Housing Options and Homelessness

What personal information is being processed and what for

If you make an application for homelessness assistance, social housing, temporary or supported accommodation, or floating support, we need to collect and store your personal data to deliver these services to you.

The information we collect depends on the service provided, but may include:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Enough information about your enquiry to be able to help you quickly and effectively
• Names and contact details of household members, close relatives, or carers
• Income and expenditure
• Financial commitments (to assess affordability)
• Letters, notes, and reports shared with you or received from other agencies
• Information from health, care, or other support services to help assess your needs

We may also collect and process Special Categories of Personal Data, including:

• Race or ethnic origin
• Sex and sexual orientation
• Religious beliefs
• Criminal Background
• Physical and mental health
• Vulnerability indicators
• Physical and mental health details
• Mobility restrictions

We collect and process your data to:

• Contact and identify you
• Assess eligibility for housing assistance
• Determine if any statutory duties are owed
• Evaluate suitability and affordability or accommodation
• Understand housing and support needs
• Assess risk and safeguarding concerns
• Prevent and detect fraud or crime
• Tailor services to your needs (e.g., disability or language support)
• Monitor equality and ensure inclusive service delivery covering age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation

We may also need to process data relating to criminal convictions and offences to assess eligibility and ensure the safety and suitability of housing placements. 

Why we are allowed to use your information

The lawful bases we rely on to process your personal data are:

• Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, which allows us to process data when it is necessary to carry out our official duties or deliver services in the public interest.
• Article 6(1)(c), which permits processing when it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

The lawful bases we use to process special category data are:

• Article 9(2)(g), which permits processing for reasons of substantial public interest, supported by Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (statutory and government purposes)
• Article 9(2)(c) - where it is necessary to protect someone in an emergency.
• Article 9(2)(f) - where it is necessary for legal claims.
• Article 9(2)(b) - where it is necessary for employment purposes.
• Article 9(2)(j) - where it is necessary for archiving, research, or statistical purposes.

We process criminal offence data under Article 10 UK GDPR, relying on Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 6 DPA 2018.

Relevant Legislation to the Housing Options Service

A range of legislation provides the statutory basis for delivering our services.

By making an application for Housing Options, Homelessness, and Cheshire Homechoice, applicants are making applications under the Housing Act Part 1996 Part 6 or Part 7.

Other statutory legislation, laws, requirement which provide us with the legal basis to deliver our services include:

• The Housing Acts 1985, 1988, 1996, 2002, 2004
• Local Government Act 1972
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977
• Children’s Act 2004
• Equality Act 2010
• The Localism Act 2011
• Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013
• Care Act 2014
• The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• Supported Housing Act 2023
• Renters’ Rights Act 2026 (Pending)
• Public Health
• Crime prevention and reduction
• Safeguarding
• Fraud prevention

This list is not exhaustive.

Who we will share your information with

To provide our services, or to comply with legal obligations, we may need to collect and share information about you with other organisations and services, such as:

• Housing and accommodation support providers
• Other Cheshire East Council departments including Housing Benefit, Council Tax, Children’s Social Care, Adults Social Care and Legal Services
• General Practitioner (GP) Services
• Legal Services
• NHS Trusts and Hospitals (including the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership), Environmental Health
• Mental Health Departments
• Housing Standards Team
• National Probation Services
• Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Shelter
• Citizen Advice or other advisory services
• Police
• Your Private Landlord (former or current)
• Registered Social Landlords you have rented property from

This list is not exhaustive, and we may contact other organisations not on the list.

If you have bid on one of our partner housing provider’s properties and they are considering you for one of their properties, they will have access to relevant personal information to enable them to conduct their services in accordance with Part 6 of the Housing Act.

Where we get your information from

When you contact us or apply for housing services, when you make an application to Cheshire East Council for housing, homelessness assistance or housing related support (in person, by telephone, or online) you are required to provide us with personal information about yourself and your household. 

We may also receive personal data from your family members, nominated carers, advocates, external third-sector organisations and landlords. 

To provide our services, or to comply with legal obligations, we may request and receive information from other organisations and services, such as: 

• The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) 
• Cheshire East Council Revenues and Benefits Service 
• National Probation Service   
• Housing Providers, including Registered Social Landlords and private landlords
• Accommodation and support providers
• National Probation Services 
• Police 
• Prisons and justice services
• Your General Practitioner (GP) Services
• NHS Trusts and Hospitals (including the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership)
• Other Local Authorities 
• Your current Landlord  
• Other Cheshire East Council services (Environmental Health, Housing Standards, Communities, Legal Services, Adult’s Social Care, Children’s Social Care)
• Citizen’s advice and other advisory services

This list is not exhaustive, and we may be contacted by other organisations where necessary to deliver services or meet our legal obligations 

How long we will keep your personal information

7 years from the last renewal of your application or from an offer of a home or the date of your most recent homeless decision or from the date you departed temporary accommodation, supported accommodation, or floating support services – whichever is the most recent.

Full details of the retention periods for different types of data are contained in the Council’s Information Asset Register.

How your information is stored

Electronic records are held on secure systems that are only accessible to authorised officers. These systems are protected by passwords and, where appropriate, encryption.

We use the Locata Pro system to manage housing applications and property bids through Cheshire HomeChoice. This is a secure, externally hosted database, with access restricted to authenticated users and protected by appropriate security controls.

In some cases, we may also hold paper documents containing your personal information. These are stored securely in accordance with our data protection policies.

What happens if you don’t provide us with your information

If you do not provide required information, we may not be able to:

• register, progress and / or determine your application for temporary accommodation, social housing, supported accommodation, or support.
• our partners may not be able to offer you a suitable home and your application may stall.
• it may affect the legal decisions we make, or we may not be able to make a decision at all.

We may not be able to provide you with the service you have requested.

Will your information be used to make automated decisions

No

Your rights

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data, including withdrawing your consent where we have asked for it. You can also ask for a copy of the information we hold about you and ask us to correct anything that is wrong. For detailed information about your rights please see our privacy notice at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk.

Consequences of providing false or misleading information

S.214 of the Housing Act 1996 states that it is a criminal offence to deliberately provide false or misleading information to any local housing authority when making a homelessness application.

As a result, should this be discovered, any licence or tenancy granted will be terminated, and you may be prosecuted and liable to a maximum fine of £5,000, and / or a term of imprisonment.

Tenancy fraud is a serious criminal offence and is obtaining housing by deception by giving false information in an application for housing. It can lead to eviction, legal action, fines, and even imprisonment, as it exploits landlords and properties, and deprives those genuinely in need of housing. A person carrying out fraud can lose their home and their right to social housing in the future. A fine of up to £5,000 or an unlimited fine can be imposed. In serious cases, a prison sentence can be given, according to the Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.