Portsmouth City Council ("the Council", "we", "us") is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) (Registration Number Z5578313).
This privacy notice explains how Portsmouth City Council collects, uses, shares, stores and protects personal information relating to housing needs, housing advice, homelessness and housing support services.
Who we are and how to contact us
Data Controller: Portsmouth City Council (Registration Number Z5578313)
Address: Civic Offices, Portsmouth, PO1 2AL
Data Protection Officer Email: DataProtection@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Telephone: 023 9282 2251
If you have questions about this notice or want to exercise your data protection rights, contact the Data Protection Officer using the details above.
Who this notice applies to
This notice applies to:
- People applying to join Portsmouth's housing register
- People seeking housing advice and support
- People applying for homelessness assistance
- People receiving temporary or emergency accommodation
- Members of applicants' households
- People receiving housing support services
The personal information we collect
We may collect:
- Name, address, date of birth and gender
- Contact details, including telephone numbers and email addresses
- National Insurance number
- Employment and financial information
- Household composition and family information
- Housing history and current housing circumstances
- Information relating to homelessness or rough sleeping
- Social care and support needs
- Information about whether you have previously been in local authority care
- Records of correspondence, applications, emails and telephone calls
- Information received from third parties involved in supporting you
- Details of people you would like us to contact on your behalf
- Information relating to accommodation payments and charges
We may also collect information relating to:
- Physical and mental health
- Disabilities and support requirements
- Financial circumstances
- Housing needs and vulnerabilities
- Information provided by doctors, social workers, support workers, landlords and other professionals involved in your care or support
Special Category and Criminal Offence Data
Some housing needs and homelessness services process special category personal data, including health information, support needs and other vulnerabilities. We only process this information where the law allows and with appropriate safeguards in place.
Where we get your information from
We obtain information:
- Directly from you through applications, forms, correspondence, telephone calls and meetings
- From other Council services
- From landlords and housing providers
- From social care services and support agencies
- From healthcare professionals where relevant and lawful
- From government departments and public bodies
- From organisations supporting your housing application or homelessness case
How we use your information and our lawful bases
We use personal information to:
- Assess housing applications against Portsmouth's housing allocation policy and relevant legislation
- Maintain and manage the housing waiting list
- Assess homelessness applications
- Provide housing advice, support and assistance
- Ensure housing, support and accommodation needs are understood and met
- Manage temporary and emergency accommodation
- Verify identity when discussing housing applications and cases
- Contact you regarding your housing application or accommodation
- Investigate housing circumstances and verify information provided
- Contact you when suitable accommodation becomes available
- Help you access housing and related support services
- Assess the need for additional support and make referrals where appropriate
- Help you sustain accommodation and meet tenancy or licence conditions
- Support service planning, monitoring and development
- Carry out research, analysis and statistical reporting relating to housing services and homelessness
Homeless Data England Research Project
Where you make an application for homelessness assistance, information may be used as part of the Homeless Data England research project led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The purpose of this research includes understanding:
- Whether housing services help prevent homelessness
- Whether people return for assistance or experience repeat homelessness
- The long-term effectiveness of homelessness programmes and interventions
- The causes and outcomes of homelessness, including health outcomes
- How households experiencing homelessness interact with public services
- How homelessness services can be improved locally and nationally
Lawful Bases under UK GDPR
Most housing needs, homelessness and housing support activities are carried out under the lawful bases of:
- Public task
- Legal obligation
Where consent is relied upon, this will be made clear when information is collected.
Special Category Data (Article 9 UK GDPR)
Where special category information is processed, the Council relies on conditions including:
- Substantial public interest
- Health or social care purposes
- Safeguarding of children and adults at risk
- Social protection and housing functions
Who we share your information with
We may share information where necessary and lawful with:
- Other Council services
- Social care services
- Housing providers and registered social landlords
- Private landlords where relevant
- Health services, including GPs and NHS organisations
- Support agencies
- Police and law enforcement agencies
- Government departments and public bodies
- Family members, carers or representatives where you have authorised this or where the law otherwise permits
Information may also be shared where necessary:
- To assess housing need
- To make housing decisions and accommodation offers
- To deliver support services
- To safeguard individuals
- To prevent and detect crime or fraud
- To meet legal or statutory duties
We will only share information necessary for the organisation to provide services, support or carry out its statutory responsibilities.
Homeless Data England Research Project
For homelessness applications, the Council shares information with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is working on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
As part of this research, personal identifiers may be matched with information held by other government departments and public bodies, including:
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
- Department for Education (DfE)
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
- NHS Digital
- Other homelessness and rough sleeping datasets
This information is used solely for research purposes through the Homeless Data England project.
Information shared for this research:
- Will not be used to make decisions about benefits, services or future entitlements
- Will not be used for fraud investigations
- Will not identify individuals in published research findings
How we keep your information secure
Technical and organisational measures are used to protect personal information, including:
- Access controls and permissions
- Staff training and awareness
- Secure storage and IT systems
- Regular monitoring and validation processes
- Information security and data protection policies
- Contractual controls with organisations processing information on our behalf
For the Homeless Data England research project, information is transferred securely through the DLUHC DELTA system. ONS stores personal identifiers separately from research data and uses secure systems designed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.
Your data is not transferred overseas and is not used for automated decision-making.
How long we keep your information
Personal information is only kept for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and in accordance with the Council's corporate retention schedule.
Further information can be found in the Council's corporate retention schedule.
For the Homeless Data England research project:
- ONS will securely retain personal identifiers to support long-term research outcomes
- A review is carried out every five years to determine whether the information remains necessary
- Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted
- Other government departments and health agencies retain personal identifiers only for the time needed to complete matching activities and not for ongoing research purposes
The Council, ONS and DLUHC will only retain information where there is a lawful basis to do so.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you may have the right to:
- Access your personal information (Subject Access Request)
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request erasure in limited circumstances
- Request restriction of processing
- Object to processing in certain circumstances
- Request data portability in limited circumstances
- Exercise rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling
Right to object
You have the right to object to processing carried out under public task or legitimate interests in certain circumstances. Requests can be made by contacting the Data Protection Officer.
How to exercise your rights
You have the right to know whether Portsmouth City Council holds personal information about you.
Requests can be made by contacting the Data Protection Officer or by visiting the Council's subject access request and Freedom of Information pages.
You will usually be entitled to access your personal information, although access may be restricted where information relates to other individuals or where a legal exemption applies.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how your personal information has been used, please contact the Data Protection Officer in the first instance.
If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Links to other websites
The Council's website may contain links to other websites. This privacy notice does not cover those websites. Please read the privacy notices published on any external sites you visit.
Changes to this privacy notice
This privacy notice was last reviewed on 21 August 2025.