of Our Site; |
“Cookie” |
means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts of Our Site and/or when you use certain features of Our Site. Details of the Cookies used by Our Site are set out in section 13, below; |
“Cookie Law” |
means the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003; |
“personal data” |
means any and all data that relates to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from that data. In this case, it means personal data that you give to Us via Our Site. This definition shall, where applicable, incorporate the definitions provided in the EU Regulation 2016/679 – the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”); and |
“We/Us/Our” |
Means Property118 Ltd , a limited company registered in England under company number 10295964, whose registered address is 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB. |
- Information About Us
- Our Site is owned and operated by Property118 Ltd, a limited company registered in England under company number 10295964, whose registered address is 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB.
- Our VAT number is 990 0332 34.
- Our Data Protection Officer is Neil Patterson, and can be contacted by email at npatterson@property118.com, by telephone on 01603 489118, or by post at 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB.
- What Does This Policy Cover?
This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Site. Our Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that We have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and We advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.
- Your Rights
- As a data subject, you have the following rights under the GDPR, which this Policy and Our use of personal data have been designed to uphold:
- The right to be informed about Our collection and use of personal data;
- The right of access to the personal data We hold about you (see section 12);
- The right to rectification if any personal data We hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete (please contact Us using the details in section 14);
- The right to be forgotten – i.e. the right to ask Us to delete any personal data We hold about you (We only hold your personal data for a limited time, as explained in section 6 but if you would like Us to delete it sooner, please contact Us using the details in section 14);
- The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data;
- The right to data portability (obtaining a copy of your personal data to re-use with another service or organisation);
- The right to object to Us using your personal data for particular purposes; and
- If you have any cause for complaint about Our use of your personal data, please contact Us using the details provided in section 14 and We will do Our best to solve the problem for you. If We are unable to help, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office.
- For further information about your rights, please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
- What Data Do We Collect?
Depending upon your use of Our Site, We may collect some or all of the following personal data (please also see section 13 on Our use of Cookies and similar technologies):
- Name;
- Date of birth;
- Address and post code;
- Business/company name and trading status;
- Number of properties owned;
- Accountants details;
- Contact information such as email addresses and telephone numbers;
- Proof of residence and ID;
- Financial information such as income and tax status;
- Landlords insurance renewal dates;
- Property Portfolio details such as value and mortgage outstanding;
- How Do We Use Your Data?
- All personal data is processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. We will comply with Our obligations and safeguard your rights under the GDPR at all times. For more details on security see section 7, below.
- Our use of your personal data will always have a lawful basis, either because it is necessary for our performance of a contract with you, because you have consented to our use of your personal data (e.g. by subscribing to emails), or because it is in our legitimate interests. Specifically, we may use your data for the following purposes:
- Providing and managing your access to Our Site;
- Supplying our products and or services to you (please note that We require your personal data in order to enter into a contract with you);
- Personalising and tailoring our products and or services for you;
- Replying to emails from you;
- Supplying you with emails that you have opted into (you may unsubscribe or opt-out at any time by the unsubscribe link at the bottom of all emails;
- Analysing your use of our site and gathering feedback to enable us to continually improve our site and your user experience;
- Provide information to our partner service and product suppliers at your request.
- With your permission and/or where permitted by law, We may also use your data for marketing purposes which may include contacting you by email and or telephone with information, news and offers on our products and or We will not, however, send you any unsolicited marketing or spam and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that We fully protect your rights and comply with Our obligations under the GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
- You have the right to withdraw your consent to us using your personal data at any time, and to request that we delete it.
- We do not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. Data will therefore be retained for the following periods (or its retention will be determined on the following bases):
- Member profile information is collected with your consent and can be amended or deleted at any time by you;
- Anti-Money Laundering information and tax consultancy records are to be kept as required by law for up to seven years.
- How and Where Do We Store Your Data?
- We only keep your personal data for as long as We need to in order to use it as described above in section 6, and/or for as long as We have your permission to keep it.
- Some or all of your data may be stored outside of the European Economic Area (“the EEA”) (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). You are deemed to accept and agree to this by using our site and submitting information to Us. If we do store data outside the EEA, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the GDPR
- Data security is very important to Us, and to protect your data We have taken suitable measures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Site.
- Do We Share Your Data?
- We may share your data with other partner companies in for the purpose of supplying products or services you have requested.
- We may sometimes contract with third parties to supply products and services to you on Our behalf. Where any of your data is required for such a purpose, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, Our obligations, and the obligations of the third party under the law.
- We may compile statistics about the use of Our Site including data on traffic, usage patterns, user numbers, sales, and other information. All such data will be anonymised and will not include any personally identifying data, or any anonymised data that can be combined with other data and used to identify you. We may from time to time share such data with third parties such as prospective investors, affiliates, partners, and advertisers. Data will only be shared and used within the bounds of the law.
- In certain circumstances, We may be legally required to share certain data held by Us, which may include your personal data, for example, where We are involved in legal proceedings, where We are complying with legal requirements, a court order, or a governmental authority.
- What Happens If Our Business Changes Hands?
- We may, from time to time, expand or reduce Our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Our business. Any personal data that you have provided will, where it is relevant to any part of Our business that is being transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this Privacy Policy, be permitted to use that data only for the same purposes for which it was originally collected by Us.
- How Can You Control Your Data?
- In addition to your rights under the GDPR, set out in section 4, we aim to give you strong controls on Our use of your data for direct marketing purposes including the ability to opt-out of receiving emails from Us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in Our emails.
- Your Right to Withhold Information
- You may access certain areas of Our Site without providing any data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Site you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.
- You may restrict Our use of Cookies. For more information, see section 13.
- How Can You Access Your Data?
You have the right to ask for a copy of any of your personal data held by Us (where such data is held). Under the GDPR, no fee is payable and We will provide any and all information in response to your request free of charge. Please contact Us for more details at info@property118.com, or using the contact details below in section 14.
- Our Use of Cookies
- Our Site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by Us and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve Our products AND/OR We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.
- All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.
- Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a cookie prompt requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling Us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Site may not function fully or as intended. You will be given the opportunity to allow only first party Cookies and block third party Cookies.
- Certain features of Our Site depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. These Cookies are shown below in section 13.5. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings as detailed below in section 13.9, but please be aware that Our Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.
- The following first party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:
Name of Cookie |
Purpose |
Strictly Necessary |
JSESSIONID |
Used only to collect performance data, with any identifiable data obfuscated |
No |
__cfduid |
This cookie is strictly necessary for Cloudflare's security features and cannot be turned off. |
Yes |
- Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google Analytics and Facebook. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling Us to better understand how Our Site is used. This, in turn, enables Us to improve Our Site and the products AND/OR services offered through it. You do not have to allow Us to use these Cookies, however whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Site, it does enable Us to continually improve Our Site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.
- The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) Cookies to gather the required information.
- The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) the following Cookies:
Name of Cookie |
First / Third Party |
Provider |
Purpose |
__utma, __utmb, __utmc, __utmt, __utmz |
First |
Google |
Helps to understand how their visitors engage with our website |
_fbp |
First |
Facebook |
Helps to understand how their visitors engage with our website |
- In addition to the controls that We provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third party cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.
- You can choose to delete Cookies on your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.
- It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
- Contacting Us
If you have any questions about Our Site or this Privacy Policy, please contact Us by email at info@property118.com, by telephone on 01603 489118, or by post at 1st Floor, Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AB. Please ensure that your query is clear, particularly if it is a request for information about the data We hold about you (as under section 12, above).
- Changes to Our Privacy Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time (for example, if the law changes). Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up9:47 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Hi Oliver
The simple answer is YES, I believe you can, and based on your circumstances it seems like it would make good sense to do so from a tax perspective.
May I ask how much you pay your letting agent for tenant finds?
The reason I ask is that you could pay your wife to administer your property portfolio as opposed to manage it. It is not illegal to overpay somebody, therefore, even if your wife only spend half an hour every month doing your books there is nothing wrong with paying her £500 a month for that, i.e. £6,000 a year which would wipe out your rental profits. Your wife would then be able to use her single persons tax allowance and pay no income tax at this level, assuming she has no other sources of income of course.
The amount you pay for tenant find only is relevant becuase you may be able to contract out the management of your entire portfolio for £150 pcm plus VAT and that would include all of the following.
Is it really worth saving £150 pcm and lumping all of this work onto your wife?
This service is provided by an ARLA accredited letting agent by the way. They have client money protection cover and professional indemnity insurance. The owners of Property118 were so impressed with the feedback we received from readers we had referred to this company that we acquired a 26% stake in the business.
For legal reasons I have to point out that I am not insured to provide you with tax advice and you should consult a qualified account. This is a link to the Property118 member profile of the guy I use if you need some help
To contact the letting agent I have mentioned above please completed the form on this linked page
Property118.com helps 1,000′s of landlords, tenants and letting agents every day to better understand their legal rights and responsibilities. Please help support our campaign and CLICK HERE
.
Lucy McKenna
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Sign Up10:20 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Would it be possible to pay the Wife if the properties are jointly owned? I spend a lot of time on our properties.
Lucy McKenna
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Sign Up10:27 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
I like the idea of the suggested letting agent, definitely next time. Our agent just finds the tenant, no management and our local agents fees are huge, really huge. Our properties are popular and nearly always let to almost the first person. And on one of them the agent has renewed the same tenant now for three years with no reduction in fees, this happens quite regularly.
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up10:33 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "LucyM " at "13/12/2013 - 10:20":
Hi Lucy
You would need to talk to your accountant about apportionment. Presumably your property portfolio is set up to trade as a partnership? It is certainly possible for one partner to take a salary from profits before splitting the remaining profits between husband and wife, even if the remaining profits are just £1.
If you are spending a lot of time managing your properties then maybe you should think about what that time is worth to you. People say you can't buy more time, which is true as there are only 24 hours in a day. You can, however, choose how you spend that time and whether to outsource your property management vs doing it yourself is one of the choices you are already making every single day. Have you made the right choice? What is the time you spend managing your properties really worth to you?
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Lucy McKenna
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Sign Up10:36 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Thanks Mark, I am definitely thinking.........
Neil Patterson
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Sign Up10:48 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
It's a no brainer. If I could free up my time like that I would go and work part time in my gym like a bus-mans holiday or come to think of it Hotel Chocolat!
Fed Up Landlord
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Sign Up10:51 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Oliver / Lucy,
The advice given below is given in good faith and you should always consult you own professional advisers before taking it ( that's my disclaimer out of the way!!)
HMRC as we all know are a strange animal. Property letting for landlords is not classed as a business. But they do allow the costs of running it including letting agent fees. However, if you contrive to pay your spouse as purely a tax evasion measure of convenience then they will eventually come knocking on your door. Unless of course you are an MP - then its alright!
It is best to put some corporate "distance" between your own property letting and any mechanism used to get money out for a spouse. One way of doing this is to set up your own letting agency. This does not mean getting High St offices, etc .You can set your wife up as a sole trader. Register her for Class 2 contributions and tell HMRC she has started her own letting business. You then charge yourself the going rate for management fees which are anything between 10 and 15%. So ABC Lettings (owned as a sole trader by Mrs Bloggs) invoices Mr and Mrs Bloggs Properties each month 15% on one invoice etc for management services. However, it may be best to also let or manage a couple of properties for someone else so that you can be seen not to be using the letting business as a tax evasion measure. You can also claim for travel to the properties, inspections, printers, ink, Ipads, etc etc. If you want to add an air of legitimacy then Vistaprint host web sites for just over a tenner a month and if you can use Microsoft Word you can build one in about an hour. You only pay tax on the profit made on the business and with a personal allowance of £10,000 this coming year, and various allowances and claims, then tax is minimised.
If anybody is nervous about this remember that very large companies, which shall remain nameless, but have connections with rainforests and descriptions of ancient greek warrior ladies...(Sorry Mark...is this too much information and likely to be moderated) will set up companies in countries which have lower tax rates to charge companies set up in the UK to avoid tax....tax avoidance is legal...tax evasion is not. So UK company makes £1,000,000 in profit. Overseas company then charges UK company.......£1,000,000 in "management fees". So whats sauce for the goose...as they say... (nice to keep it seasonal I think)
And my firm of accountants are happy with the arrangement.
So in a nutshell Oliver and Lucy - yes you can as long as you are a bit smart about it.
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up11:04 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Gary Nock" at "13/12/2013 - 10:51":
Hi Gary
There is certainly nothing legally wrong with what you have suggested but I do think it is overly complicated.
What we have both suggested is restructuring of tax affairs, neither are tax evasion which is illegal, tax avoidance is perfectly fine in law, although frowned upon by some in society. However, I quote Inland Revenue Commissioners v The Duke of Westminster (1936 19 TC 490), which held: “Every man is entitled, if he can, to order his affairs so that the tax attaching under the appropriate Acts is less than it otherwise would be.”
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Fed Up Landlord
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Sign Up11:32 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Hi Mark,
Same destination different route and same result I think. However with setting it up as a lettings business it gives you more "flexibility" with what can be claimed. As a property rental business we were told that we could not charge the cost of a vehicle to it merely a cost per mile. But if you are a letting agent then you can contract hire a vehicle ( used for business only of course!) Charging our property business via our lettings business was suggested by our accountant as a means of legitimately getting money out of the rental income stream without any possible issues.They told me that if you pay your spouse directly from the property income stream then this is either (a) self employed income anyway and has to be declared to HMRC or (b) she is an employee of the main property rental "business" and you have to register her with HMRC anyway. The one thing that HMRC will frown upon if you just deduct £500 a month is if you have neither employed your spouse or your spouse has not registered for self employed. Somewhere along the line there has to be a formal auditable arrangement so if you are subject of a tax investigation then you can plead that you are totally innocent in that you have been open and transparent with HMRC in telling them about the income whether as an employee or self employed.
I'll shut up now!!
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up11:46 AM, 13th December 2013, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Gary Nock" at "13/12/2013 - 11:32":
Hi Gary
I see where you are coming from, particularly in respect of contract hiring a car. That's not an option for me as my wife is employed full time and she earns more than I do.
The great thing about taking advice from your accountant is that if he is wrong (I very much doubt that he is wrong by the way) then you could always claim against his Professional Indemnity Insurance policy. Forums are a great way to explore possibilities and to discuss with our peers how they organise their tax affairs, however, that's no substitute for individual professional advice as I'm sure you will agree 🙂
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