PRIVACY POLICY
Better Renting Privacy Notice
1. Who we are
The Dispute Service Ltd (“TDS”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information.
The Dispute Service Ltd is the operator of Better Renting Greater Manchester (“Better Renting”). Better Renting is a project to support landlords to overcome a variety of barriers when it comes to keeping up with regulations.
Our Registered Office
TDS
West Wing, First Floor
The Maylands Building,
200 Maylands Avenue
Hemel Hempstead
HP2 7TG
Registration number: 4851694
2. Data Controller
TDS is the data controller of your personal data. This means we are responsible for how and why your personal data is processed by us or on our behalf. We process your data in accordance with this Privacy Notice, the Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR and other applicable data protection legislation.
The Better Renting scheme is operated by The Dispute Service Ltd. In connection with the delivery and funding of the scheme, we may share personal data with organisations including the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Nationwide Foundation where necessary for project management, evaluation, reporting and funding purposes. These organisations act as independent data controllers in respect of the personal data they receive.
3. The personal data we collect
3.1 When you become a member of Better Renting, we will collect:
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name
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telephone number
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address
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email address
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property address
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other relevant information about the property
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location information/geocode
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accreditation status
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business information and relevant financial information
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tenancy agreements
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complaints or feedback
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qualifications of contractors and service records.
Special category data
It may be necessary for us to process special category data e.g. information about your physical/mental health, religious belief, vulnerabilities, and other like sensitive information. Where this is the case, we will only do so where we have both a valid lawful basis under Article 6 UK GDPR and a relevant exemption under Article 9 UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, this may include where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or for reasons of substantial public interest, in accordance with applicable law.
3.2 When you contact our Customer Services Team, we may collect and process the following information:
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Your contact details, including your name, email address, telephone number and correspondence address.
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Information relating to the property, including the property address.
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Contact details of other parties connected with the property, which may include names, email addresses, telephone numbers, property addresses and forwarding addresses where relevant to Better Renting.
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Records of communications with us, including emails, correspondence, web enquiries and telephone calls.
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Telephone calls to and from our Customer Services Team may be recorded for training, quality assurance, compliance, fraud prevention and record-keeping purposes. We may also retain call recordings and transcripts generated from those recordings where appropriate.
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Any other information reasonably required to administer services provided by Better Renting.
You should ensure that any personal information you provide about another individual is accurate and that you are entitled to share that information with us. Where you provide us with another person's personal information, you should make them aware that their information may be processed by TDS in accordance with our Privacy Notice.
3.3 When you visit our website, we will collect certain information about your device and usage of our website:
Technical data
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IP address
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browser data
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operating system
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website pages visited and access times.
For further explanation, please refer to our Cookies Policy.
3.4 When you apply to work for us, we will collect information relevant to your job application. Your information will be stored securely and removed when it is no longer required by TDS. For job applications, we will retain a copy of your personal data for up to 12 months, unless we have a valid reason to retain it for longer, e.g. to resolve any dispute relating to your job application that may arise.
Job applicants
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CV
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applications
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employment related information.
4. How we collect personal data
We collect personal data in the following ways:
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From any online form you fill out such as an application to Better Renting.
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Through telephone calls to our Customer Service Centre which are recorded and retained for a period of up to 1 year from the date of the call.
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Through messages received on our social media accounts.
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Through other communication channels we use, e.g. emails and postal service.
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Through any surveys or questionnaires which our customers choose to actively participate in.
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Publicly available sources, such as the EPC Register.
5. Electronic Communication
We send emails when corresponding with customers. This allows us to track the delivery of the communications sent to the parties to ascertain whether delivery is completed successfully.
In the event that emails are opened by the recipient, TDS may be able to see how many times the email has been opened and on what date(s). We can also determine the location where these events occurred. We use this information to help ensure communications have been successfully delivered and to improve the effectiveness of our communications.
6. Why we collect personal data
We collect personal data for the operation and administration of Better Renting for the following purposes:
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To assess and verify eligibility for participation in Better Renting.
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To manage and operate the Implementation Unit, including communication with landlords, tenants, and stakeholders.
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To monitor and enforce compliance with Better Renting’s criteria, to include recording where landlords achieve member status.
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To improve the quality and effectiveness of Better Renting.
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To compile anonymized reports and statistics for analysis and public information to include the numbers, types and locations of landlords that have signed up to Better Renting.
We collect and store personal data from landlords, tenants, contractors, and other stakeholders involved in Better Renting to provide our services to them. We may use personal data to conduct surveys in relation to improving our services.
7. How we use your personal data and lawful basis
We use personal data for the following purposes:
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To operate Better Renting and market the services we provide.
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To comply with legal obligations that apply to us.
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To comply with requests made by any authorised law enforcement body investigating a crime, and requests made by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or other government agency or local authority under the relevant legislation.
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To analyse how our services are used and improve them.
When we use your personal data for these purposes, our use of your personal data is essential and you will not be able to opt out, but this does not affect your information rights; see Section 12 (Your rights) below.
Marketing communications
We may contact you about other relevant services offered by TDS Group, including:
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To provide relevant information in the form of a newsletter.
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To provide relevant information on upcoming training and events.
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To provide you with the opportunity to offer your feedback through surveys.
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To provide relevant information on deposit protection, and other products and services which are deemed relevant to your tenancy.
You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time.
Where required under PECR, we will obtain your consent before sending electronic marketing communications. Better Renting will always ask for consent before using any information for a purpose other than those set out in this Privacy Notice. We provide an opt-out or unsubscribe link on the emails sent to you.
We process personal data on our servers throughout the United Kingdom and the EU in accordance with current and incoming legislation. TDS Group may therefore process personal data on a server located outside of the country where you live.
The lawful basis we rely on for the aforementioned purposes are as follows:
Purpose
Providing Better Renting services
Lawful basis
Contract, Legitimate interests
Assessing eligibility and accreditation status
Contract, Legitimate interests
Managing accounts and enquiries
Contract, Legitimate interests
Monitoring compliance with Better Renting standards
Legitimate interests
Reporting and programme evaluation
Legitimate interests
Customer Service
Contract, Legitimate interests
Identity verification and fraud prevention
Legitimate interests, Legal obligation
Legal and regulatory compliance
Legal obligation
Service communications and updates
Contract, Legitimate interests
Marketing communications
Consent, Legitimate interests
(where permitted by law)
Service improvement and analytics
Legitimate interests, Consent where required
8. International transfers
We primarily process data in the United Kingdom. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), or other appropriate safeguards.
9. Sharing your data
We may share personal data with third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Implementation Unit. These providers are contractually obliged to process personal data in compliance with this Privacy Notice and applicable data protection laws. We do not share personal data with individuals or companies outside of TDS Group except in the following circumstances:
Consent
We may share information to other parties such as local authorities where necessary and with your explicit consent.
Legal and other reasons
We retain the right to share your information with organisations or individuals if we reasonably believe in good faith that disclosure of information is necessary for any of the purposes describe above, and in particular, in order to:
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Fulfil an applicable legal or regulatory requirement.
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Fulfil an enforceable Government request, to include data requested by HMRC and the police.
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Protect vital interests of a data subject (e.g. life or death situations, vulnerable situations)
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Perform tasks that are in the public interest.
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Address fraudulent activity including in the prevention or detection of it.
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Address a security issue.
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Address a technical issue.
We only share data if and to the extent it is necessary and lawful.
We reserve the right to share non-personal information publicly and with our partners for educational purposes, publication of annual reviews or publication of statistics.
10. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support certain business processes and improve the efficiency and quality of our services. This may include analysing information, assisting with communications, and supporting workflows within human-led decision-making processes. We do not rely solely on AI to make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.
Where AI tools are used, we ensure that:
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We assess the suitability, security and data protection implications of new AI tools and implement appropriate safeguards where personal data is processed.
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Any processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
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Human oversight is maintained within the decision-making processes, particularly where decisions could have a significant impact on individuals. Final decisions remain the responsibility of appropriately trained TDS employees.
Further information on our use of AI can be found here: https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/artificial-intelligence-statement
11. Our Data Processors
We may disclose your information to third parties who provide services on our behalf, or with whom we have contractual agreements such as hosting providers, payment processors, and marketing partners.
12. Your rights
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have rights regarding your personal data we process. We want to ensure that our customers are aware of their rights and how we ensure these are met:
Right to rectification
Your right to have inaccuracies in your personal data corrected. Our customers can update their personal details online under their account or alternatively, can contact TDS for help updating details. We are unable to rectify personal data without sufficient evidence to substantiate the changes requested.
Right to erasure
Your right to the deletion of your personal data. TDS will consider a request for data erasure on a case-by-case basis depending on whether TDS must retain the data for legislative purposes.
Right to restrict processing
You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. TDS will consider the circumstances that may be relevant around any request. Where processing restrictions are granted, such personal data will only be processed with consent or in relation to legal claims.
Right to data portability
Your right to receive personal data in a structured, commonly used format. You can find your personal data under your account. Alternatively, TDS will provide all data held for you in a readable format.
Right to object
Your right to object at any time to processing of personal data. TDS will only proceed with processing if we have compelling legitimate grounds for processing after an objection to processing.
Right to not be subject to automated decision making
TDS will not subject any individual to automated decision making.
Subject access requests
All individuals have the right, under Article 15 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), to request access to the personal data an organisation holds about them. When an individual submits a request, they are entitled to receive:
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Details of the personal data we hold about them.
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Clarification on whether any personal data is being processed.
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Information on the purposes for which their personal data is processed.
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A copy of their personal data held.
In most cases, this information will be provided free of charge. However, where requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, or where additional copies are requested, we may charge a reasonable fee.
Exercising your rights
TDS will respond to your request without undue delay and, in any event, within one month of receipt, in accordance with applicable legislation. Where necessary, this period may be extended by up to a further two months, taking into account the complexity and number of requests. If an extension is required, we will inform you within one month of receipt of your request, together with the reasons for the delay.
To make a request please send your full name and details of the data you are requesting to GDPR@tenancydepositscheme.com or by post to West Wing, First Floor, The Maylands Building, 200 Maylands Avenue, HP2 7TG. We may contact you to verify your identity where necessary. To do this, we may ask you to provide additional information, such as photographic identification or a recent utility bill. We will only request information that is necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we process personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at GDPR@tenancydepositscheme.com.
13. Data protection complaints
If you have any concerns about how TDS handles your personal data, you have the right to make a complaint. We encourage you to contact us in the first instance so that we can investigate and resolve your concern promptly.
When you raise a complaint, we will:
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Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 10 working days.
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Investigate your concerns in a fair and proportionate manner.
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Keep you informed of the progress of your complaint where appropriate.
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Provide a substantive response within one month of receipt. In certain circumstances, where a complaint is complex or requires further investigation, this timeframe may be extended. Where this is the case, we will inform you within one month of receiving your complaint, explain the reasons for the delay, and provide an updated timeframe for our response.
To make a complaint or for further information regarding personal data held by TDS, please email: GDPR@tenancydepositscheme.com.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to make an enquiry or complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Further details can be found on the ICO website at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.
14. Data retention
At TDS, all information is stored securely and is disposed in a secure manner when no longer required. Information relating to Better Renting will be held for 7 years.
Telephone calls which are recorded via our Customer Service Centre are stored for 1 year.
TDS will hold data for as long as reasonably required in order to:
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Comply with applicable law or respond to a valid process;
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Protect the rights of our customers.
Job application records are retained for up to 12 months, unless we have a valid reason to retain it for longer, e.g. to resolve any dispute relating to job application that may arise.
When deleting your personal data, it will be removed from our live, test and development databases immediately. We will not actively remove this data from our log-files or back-up databases as these are not freely available to be used in the normal course of business. The data will be expunged from these databases through the normal cycle of over-writing back-ups.
At the conclusion of our contract with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, all personal data for active records will be transferred to GMCA.
15. Changes to this Privacy Notice
We may update or change this Privacy Notice from time to time, to reflect the changes in the way we operate and the way we handle personal data. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting the revised notice on the site. This Privacy Notice was last updated on 5 October 2026.