Privacy Policy

Please read this Privacy Policy and the Site Terms and Conditions before using this Site.

The Privacy Policy set out below shall apply to all users of the Site. The terms ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘user’ refer to any individual and/or business accessing this Site for any reason. References to ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ are references to HBF.

By submitting your information and using the Site, you consent to the collection, storage and processing of your personal information by us in the manner set out in this Policy.

The information we collect from you is only that required by us and/or our Partner in order to provide you with the information you have requested and to improve the service we provide. Except as provided in this Privacy Policy, we do not supply your personal information to any other person unless you have expressly authorised us to do so.

In some instances, such as when you register as a member of HBF to access the members area of our website, or through the Homes for Later Living (made up of Churchill Retirement Living, McCarthy & Stone, PegasusLife and the Home Builders Federation), or enter a competition; we may require more specific information about you, such as name, e-mail address, postcode, age etc. This is known as your personal data.

In collecting personal data, obligations are imposed upon us under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP). As data controllers, we have to comply with the rules of good information handling practice, known as the data protection principles which require, amongst other things, that your personal data is processed fairly and lawfully, is accurate and relevant and is subject to appropriate security. For a more detailed explanation of your rights as a data subject under the Data Protection Act, we recommend visiting the Information Commissioner’s website.

You can review our data protection registration by inserting our number: Z5013248 on the query page of the Information Commissioner’s website.

We use personal data to send our members regular email bulletins and other relevant industry information, together with briefing notes and details of promotions for our seminars and conferences. We will pass our members’ personal data to our subsidiary company, House Builder Media who may send information on events from time to time.

We also maintain a list of members companies showing our members’ head offices, contact details, addresses and specialist areas where applicable. The list is maintained to enable our members to contact each other.

We may use your personal data to respond to requests for information, to verify your HBF membership or to contact you regarding Site changes and updates to your personal registration details. We may also use your personal data to evaluate our business, for market research, for any purpose required by law and for the purpose of marketing our products and services to you (by post, telephone, email or other available method).

You have a right to access the personal data held about you. To obtain a copy of the personal information we hold about you, please write to us at info@hbf.co.uk, we will require proof of your identity.

You can opt out of receiving information from us or our subsidiary company (House Builder Media) and/or from being listed in the list of members at any time and you also have the Right to be Forgotten. We will action this within 48 hours when contacted in writing to either the above email address or by writing to us at:

HBF, 27 Broadwall, London, SE1 9PL

Should your information change, you must inform us as soon as practicable by sending an email to HBF.

In the future, as our business develops, circumstances may arise where we may sell our business or assets. In such circumstances, personal information is normally considered an asset of the business and may therefore be sold, traded or licensed to third parties by us.

In the event that the processing of your personal information involves its transfer to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, that country or territory may not provide the same protection for your personal information and you agree to that transfer.

You have the right to request:

  • Access to the personal data we hold about you.  We may charge a reasonable fee for this service.
  • The correction of your personal data when incorrect, out of date or incomplete.
  • The deletion of the data we hold about you, in specific circumstances; for example, when you withdraw consent or object, and we have no legitimate overriding interest, or once the purpose for which we hold the data has come to an end (such as the end of your membership). 
  • A computer file in a common format (CSV or similar) containing the personal data that you have previously provided to us, and the right to have your information transferred to another entity where this is technically possible.
  • Restriction of the use of your personal data, in specific circumstances, generally while we are deciding on an objection you have made. 
  • That we stop processing your personal data, in specific circumstances; for example, when you have withdrawn consent, or object for reasons related to your individual circumstances.
  • That we stop using your personal data for direct marketing (either through specific channels, or all channels).
  • That we stop any consent-based processing of your personal data after you withdraw that consent.
  • Review by a Partner of any decision made based solely on automatic processing of your data (so where no human has yet reviewed the outcome and criteria for the decision).
  • You can contact us to request to exercise these rights at any time by contacting us.
  • If we choose not to action your request, we will explain the reasons for our refusal. 

Your right to withdraw consent

Whenever you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you have the right to change your mind at any time and withdraw that consent.

Where we rely on our legitimate interest

In cases where we are processing your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you can ask us to stop for reasons connected to your individual situation. We must then do so unless we believe we have a legitimate overriding reason to continue processing your personal data, such as the administration of financial data.

Direct marketing

You have the right to stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing activity through all channels, or selected channels. We must always comply with your request.

Checking your identity

To protect the confidentiality of your information, we will ask you to verify your identity before proceeding with any request you make under this Privacy Notice. 

If you have authorised a third party to submit a request on your behalf, we will ask them to prove they have your permission to act.

Save as set out above, we do not disclose your individual visits to our Site, or personal information that you provide, such as your name, e-mail address, postcode, etc., to any outside parties, except when we believe the law requires it. As stated above, we may record and share aggregated and anonymous information with our Partner. We are not responsible for any information inputted outside our Site, including on our Partner’s registration pages, as that information will be dealt with by our Partner and not us.

hbf.co.uk values your opinion and comments, so we may from time to time conduct online surveys. Your participation in these surveys is entirely optional. Typically, the information is aggregated and used to make improvements to the Site and to develop appealing content, features and promotions for you. Your contribution to any survey will be anonymous unless otherwise stated in the survey.

Please submit any feedback to us. Feedback is used primarily for internal purposes to aid us in improving the Site. Any feedback submitted becomes our property and we may use feedback, such as success stories, for marketing purposes, or to contact you for further feedback on the Site. We will seek your written or email approval before using your personal success story for marketing purposes.

We may collect IP addresses of visitors to our Site to help diagnose problems with our servers and for system administration. We shall only use these addresses for technical and tracking purposes unless otherwise required by the law. We capture industry standard information contained in the server log file, such as browser type, pages visited, entry and exit points and visit duration solely for the purposes of analysis. Information contained in log files is intended for internal use only and will not be disclosed to our Partner. The aggregate logged information is not linked to any personally identifiable information.

If we decide to change our Privacy Policy for the Site, we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and whether we will disclose it to anyone. If, at any time, you have questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy, please email us at HBF.