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 Up8:25 AM, 27th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Hi Maxwell
The answer to your question is "POSSIBLY".
Did you provide written instructions to your agent regarding the types of tenants you were prepared to accept?
Did you agent reference the tenants through a professional tenant referencing company?
Was a guarantor obtained?
Did the agent reference to RGI standards and offer you RGI?
Just because you answer all of the above questions right does not mean you will win in Court. This will never be an easy claim, even with overwhelming evidence I'm afraid to say. Nevertheless, the prospects of facing a small claims court claim may just persuade your agents to settle with you out of Court. Be realistic with the amount you claim.
Another weapon in your armoury is the reference you can leave on http://www.allagents.co.uk/
I wouldn't recommend a barrister or solicitor for the amount you are claiming. If you decide to do anything, do it via the Small Claims Court.
The alternative is the Ombudsman but the Court process will be much quicker and is more effective in my opinion.
Good luck
.
Jamie M
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Sign Up8:42 AM, 27th January 2014, About 11 years ago
there are almost no reputable letting agents
you will never recover a penny from a DSS tenant
the council hate landlords and will obstruct anything you try
the courts will treat the tenant as vulnerable and you are wasting your time going there
Move on and forget them, never let to them again, they have nothing to loose and everything to gain from private landlords and a huge number take us for a ride
Only let to employed people and reference thoroughly
Never trust an agent - they have no skin in the game and most lie each time they speak
Nicola Parsler
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Sign Up8:58 AM, 27th January 2014, About 11 years ago
To be honest it may be more trouble than it is worth trying to take the agents to court but if they are members of any appropriate body or part of a franchised chain then you may find that they do actually have a concience where this type of thing is concerned (or at least the inclination to cover thier asses!).
I did have a problem with a letting agent failing to properly sign up a guarantor for a DSS tenancy and although it took a long time the agency did work with me to recover the majority of losses. It seems to be a matter of having a clear enough case for complaint and of getting hold of somebody senior enough to deal with the issue. Whilst I would never use this agent again as thier branch staff appear incompetent I cannot deny that thier senior management took the problem seriously and were extremely helpful. In this case I managed to avoid court action, either with the agent or the tenant/guarantor.
Renovate To let
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Sign Up10:29 AM, 27th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Firstly, you cannot opt out of taking DSS Tenants - a P45 or relationship break up is all that's needed to become a claimant (and you will not even be aware if that happens unless they choose to tell you). There is good advice here about referencing to the standard that allows Rent Guarantee Insurance (RGI) - I would say this is best advice for "hands off" investors.
Secondly, property is medium risk as an investment; high risk if you (wrongly) think you can do it without knowledge or "passively". Passive investment via a bog-standard Agent really means you exist in a warm cocoon until this kind of thing happens and then you either pay heavily for immediate expert advice or take massive risks. You suddenly become very alone.
Agents are just that - your Agent - YOU are still legally responsible for the legal obligations around the Tenancy and the property.
Remember you "gave" the Tenant possession - its their home until the Tenancy ends, not yours. So, you must be wary of giving them any avenues to take you to court.
What jumps out here is that you (I think) are assuming the Tenancy is over. Do you have a signed surrender from the Tenant?
If not, YOU can't end it early without following S8 (which needs a min of 8 weeks contractual arrears) or S21 (that cannot give you possession before the end of the initial Term). Just by stopping paying / moving out the Tenant has not legally ended it either. So, if you enter the property without notice, change the locks, start to fix it up, conduct viewing, let it etc you will be open to court action. Arrears and damage don't change this.
If it was me, I would try to secure a surrender first (or have any existing document checked) so that I legally get my property back to be able to fix it and get the rent tap turned back on.
If not, you risk the Tenant successfully suing you for wrongful eviction.
Other points:
Check the Agency agreement in great detail re what they are responsible for/what you are responsible for - if it is silent on an item then its down to you...then see them and set out what you expect them to do to help you.
Check that the deposit was protected and PI served (and that you can prove PI was served). If it wasn't, the Tenant can easily take you to court for damages (up to 300% of the Deposit in £) and win and also the S21 route for possession is not available to you unless you convince the Tenant to accept the deposit back.
Check that a bulletproof check in inventory was taken and signed off by the Tenant. without this you will probably fail to secure the deposit against the damage (unless the Tenant chooses to allow you to). You can't just "take" the deposit against damage or missing rent without following due process, especially if the Tenancy is still valid.
In outline, the way forward is:
Gain legal possession either via Surrender or (over a number of months) S21 or S8. Note that S21 or S8 give you possession - they do not force the Tenant to move out but merely allow you to apply for eviction via a formal route over several weeks.
Fix it up and re-let once possession is obtained.
Gather all the info you can re the Tenant (new address, employer, NI, next of kin, any assets such as a car etc).
Tell the council housing dept what is happening and make liberal use of the word "arrears" when you do. Technically the Tenant should find it hard to get social housing IF he has intentionally made himself homeless through arrears so the pressure can help.
Keep immaculate records re losses ready for court. Also keep full records re the chasing of rent and any emails re the Tenant saying they do not intend to pay. Beware straying into harassment IF/while the Tenancy is still valid or again they can sue you.
Add them to landlordreferencing and make sure you check any future candidates there too. Add a note saying "call me for further details" for the benefit of future landlords. Crowd sourced info is extremely powerful IF the crowd uses it.
If there was a guarantor, formally make them aware of the losses (including future ones re the rest of the Tenancy) and that you intend to take action to recover. They will then lean on the Tenant for you. Again keep records of this for court.
The recovery process is essentially to prove your losses to a court and obtain a judgement against the Tenant. The issue is then recovery...if they (or the guarantor) have assets then recovery can be made (and should as people need life lessons). If not, then you might decide life is too short or you might decide that a CCJ might save others from being conned the same way and help this person with taking on some responsibility for their actions when credit becomes hard to come by.
If you do go to court, prepare a bundle that shows you off as an exemplary Landlord (all the Tenancy docs, Gas cert, risk assessment if you did one, etc).
Overall, its just a bump in the road, learn from it and move on.
sharon underwood
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Sign Up11:48 AM, 27th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Personally I would write to the governing body that monitors estate agents etc, & I would fight it in court, you have paid them to provide a service & they should have credit checked them which obviously they have not done, did they get references from employers??? that should have been part of your check so I would issue a CCJ issued against them (warn them first as they may come to some agreement with you) it doesn't cost much for a CCJ & can be done online in 10 mins I would not be surprised if they acted upon receipt of CCJ. I am NOT a lawyer this is just what I would do in this situation if for no other reason but to save other landlords encountering the same problem. I would also ask them for results of any checks they did make, but being DHSS is NOT a valid reason on its own BUT as I have said they obviously did NOT do the proper checks thus you got screwed (basically)
Samii Boyd
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Sign Up13:45 PM, 27th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Hi Maxwell
With regards to the tenant, please consider joining LandlordReferencing.co.uk and registering them (both free), to warn all Landlords & Agents in your area (who use our service) about their actions, as well as future applications of tenure for up to 5 years.
http://www.landlordreferencing.co.uk/join/
Mark Smith Head of Chambers Cotswold Barristers
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Sign Up8:56 AM, 28th January 2014, About 11 years ago
When you enter into any business relationship it is vital to express in a written contract what obligations there are on each party. Breach of those terms will entitle either party to compensation for losses caused by that breach, or even the right to terminate the contract early. Additionally, if the agent fails to carry out his job to a reasonable standard the landlord will have a claim in negligence against him.
In this case, as soon as the landlord found out that the tenant was on DSS benefits he should have notified the agent that he was in breach of the contract, and either required the agent to remove the tenant at the agent's expense, or advised the agent that he would be held liable for any losses accruing from breach of the agency contract.
The answer to the question posed is 'yes, you do have recourse' assuming that the contract sets out what the agent's obligation is regarding DSS tenants.
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up9:13 AM, 28th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law)" at "28/01/2014 - 08:56":
Thanks Mark 🙂
Subject to reviewing the papers for a nominal initial fee, could you consider taking on a case like this on a "no win no fee" basis?
.
Mark Smith Head of Chambers Cotswold Barristers
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Sign Up10:20 AM, 28th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "28/01/2014 - 09:13":
For any p118 members I will look at the papers on any legal issue and offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation or a one-hour conference for £150+vat.
Some cases are suitable for no-win no-fee, and are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Please contact me via my member profile
John Daley
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Sign Up12:00 PM, 28th January 2014, About 11 years ago
Hi Maxwell,
You will only succeed in bringing the referencing agent to law if you can prove that they have not done the work you instructed them to do to a reasonable standard.
If your instructions were vague or even verbal your'e stuffed. If you have got a clear written instruction and evidence that they have failed to deliver that or act to a reasonable standard it's worth going to the small claims court to claim your losses.
It is however a bit of a lottery, going to law always is, it might be enough to threaten them and they might seek to settle.
Best of luck.