Privacy Policy

H2MO Ltd trading as Property Central is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your information is used, and we are responsible for looking after it under UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We operate under three brands, all run by H2MO Ltd:

• Property Central: lettings and property management, including buy-to-let, serviced accommodation and project management.
• h2mo: specialist management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
• Deal Central: off-market property deal sourcing for investors and sellers.

In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean H2MO Ltd and all three brands.

• Company: H2MO Ltd trading as Property Central
• Registered in: England and Wales, company number 14869728
• Address: 279 Chanterlands Avenue, Hull, HU5 4DS
• ICO registration number: ZB820745
• Privacy contact: Jason Kay, Director, jason@h2mo.co.uk
• General enquiries: hello@h2mo.co.uk, 01482 244111

This policy covers everyone whose personal information we handle in the course of our business, including:

• landlords and property owners who use our management or lettings services;
• tenants, prospective tenants, guarantors and occupiers;
• guests who book serviced accommodation;
• investors and buyers who use Deal Central;
• property sellers and owners who contact us about selling;
• contractors and suppliers we work with;
• anyone who visits our websites, fills in a form, or contacts us by phone, email or social media.

If you give us information about someone else, such as a guarantor or a co-owner, please make sure they know you are sharing it and point them to this policy.

What we collect depends on how you deal with us. We only collect what we need for the purpose.

• Everyone: Name, email address, phone number, postal address, your enquiry and our correspondence with you
• Landlords and property owners: Property address and details, proof of identity and ownership, bank details for rent payments, compliance certificates, licensing details
• Tenants, applicants and guarantors: Date of birth, identity and right-to-rent documents, employment and income details, references, credit check results, previous addresses, bank details, deposit information, emergency contacts, maintenance reports
• Serviced accommodation guests: Booking details, dates of stay, number of guests, payment information (handled by our payment provider), identity checks where required, any requests you make
• Investors and buyers (Deal Central): Investment criteria, budget, preferred areas, proof of funds where needed, identity documents for anti-money laundering checks
• Sellers: Property address and details, your reasons for selling and timescales, ownership information
• Contractors and suppliers: Business and contact details, insurance and accreditation details, bank details for payment
• Website visitors: IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, and cookie data (see section 10)

If you do not give us information we need, such as right-to-rent documents, we may not be able to provide our service or proceed with a tenancy.

Most information comes directly from you, when you:

• fill in a form on our website or social media pages;
• call, email or message us;
• apply for a tenancy, make a booking, or sign an agreement with us;
• report a maintenance issue or use a tenant or landlord portal.

We also receive information from other sources, including:

• referencing and credit reference agencies;
• previous landlords, employers and guarantors (with your permission);
• booking platforms and channel partners for serviced accommodation;
• local authorities, for example about HMO licensing or council tax;
• publicly available sources such as HM Land Registry, Companies House and the EPC register;
• people who refer you to us.

The law requires a lawful basis for each use of your information. Ours are set out below.

• Replying to your enquiry and giving you information you asked for: Legitimate interests, or steps before entering a contract
• Providing lettings, management, HMO and serviced accommodation services: Contract
• Tenant referencing, credit checks and affordability checks: Legitimate interests (our landlords' and ours in letting to suitable tenants)
• Right-to-rent checks, deposit protection, HMO licensing and safety compliance: Legal obligation
• Anti-money laundering and identity checks for property and investment transactions: Legal obligation
• Collecting rent and fees and paying landlords and contractors: Contract
• Arranging repairs and maintenance, including sharing contact details with contractors: Contract and legitimate interests
• Matching investors with deals and sellers with buyers (Deal Central): Contract, or legitimate interests where you have enquired
• Sending marketing and property updates: Consent, or legitimate interests for existing clients (see section 11)
• Running and improving our websites and services, and keeping them secure: Legitimate interests
• Keeping business, tax and accounting records: Legal obligation
• Handling complaints and disputes, including through the Property Redress Scheme: Legitimate interests and legal obligation

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have weighed our interests against yours and are satisfied they do not override your rights. You can ask us for more detail.

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have a legal or similarly significant effect. A referencing agency may use automated scoring, but a person at our office reviews the outcome before any tenancy decision.

We never sell your personal information. We share it only where needed for the purposes in section 5, with:

• landlords and property owners, about their tenants or guests, and tenants, about their landlord where the law requires;
• referencing and credit reference agencies, and identity verification providers;
• deposit protection schemes and deposit replacement providers;
• contractors and tradespeople who carry out repairs, maintenance, inspections and safety checks, including approved contractors connected to our directors;
• utility, broadband and council tax providers and bills-inclusive package providers;
• booking platforms and payment providers for serviced accommodation;
• solicitors, conveyancers, mortgage brokers and buyers' or sellers' agents involved in a transaction;
• our technology providers, who host our website, CRM, email, booking and document systems on our behalf;
• professional advisers, such as accountants, insurers and lawyers;
• the Property Redress Scheme, if you raise a complaint with them;
• local authorities, HMRC, the police and other public bodies, where the law requires it or to prevent fraud or crime.

Our service providers may only use your information on our instructions and must keep it secure.

Some of our technology providers store or access data outside the UK, including in the United States and the Philippines, where members of our support team work remotely.

When your information leaves the UK, we make sure it is protected by one of the safeguards UK law allows: a UK adequacy decision, the UK-US Data Bridge, or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses. Contact us if you would like more detail.

We keep information only as long as we need it, then delete or anonymise it securely.

• Enquiries that do not lead to business: Up to 2 years from last contact
• Unsuccessful tenancy applications: 6 months after the decision
• Tenancy records, including referencing and deposit records: 6 years after the tenancy ends
• Right-to-rent check records: Length of the tenancy plus 1 year
• Landlord, client and contractor records: 6 years after the relationship ends
• Anti-money laundering records: 5 years after the transaction or relationship ends
• Serviced accommodation bookings: 6 years after the stay
• Financial and accounting records: 6 years from the end of the financial year
• Marketing lists: Until you unsubscribe, or 2 years after you last engaged with us

We may keep information longer if we need it for a legal claim or a regulator asks us to.

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• erase your information in certain circumstances;
• restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances;
• object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
• data portability, to receive information you gave us in a usable format;
• withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent.

To use any of these rights, email jason@h2mo.co.uk or write to us at the address in section 1. There is usually no charge. We will reply within one month, and tell you if we need longer for a complex request. We may ask you to prove your identity first.

Some rights are limited. For example, we cannot delete tenancy records we are legally required to keep.

Our websites use cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small files stored on your device.

• Strictly necessary: Makes the site, forms and booking engine work and keeps them secure (Your choice: Always on)
• Analytics: Tells us how visitors use the site so we can improve it (Your choice: Only with your consent)
• Marketing: Lets us and our advertising partners, such as Meta and Google, show you relevant adverts and measure them (Your choice: Only with your consent)

You can accept or reject non-essential cookies in our cookie banner, and change your mind at any time through the cookie settings link at the bottom of each page. You can also block cookies in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may then not work.

We send marketing by email, text or messaging app only if you have agreed to it, or if you are an existing client and the message is about similar services. Marketing may include new off-market deals, available properties, accommodation offers and news from across our brands.

You can opt out at any time by clicking "unsubscribe" in any email, replying STOP to a text, or emailing hello@h2mo.co.uk. Opting out of marketing will not affect messages we need to send about a service you use, such as tenancy or booking updates.

Security. We protect your information with access controls, secure passwords, encrypted systems where available and staff training. Only people who need your information for their work can see it. If a data breach is likely to put you at risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.

Children. Our services are for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, except where a child lives in a property we manage or stays as a guest, and a parent or guardian gives us their details.

Other websites. Our websites may link to other sites, such as booking platforms or partners. Their own privacy policies apply, and we are not responsible for them.

Changes. We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on our website, with the date it was last updated.

Complaints. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact Jason Kay, Director, at jason@h2mo.co.uk or 01482 244111, or write to 279 Chanterlands Avenue, Hull, HU5 4DS. We will try to put things right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.