Homelessness and Choice Based Lettings privacy notice
Why we need your personal information
We need your personal information so that we can provide you with advice and guidance in line with Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. The Homelessness Service will liaise with customers to understand the circumstances that have led to the threat of homelessness or resulted in homelessness, their housing needs and other requirements. This allows the service to determine which commissioned housing related services will need to work with individuals and families to provide or arrange the right advice and support to in line with the customer’s personal housing plan.
The Homefinder application form is used to determine the appropriate banding that maybe required for the allocation of accommodation. For Homefinder the information captured is shared with partner Housing Associations to be used as part of their role in allocating tenancies for accommodation they have. Officers in the Housing and Homelessness Service and partner Housing Associations have access to client data and documents stored on the Locata case management system.
We use this information to:
- Provide you with necessary and appropriate services with a view to prevent or relieve your homelessness.
- Make referrals to partner organisations who can provide specialist advice to support you in line with their personal housing plan. Consent will be required from the customer to share information with partner organisations.
- Provide you with the appropriate priority bandings for the allocation of accommodation.
- Provide Housing Associations with access to data to inform their decision making in relation to allocating tenancies.
- Help develop and improve our services
- Provide information to Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to meet reporting requirements under the legislation.
Who we share data with
As part of the homeless service, we will refer you to other organisations we work with so that they can give you additional support. We will need your permission to share your information with any of the following organisations, and this will be discussed at the initial interview and captured in the Locata Housing system. Possible partner organisations:
- Salvation Army
- Coventry Cyrenians
- Emmaus
- St Basils
- YMCA
- Commissioned Domestic Violence Services
- Coventry Independent Advice Service
- The Job Shop
- Christians Against Poverty
- Coventry Law Centre
- Coventry Citizens Advice
- Coventry Refuge and Migrant Centre
- Carriers of Hope
- Coventry Peace House
- Change, Grow, Live
- Open Hands
- Coventry Food Bank
- SPACES
- Once we were soldiers
- Coventry MIND
- Coventry and Warwickshire Relate
- Age UK
- Coventry Irish Society
- Private sector landlords with whom we are discharging duty
- P3 Charity
We will also refer you to other Council services such as Early Help Services, Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, Through Care, Revenues and Benefits, Adult Social Care. We will share complete statistical information with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. For information gathered as part of the Homefinder Application this may be shared with partner Housing Associations:
- Ashram Housing
- Accord Housing
- Asra Housing Group
- Bromford Group
- Circle Housing Association
- Guinness Northern Counties
- Midland Heart
- Orbit housing
- Stone Water Housing Association
- Citizen Housing
How long will we keep your information?
Your personal information will be held for 6 years plus the current year.
What rights do I have?
Where we have asked for your consent to share your personal information with our partner agencies, you have the right to withdraw your consent. If you would like to withdraw this consent, please contact the Homelessness Service by emailing homelessness@coventry.gov.uk.
Where information has been passed to Central Government/DLUHC, it is not possible to recall this information.