Privacy Policy

1.Who we are

The Gilbert Group (“we”, “us”, “our”) is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

Registered name

THE GILBERT GROUP LTD

Previous registered name

Grace Estates Sales & Management Ltd (changed 1 June 2026)

Company number

14241734

Registered office

217 Finney Lane, Heald Green, Cheadle, England, SK8 3PX

Website

www.thegilbertgroup.uk

Data protection contact

grace@thegilbertgroup.uk

Telephone

+44 161 524 9512

ICO registration number

ZB547910

This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what rights you have. It applies to our website, our offices, and to the lettings, property management, sales and related services we provide.

It does not apply to third party websites we link to. If you follow a link away from our site, that site's own privacy policy will apply.

2.Who this policy covers

We handle personal information about several groups of people, and not all of the sections below will apply to you:

• Website visitors and general enquirers
• Prospective tenants, applicants and their guarantors
• Tenants and permitted occupiers
• Landlords and prospective landlords
• Buyers, sellers and viewers, where we act on a sale
• Contractors, suppliers and their staff
• Job applicants and employees

3.What information we collect

4.Where we get your information from

Most of it comes directly from you. We may also receive information about you from:

• Property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla, where you make an enquiry
• Referencing and credit reference agencies
• Previous landlords, letting agents and employers
• Guarantors, or the tenants who name you as a guarantor
• Fraud prevention agencies
• Publicly available sources such as the Land Registry, Companies House and the electoral roll
• Contractors and tradespeople reporting on works at a property
• Solicitors, mortgage brokers and other professionals acting in a sale or letting

5.Why we use your information, and our lawful basis

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether those interests are outweighed by your rights. You can ask us for more detail on that assessment at any time.

6.Sensitive information

Some of the information we hold needs extra protection.

Health, disability and vulnerability. We only record this where you have told us about it, or where it is necessary for us to act. We use it to arrange adjustments, to handle a matter sensitively, or where necessary to protect someone's vital interests. Our basis is usually your explicit consent, or that the information is necessary for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Immigration status. We process this only to meet our Right to Rent obligations.

Criminal offence information. We only process this where the law allows, for example in connection with fraud prevention, or where it is necessary in relation to legal proceedings.

We do not use any of this information to make decisions about you that are not directly connected to the purpose it was given for.

7.Who we share your information with

We share personal information only where we need to. Depending on your relationship with us, that may include:

• The landlord or the tenant of the property, as applicable
• Referencing, credit reference and fraud prevention agencies
• The tenancy deposit scheme we use and its dispute service
• Contractors, tradespeople and inspectors attending the property
• Utility providers, the local authority and council tax departments, where we are required or permitted to notify them of occupancy changes
• Property portals, where we advertise a property
• Our software and IT suppliers, including our website host, CRM and e-signature providers
• Our accountants, auditors, insurers, solicitors and debt recovery agents
• HMRC and other regulators
• Our redress scheme and our client money protection provider
• The police or other authorities, where we are legally required to disclose, or where necessary to prevent or detect crime
• A buyer or successor, if the business or part of it is sold or transferred, on the basis that they will handle your information in line with this policy

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

Where we use suppliers who process personal information on our behalf, they act on our written instructions and are contractually required to keep it secure and confidential.

If you need the current names of our referencing provider, deposit scheme, redress scheme or client money protection provider, contact us at grace@thegilbertgroup.uk and we will confirm them.

8.Transfers outside the UK

Some of our suppliers store or access data outside the UK. Where that happens, we make sure the transfer is protected by an adequacy decision, by the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or by another safeguard permitted by law. You can ask us for details of the safeguards that apply.

9.Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small files stored on your device that let a site remember your preferences and understand how the site is being used. We use:

• Strictly necessary cookies, which are needed for the site to work, including security and session management. These do not require your consent.
• Analytics cookies, which help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it.
• Marketing cookies, where used, which help us measure the effectiveness of advertising.

We only set analytics and marketing cookies with your consent. You can give, refuse or withdraw consent through the cookie banner on our website, and you can change your choice at any time. You can also set your browser to refuse cookies, though parts of the site may not work properly if you do.

10.How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it.

• Enquiries that do not proceed: up to 12 months
• Unsuccessful applications: up to 12 months
• Tenancy and landlord records: 6 years after the end of the tenancy or the management agreement, to cover the limitation period for claims
• Right to Rent documents: for the duration of the tenancy and 12 months after it ends
• Anti-money laundering records, where they apply: 5 years from the end of the business relationship or the transaction
• Financial and tax records: 6 years plus the current year
• Deposit records: 6 years from the end of the tenancy
• Marketing records: until you unsubscribe, plus a suppression record so we do not contact you again
• Website and analytics data: up to 26 months
• Unsuccessful job applications: 6 months

Where a longer period is required by law, or where information is relevant to an ongoing dispute, we keep it until that requirement or matter ends.

11.Security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections to our website, access controls, staff training and confidentiality obligations for everyone who handles personal data.

No transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information you send us before it reaches us. Once we have it, we protect it using the measures described above. If a breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights, we will notify the ICO, and you where required, within the timescales the law sets.

12.Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• Be told how your information is used
• Ask for a copy of the information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete
• Ask us to delete information, where there is no continuing reason for us to hold it
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information
• Object to us using your information where we rely on legitimate interests
• Object to direct marketing at any time
• Ask us to transfer your information to another organisation, where it is held electronically and processed on the basis of consent or contract
• Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent
• Not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that has a legal or similarly significant effect on you

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at grace@thegilbertgroup.uk. We will respond within one month. There is no charge, unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.

Some rights are qualified. For example, we may not be able to delete information we are legally required to keep, or information we need to defend a legal claim. If we cannot do what you have asked, we will explain why.

13.Automated decision-making

Tenant referencing may involve automated scoring by our referencing provider as part of the assessment. We do not treat that score as the final decision. A member of our team, together with the landlord, reviews the outcome before any decision is made, and you can ask for the reasoning behind a decision, give us further information and ask for it to be reconsidered.

14.Marketing

If you have asked us to, or where you are an existing client and the law permits, we may send you information about our services. You can opt out at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by contacting grace@thegilbertgroup.uk. Opting out of marketing does not stop us sending you messages we need to send about a tenancy, a property or an account.

15.Children

Our website and services are not directed at children. We hold information about children only where they are named as occupiers of a property, and we hold no more than we need for that purpose.

16.Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be on our website, with the date it was last updated shown at the top. Where a change is significant, we will tell you directly.

17.Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first at grace@thegilbertgroup.uk so we can try to put it right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: