Who We Are

David Doyle Estate Agents (Hemel Hempstead) Limited is the data controller responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is used, unless another organisation is identified as the controller for a particular service.

Data-protection enquiries should be marked for the attention of the Data Protection Lead.

Personal Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on your relationship with us and the service being provided. It may include:

• Your name, title, date of birth and contact details.
• Your home, correspondence, property and previous addresses.
• Information about a property you own, occupy, wish to sell, let, buy or rent.
• Your property requirements, preferred areas, budget, timescale and circumstances.
• Viewing, valuation, offer, negotiation, transaction and tenancy records.
• Information about joint owners, occupiers, landlords, tenants, buyers, sellers, guarantors, representatives, attorneys, executors, trustees or company officers.
• Identification documents, proof of address, signatures and electronic verification results.
• Nationality, residency, immigration status and Right to Rent information where relevant.
• Financial position, mortgage status, deposit, affordability, income, employment, bank details, source of funds and source of wealth information.
• Company, trust, partnership, beneficial ownership and directorship information.
• Politically exposed person, sanctions, fraud prevention and anti-money-laundering screening results.
• Tenancy applications, references, guarantor information and previous landlord details.
• Property management, maintenance, inspection, contractor, deposit and rent records.
• Emails, letters, text messages, WhatsApp messages, call records, notes and other communications.
• Complaints, feedback, reviews, requests and records of how they were handled.
• Marketing preferences, communication choices and unsubscribe records.
• Website, device, browser, IP address, cookie, analytics and online enquiry information.
• Photographs, videos, virtual tours, floorplans and other property marketing materials.
• Information supplied as part of recruitment or employment enquiries.
• Any other information you choose to provide or that is reasonably required to deliver our services.

Please only provide another person’s personal information where you have authority to do so and have made them aware that their information may be shared with us.

Where Personal Information Comes From

We may obtain personal information:

• Directly from you in person, by telephone, email, message, form, letter or through our website.
• From a joint owner, family member, landlord, tenant, buyer, seller, guarantor, representative or professional adviser.
• From Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and other property portals where you submit an enquiry or request.
• From developers, landlords, property managers, other estate agents and relocation companies.
• From solicitors, conveyancers, surveyors, mortgage brokers, lenders and insurers.
• From identity verification, referencing, fraud prevention, credit reference, PEP and sanctions screening providers.
• From HM Land Registry, Companies House, local authorities, planning records and other public registers.
• From property, market and demographic data providers.
• From cookies, analytics tools and your use of our website or communications.
• From social media platforms where you contact or interact with us.

Where we obtain information from someone other than you, we will provide privacy information where required and reasonably practicable.

How We Use Personal Information

Data-protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for using personal information. The main purposes and lawful bases we rely upon are set out below.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether our use of the information is necessary and balanced against your rights and reasonable expectations.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing already carried out lawfully.

Special Category and Criminal Offence Information

We do not routinely ask for sensitive personal information unless it is relevant and necessary. However, you or another person may provide information about health, disability, accessibility, race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other sensitive circumstances.

We may also process information connected with criminal offences, fraud, sanctions, anti-money-laundering checks or legal proceedings.

We only use this information where an additional legal condition applies, such as explicit consent, compliance with a legal obligation, preventing or detecting unlawful acts, safeguarding economic wellbeing, establishing or defending legal claims or another substantial public interest condition.

Information about health or accessibility may be used to make reasonable adjustments, arrange suitable appointments or provide appropriate support.

Who We Share Personal Information With

We only share information where necessary for a legitimate purpose, to provide a requested service, to fulfil a contract, with your permission or where required by law.

Recipients may include:

• Buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, applicants, guarantors and their authorised representatives.
• Green Door Property Management Services Limited and its service providers in connection with lettings and property management.
• Property portals including Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket.
• Solicitors, conveyancers, mortgage brokers, lenders, surveyors and insurers.
• Referencing, identity verification, credit, fraud prevention, PEP and sanctions screening providers.
• HM Land Registry, Companies House, local authorities, HMRC, law-enforcement bodies, courts and regulators.
• Tenancy deposit, client money protection, redress and professional membership schemes.
• Contractors, inventory clerks, photographers, floorplan providers, EPC assessors, board companies and maintenance providers.
• Utility switching, council tax, water and tenancy administration providers.
• Website, CRM, email, cloud storage, telecommunications, messaging, automation, analytics and IT support providers.
• Marketing, mailing, social media, review and customer communication providers.
• Professional advisers, accountants, auditors, insurers and legal representatives.
• A purchaser, investor or adviser involved in a possible sale, merger or reorganisation of our business.

Some recipients act as our processors and must follow our instructions. Others act as independent controllers or joint controllers and are responsible for their own use of personal information. They may provide their own privacy information.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

Technology and Service Providers

We use technology to manage enquiries, property records, communications, marketing, compliance and business administration. Providers may change as our systems develop, but the principal categories and examples currently include:

This list is intended to provide transparency about the main systems used by our business. It is not an exhaustive list of every supplier, contractor or professional adviser.

Artificial Intelligence and Automated Processing

We may use workflow automation and artificial intelligence-assisted tools to support our staff. These tools may help us:

• Classify and route emails or enquiries.
• Extract property addresses, dates, amounts and required actions.
• Identify urgency, risk indicators or possible service issues.
• Summarise communications or documents.
• Prepare suggested replies, notes or administrative actions.
• Match property requirements and organise CRM records.
• Produce business reports and analyse service performance.

AI-generated or automated outputs are intended to assist staff and may contain errors. Relevant decisions and communications remain subject to human review.

Third-party referencing, credit, identity and fraud-prevention providers may use automated checks. Important outcomes are considered within the wider application or transaction process, and you may contact us where you believe information or an outcome is incorrect.

We seek to minimise the personal information supplied to automated systems and use approved business tools and contractual safeguards.

Marketing and Property Updates

We may send information about properties, valuations, market activity, guides and related services where:

• You asked us to provide the information.
• You gave consent to receive it.
• The electronic marketing soft opt-in lawfully applies to similar services.
• We have a legitimate interest in appropriate postal or business-to-business marketing.

Responding to a specific property, valuation or service enquiry is not treated in the same way as sending unrelated promotional material.

Where an enquiry comes through a third-party portal, we will respond to that enquiry. We will only send wider electronic marketing where an appropriate permission applies.

We may retain a minimal suppression record after you opt out so that we do not contact you again by mistake.

Cookies and Website Technology

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for security, essential functionality, remembering choices, analytics, measuring performance and supporting embedded or third-party services.

Cookies that are strictly necessary may be used without consent where permitted by law. Non-essential analytics, advertising or similar cookies should only be activated after you have made a choice through the website’s cookie controls.

You can reject non-essential cookies or change your preferences using the cookie settings tool provided on the website. You can also control cookies through your browser settings, although disabling essential cookies may affect website functionality.

Our separate Cookie Policy should identify the cookies and similar technologies in use, their providers, purposes and durations.

View our Cookie Policy

International Transfers

Some technology, communications, cloud, marketing and support providers may process or access personal information from countries outside the United Kingdom.

Where a restricted international transfer takes place, we take steps intended to ensure an appropriate level of protection. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

• UK adequacy regulations.
• The UK International Data Transfer Agreement.
• The UK Addendum to approved European contractual clauses.
• Other lawful transfer safeguards or exceptions.
• Transfer risk assessments and supplementary security measures where required.

Further information about safeguards relevant to a particular transfer is available by contacting our Data Protection Lead.

How Long We Keep Personal Information

We do not keep identifiable personal information indefinitely. Retention depends on the purpose, legal requirements, contractual obligations, complaint or claims periods and the sensitivity of the information.

Records may be retained for a longer or shorter period where required by law, necessary for legal claims, requested by a regulator, subject to a preservation requirement or no longer needed.

At the end of the relevant period, information will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised where reasonably practicable.

How We Protect Personal Information

We use proportionate technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information from accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

Measures may include:

• Access controls and limiting access to those who need the information.
• Password and multi-factor authentication controls where available.
• Secure business systems, devices, cloud services and backups.
• Supplier contracts and data-processing requirements.
• Staff confidentiality, training and internal procedures.
• Data minimisation and retention controls.
• Processes for identifying, investigating and responding to data incidents.

No method of transmitting or storing information can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information through unencrypted or public communication channels.

When You Must Provide Information

Some information is required by law or is necessary for us to enter into or perform a contract. For example, we may be unable to act without completing identity, ownership, AML, sanctions, source-of-funds, Right to Rent or referencing requirements.

Where information is optional, we will explain this where appropriate. Choosing not to provide optional information may affect the service or communication we can provide.

Children and Young People

Our estate agency and lettings services are not directed at children. However, information about children or young occupants may be provided where relevant to a household, tenancy, property transaction or safeguarding matter.

This information should normally be supplied by a parent, guardian or authorised adult and will only be used where necessary and lawful.

Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, you may have the right to:

• Ask whether we process your personal information.
• Request a copy of your personal information.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Ask us to erase information where there is no lawful reason to retain it.
• Ask us to restrict how information is used.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Object at any time to direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis.
• Request data portability where the legal requirements apply.
• Raise concerns about automated processing or request human review where relevant.
• Complain about how your information has been handled.

These rights are not absolute. For example, we may need to retain information to comply with AML, taxation, tenancy, regulatory, contractual or legal-claims requirements.

Requests may be made verbally or in writing. To help us locate the correct information, please provide your name, contact details, relevant property or transaction and a clear description of your request.

We may request proportionate evidence of identity or authority before releasing information.

We will normally respond without undue delay and within one calendar month. The period may be extended where a request is complex or multiple requests have been made, and we will explain this where applicable.

Rights requests should be sent to:

boxmoor@daviddoyle.co.uk
.

Data Protection Complaints

Please contact us where you are concerned about how we have collected, used, stored, shared or protected your personal information.

Please make clear that your concern is a data-protection complaint and provide enough information for us to understand and investigate it.

We will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days, take appropriate steps to investigate it, keep you reasonably informed and provide an outcome without unjustifiable or excessive delay.

You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Changes to This Privacy Notice

We review this policy when our services, systems, suppliers or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this page with an updated review date.

Where a change would materially affect how existing personal information is used, we will take reasonable steps to bring the change to the attention of affected individuals before the new use begins.

Using Our Website

You may use this website for lawful, personal and non-commercial purposes. You must not attempt to interfere with the website, gain unauthorised access, introduce malicious software, scrape content unlawfully or use the website in a way that infringes the rights of another person.

We may alter, suspend or withdraw any part of the website without notice. We do not guarantee that the website or every feature will always be available or free from error.

Property Listings and Particulars

Property particulars, photographs, floorplans, measurements, areas, distances, descriptions and other marketing information are provided as a general guide.

We take reasonable care when preparing and publishing property information. However:

• Measurements and distances are approximate.
• Floorplans are illustrative and may not be drawn to scale.
• Photographs may use wide-angle lenses and may not show every part of the property.
• Property boundaries, fixtures, fittings and included items should be confirmed through the legal and inspection process.
• Services, appliances, heating systems and equipment are not normally tested by us.
• Planning, building regulations, lease, title and other legal information should be independently verified.
• Availability, price and property status may change or a property may be withdrawn.

Buyers and tenants should inspect the property, make appropriate enquiries and obtain independent legal, survey, financial or specialist advice before entering into a binding agreement.

Please contact us before travelling where a particular property feature or piece of information is important to your decision.

Nothing in this section limits our statutory obligations, responsibility for material information or your rights under consumer law.

Valuations, Estimates and Calculators

Online valuations, market estimates, mortgage calculations, moving-cost calculations, tax estimates and similar website tools are illustrative only.

They may be based on user-provided information, automated data, general assumptions or third-party information. They are not a formal valuation, mortgage offer, tax calculation, financial recommendation or legal opinion.

Property values, mortgage costs, interest rates, taxes, fees and eligibility depend on individual circumstances and may change. Independent professional advice should be obtained before making a financial or legal commitment.

Legal, Financial and Tax Advice

Website content, guides, articles and staff comments provide general property information and do not replace advice from a solicitor, licensed conveyancer, mortgage adviser, surveyor, accountant, tax adviser or other appropriately qualified professional.

References to laws, regulations, taxes, market conditions or industry practices may become out of date. You should obtain current advice relevant to your circumstances.

Referrals and Third Party Services

We may introduce or refer customers to solicitors, mortgage brokers, insurers, contractors, utility services and other third-party providers.

A referral provider is responsible for its own advice, services, fees, terms and regulatory obligations. You should review its terms and privacy information before proceeding.

We may receive a referral fee or other benefit where this has been disclosed as required. You are not obliged to use a referred provider unless this forms part of a separately agreed service.

External Links

Our website may link to websites, portals, documents or services operated by other organisations. We do not control those third-party services and are not responsible for their content, security, availability or privacy practices.

A link does not necessarily mean that we endorse every statement, product or service on the linked website.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the website design, text, graphics, branding, guides, photographs, videos, floorplans and other content are owned by or licensed to David Doyle Estate Agents.

You may view, download or print reasonable extracts for personal and non-commercial use. You must not reproduce, republish, sell, distribute, adapt, frame or commercially exploit website content without written permission from the relevant rights owner.

Third-party logos, photographs, portal information and other licensed material remain the property of their respective owners.

Liability

We do not exclude or limit liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded.

Subject to those protections, we are not responsible for losses caused by reliance on general website information, temporary website unavailability, third-party services, events outside our reasonable control or information that you should reasonably verify through the property, legal, survey or financial process.

Nothing in this policy affects your statutory rights or our professional and regulatory obligations.

Governing Law

This website and its legal information are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory consumer rights that apply.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy or the website may be sent to: