Privacy Policy

IronOak Homes (a trading name of IronOak Housing Limited)
Last updated: 18 March 2026

1. Who We Are

IronOak Homes is a Registered Provider of Social Housing, registered with the Regulator of Social Housing (Registration No. 4728). The organisation is a Community Benefit Society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

Our registered address is:
AGF House, 3–5 Rickmansworth Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 0GX

Telephone: 01923 987333
Email: info@ironoak.org.uk

IronOak Homes is the data controller responsible for your personal data.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following ways, depending on how you interact with us:

2.1 Contact and General Enquiries

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • The content of your message or enquiry

2.2 Repair Reports

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Property address
  • Description of the repair required
  • Photographs of the repair (if uploaded)
  • Severity of the repair

2.3 Resident Applications

  • Full name
  • Contact details
  • Details of housing need and current circumstances
  • Information relevant to your application for social housing

2.4 Referrals (submitted by care providers, family members or professionals)

  • Name and contact details of the person being referred
  • Details of their housing and support needs
  • Your own contact details as the referring party

2.5 Partnership Enquiries

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Organisation name and details
  • The content of your enquiry

2.6 Feedback

  • Any personal information you choose to include in feedback you submit to us

3. Special Category Data

In the course of processing resident applications and referrals, we may collect or receive special category data, including information about health conditions, disabilities, or vulnerabilities. We only collect such data where it is necessary to assess and meet your housing and support needs, and we handle it with the highest standards of care and confidentiality.

We process special category data on the basis of substantial public interest under Article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR, and in compliance with our obligations as a Registered Provider of Social Housing.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

  • To respond to your enquiry or message
  • To process and manage repair reports and arrange contractor visits
  • To assess and process applications for social housing
  • To process referrals for supported housing placements
  • To manage tenancies and deliver housing-related support services
  • To liaise with care providers, local authorities, and statutory services on residents' behalf
  • To process partnership enquiries and manage partner relationships
  • To improve our services based on feedback received
  • To comply with our regulatory obligations as a Registered Provider of Social Housing

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we rely on the following lawful bases for processing your personal data:

  • Performance of a contract — where processing is necessary to manage a tenancy or deliver housing services you have entered into or applied for.
  • Legal obligation — where we are required to process data to comply with our regulatory duties as a Registered Provider of Social Housing.
  • Legitimate interests — to respond to general enquiries and manage partnership relationships, where our interests do not override your data protection rights.
  • Substantial public interest — for the processing of special category data in connection with our social housing and support functions.
  • Consent — where you have provided explicit consent, for example when submitting a contact form or feedback.

6. Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share your data with trusted third parties in the following circumstances:

  • Care and support providers — where you are a resident receiving support, we share relevant information with your named care or support provider to coordinate your care plan.
  • Local authorities — we work with over 35 local authorities across England and may share data where required to manage housing placements and tenancy obligations.
  • Statutory services — including health, social care, probation, and emergency services, where necessary to coordinate support for residents.
  • Maintenance contractors — we share relevant property and contact details with contractors appointed to carry out repairs.
  • IT and technology service providers — third parties who support the operation of our website and systems, who are contractually required to keep data secure.
  • Regulatory bodies — including the Regulator of Social Housing, where required by law or regulation.

7. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help us understand how visitors use our site and to improve your experience. These may include:

  • Essential cookies — necessary for the website to function correctly.
  • Analytics cookies — used to collect anonymised data about how visitors use our site (for example via Google Analytics). This data does not personally identify you.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

8. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Our general retention periods are as follows:

  • General enquiries and contact form submissions: up to 2 years
  • Repair reports: for the duration of the tenancy and up to 6 years thereafter, in line with property maintenance obligations
  • Resident tenancy records: for the duration of the tenancy and up to 6 years after it ends, in accordance with regulatory guidance
  • Application and referral data (unsuccessful): up to 12 months
  • Partnership records: for the duration of the partnership and up to 6 years thereafter

Longer retention periods may apply where required by our obligations as a Registered Provider of Social Housing or by applicable law.

9. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are regularly reviewed and updated. While we take all reasonable steps to protect your data, no transmission of information over the internet can be guaranteed as entirely secure.

10. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • Right of access — you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to rectification — you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Right to erasure — you may ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to restriction — you may ask us to restrict how we process your data.
  • Right to object — you may object to our processing of your data based on legitimate interests or substantial public interest.
  • Right to data portability — you may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format where processing is based on consent or contract.
  • Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 12. We will respond within 30 days. We will not charge a fee unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

11. Complaints

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection:

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us at:

IronOak Homes
AGF House, 3–5 Rickmansworth Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 0GX
Telephone: 01923 987333
Email: info@ironoak.org.uk

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

IronOak Homes  |  Registered Provider of Social Housing, Reg. No. 4728  |  Community Benefit Society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014