How we use your data
We receive your personal information from a referring organisation to allow us to assess and determine whether you are eligible to receive support from the Rent Assistance Fund and to administer and manage this process.
The referral will include questions about you, some of which are voluntary. By providing this information you help us to monitor the statistical data to ensure the Council is interacting in a balanced way with groups of people with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
A successful application will result in a payment direct to your rent account in either staged payments, matched payment, or one-off payment. No money will be paid directly to you or the referring organisation.
We will verify the information provided and your eligibility by checking your Council Tax and Housing records. Where there are differences in our records, we will contact you prior to making any changes to your record.
The referring organisation will be advised of the Council’s decision on your application for assistance and will have their own data protection policy and privacy notices for processing your personal information.
How long we keep your information for
We will keep your personal details for six years following the decision of your application. Thereafter, the Council will keep an anonymised record for statistical purposes. Statistical information will be used to ensure that we are delivering the right services to meet the needs of our service users.
Your rights
You have rights to your data, including the right to ask for a copy of it. See more information about the rights you have, how they work in practice, and the contact details of our Data Protection Officer. You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office. They are the body responsible for making sure organisations like the Council handle your data lawfully.
Our legal basis
Aberdeen City Council is the Data Controller for your information. Wherever we process personal data we must have a legal basis in data protection law for doing so. The Council’s legal basis for this processing is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of the official authority vested in the Council. In doing so, we are also likely to process special categories of personal data about you. The Council’s legal basis for doing so is that it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.