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.
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Sign Up9:55 AM, 5th August 2012, About 12 years ago
HI Sophie,
This is a great question and worthy of a blog in it's own right to cover all the different aspects of your question and different answers and views ......
The usual answer to this question (Sorry Mark A) is "check your agencies contract" .... but I think this goes deeper than the legal clauses in the agency contract (that may or may not stand up in Court as they probably would breach your Human Rights if they were too restrictive anyway) as there is a moral question, a practical question and there is also reality and fairness!
Legally; the clauses in the letting agency contract will determine how termination between landlord and agent should be conducted. If you try and take your tenant away from the agent, without just cause (ie: you simply want to save yourself the agency fees) then they will threaten legal action ...... I've even known landlords invent "just cause" to try and get out of their legal obligations .....
Morally; you were very happy to use the agent when your property was empty (earning no rent) .. and the agent seems to have done a good job in finding you the "model tenant" ... so is it morally right to deliberately breach contract with the agent. I don't think it is morally right - but that hasn't stopped my customers doing this very thing to me (and my business) in the past.
Practically; It's your property and you can do what you want with it and, ultimately, the Letting Agent will have to do as you say! BUT if you try and "dump the agent" then you need to make sure you don't, accidentally, "dump the tenant" as well. The tenant might be happy dealing with the agent who is probably holding the tenant's deposit money - they might be nervous dealing with the landlord direct.
Reality; The Letting Agent is unlikely to sue you for breach of contract (as the worth of that contract is small - ie: a few hundred pounds a year in lost management fees) irrespective of what the legal contract says. Life is too short to fight morally corrupt landlords over a minimal fee - it is a business distraction. You can't please all the people ... all the time ....
Fairness; The Letting Agent does a good job and finds you a good tenant and charges you the fees that you agreed at the start of the contract and is providing you with the letting service(s) that you asked them to provide.
So ... is it FAIR .... to take control of the tenancy thereby cutting out the letting agent's fee ... just to save a few hundred pounds in fees ....... I think most, reasonable people, would consider that to be UNFAIR ........ but then again ...... not all Landlords are reasonable people.
Finally; Good Letting Agents are as rare as "hens teeth" ..... and if you've found a good one ... you should hang onto them ...... I don't think it matters what the legal contracts say .... I think it is about upholding the excellent partnership that has been created, in this case, between landlord and agent.
Can you dump the agent? - almost certainly YES ....
Should you dump the agent? emphatically - NO .....
Industry Observer
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Sign Up10:46 AM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Human Rights does not apply unless it is a body corporate etc like a local authority or the Courts so no issues there.
The clause in the contract will be as long as there is at least one of original tenants or licensees introduced to the property by the agent at any prior date. If they are good agents they will have a good (i.e. strong) clause to this effect.
And trust me it will be enforceable and trust me they'll have deeper pockets than you Sophie.
Normally if an agent has had time to recoup costs and make their money out of the Landlord they will be more sanguine on it - but not in the short term.
Your best bet is the OFT as they do not like open ended commitment clauses. Hence you'll probably find instead (or as well) a 'buy out' option where youy can pay probably 6 months fees of say £500 to buy yourself out of the contract.
Be weary of any advice saying agents will not pursue you - believe me they will especially if they see no good reason for you to dump them so early.
Your best bet is a minute examination of the contract and threatened referral to OFT and possibly TPO if it breaches their Code of Conduct
Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118
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Sign Up11:19 AM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Agreed that Human Rights don't come into this. Unfair contracts do though and possibly restrictive trade practices too. Until Sophie answers the questions raised towards the end of the article and explained in more detail why she wants to terminate it's probably wrong of us to make assumptions as to who might be right or wrong in this instance. I don't think it's right to say whether agents will or will not choose to litigate, that's a commercial decision that each letting agent will take on a case by case basis - there is no one size fits all approach. I tend to agree with @MarkTrenfield though that most agents will not litigate for the sake of a few hundred pounds as it's often more trouble than it's worth and even a win can result in negative publicity which can cause more damage to reputation than the amount of funds recovered.
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Sign Up11:22 AM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Hi Sophie,
As Mark says you need to look at the agreement that you have signed with the letting agency. I know a number of landlords that have left their letting agents and carried on the tenancy themselves. It has cost them though, last one had to pay £350 and give the required notice to end the agreement.
You do have to transfer the deposit and get copies of the last GSC and EPC. Hopefully the letting agent will be amicable and also give you the entry inventory as the condition of the property will have changed since the tenancy started. You do have a legal right to have all the details of the current tenant who is in the property and the letting agent has to supply these if you request them.
My advice would be to 1. check your agreement. 2 Give notice 3. Read up on being a private landlord and what it entails. It is straight forward you just need to ensure that you have your back covered.
Good luck, hope it all works out
Amanda
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Sign Up13:35 PM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Surely the only honourable thing to do is comply with any terms of any agreement that you have willingly entered into.
You would expect a tenant to comply with their AST conditions.
Why should a LL think they can terminate a contract without penalty!!
Only in the case of absolute incompetence, etc from a LA would you be justified in breaking a contract.
You would presumably then sue the LA for breach of contract in failing to deliver the services that you pay fees for.
So you should just grin and bear it and wait for the earliest notice period and then conclude your contract with the LA.
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Sign Up16:40 PM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Hi I am Sophie:
Thank you for all the advices, I have read the termination clauses which say I can keep the tenant, but I have to pay an introduction fee. I am waiting for an answer from the letting agents to let me know how much the introduction fee would be. I don't want to dump the agent, just feel they charge too much and it is not justifiable for the work they have done
Alex Russell
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Sign Up17:52 PM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Sophie in future I think you should use a Letting Agent but make it clear you would just like them to find a tenant and you will manage the property. I do this with all my property's, as long as you agree the fee's and you are happy with their service. I know first hand why you want away from the agent because I had it when new to the game, for 5 years I paid £400+ every 6 months to get a tenants agreement signed. What a waste of money! And before any one says they will have done more than that.....really they didn't and when the penny's are tight that is most of your profit!
Lynne Davis
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Sign Up17:56 PM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
As Mark says, much depends on whether the agent has provided the service they should have. We sacked an agent after they gave us very poor service: taking on average about 3 weeks to pass on the rent, doing a grand total of one inspection over a 2.5-year tenancy and none at all over a 19-month one, failing to produce an inventory, failing to provide us with copies of tenancy agreements, tenants' details, deposit protection info and inventories, despite repeated requests... and, as we subsequently found out, failing to protect the deposits until after we'd written to them to formally end our contract! The contract only required us to give 2 months' written notice to end the contract so we did this, explaining why we were dissatisfied with their service, and kept the tenants on. In fact we almost had to take them to court before we managed to get the information relelvant to the tenancies from them (we prepared all the paperwork and sent them a copy along with the pre-action letter, and on the deadline date someone turned up at the door and handed over the files).
If your experience has been anything like this bad then your agent is the one in breach of contract and you have every right to end the contract without paying them an introducer's fee in addition to all the fees they've already had from you. On the other hand, if they've met all their obligations and you just resent paying the fees that you've agreed to then you need to pay whatever exit penalties are due if you want to end the contract.
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Sign Up17:59 PM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Lettings agents are not just charging for what they have done, they are also charging for what they might have to do.
How do you feel about getting a call about a problem at 8:00 Christmas eve when you have had a couple of drinks so cannot drive yourself to sort out problems? It's happened to me!
I manage my own lettings, including tenant selection, because the cost of using a letting agent would have consumed my profit margin when I started and interest rates were much higher than now.
If i could find someone to field the emergencies for a reasonable fee, then I would go for it, just to ensure I keep my holidays for the family, but the rest of it has become much easier over the years, so not worth paying for someone else to do the work.
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Sign Up18:01 PM, 6th August 2012, About 12 years ago
Whether she can or can't it's not worth it. Other agents will soon find out and even if they don't she should consider the impact on her reputation and self esteem abusing other proffessionals talent and hard work. There are other layers to this issue other than short term immediate financial gain. Next time she goes into any deal she will carry over this attitude/behaviour/reputation. Finally there's enough money to be made in this world with honesty and integrity without losing your soul.