For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the data controller is Rule & Rule Estate & Letting Agents, a partnership registered in England whose registered address is 37-39 Broadway, Sheerness, Kent ME12 1AD.

What Type of Information Will We Collect From You?

The personal information we collect from you will typically include the following:

• Full name and contact details (including your contact number, email and postal address).
• Information relating to your identity where we are required by law to collect this to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and the Immigration Act.
• Information on your close connections where we are required to conduct conflicts of interest checks under regulatory obligations.
• Your banking details where required, such as where you are letting a property or, where renting, to set up an approved tenancy deposit account for you and arrange rental payments.
• Information on any access requirements you have necessary to enable us to find suitable properties for you, which may consist of special category personal data comprising details of any disability or other health information about you.
• Details about your areas of interest where we wish to send you marketing information about similar products and services.
• Usage information about your visits to our website (which enables our website to remember information about you and your preferences) and use of our site. Please read our Cookie Policy for further details. This may include:
  • Full Uniform Resource Locators (URL)
  • Clicks through to and from our site (including date and time)
  • Products viewed or searched for
  • Page response times
  • Download errors
  • Length of visits to certain pages
  • Page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks and mouse-overs)
  • Methods used to browse away from the page
  • Other technical usage information
  • Any phone number used to call our customer service number
• Other technical information, including:
  • Devices used to connect to our App
  • Device location data where enabled
  • Internet Protocol (IP) address
  • Login information
  • Browser type and version
  • Time zone setting
  • Browser plug-in types and versions
  • Operating system and platform
• Your communications with us, including records of email or telephone correspondence created when you contact us regarding a product or service query.

Where we need to collect personal data by law (for example to meet our obligations to prevent fraud and money laundering) or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you. In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

On What Basis Can We Process Your Information?

The legal grounds under data protection legislation for processing your personal data are as follows:

• It is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, or to take steps prior to entering into a contract with you, for us to provide our products and services.
• You have given us explicit consent to process your personal data for one or more specific purposes:
  1. To receive electronic marketing from us.
  2. To process your Special Category Personal Data described above.
  You do not need to provide marketing consent in order to receive our services.
• It is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, except where our interests are overridden by the interests, rights or freedoms of affected individuals. Our legitimate interests include improving and promoting our services, understanding customer interests and property market knowledge, and administering the technical aspects of our services.
• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.
• Where we need to protect your interests (or someone else's interests).
• Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.

What Are We Going to Do With Your Information?

We will hold and use personal information about you in the following ways:

• To fulfil our obligations to you when providing property services.
• To share your information with others where necessary to fulfil our property services for you or where acting as agent for a third party on your behalf.
• To comply with statutory and regulatory obligations, including verifying your identity, prevention of fraud and money laundering, and assessing your creditworthiness.
• To communicate with you during the provision of our services, including responding to enquiries and requests.
• For statistical purposes so we can analyse figures to help manage our business and plan strategically.
• To provide information about goods or services we believe may interest you where you have consented or, if you are an existing customer, by electronic means in accordance with applicable marketing laws. You may unsubscribe at any time.
• To track your use of our services and App in order to improve them.
• To notify you about changes to our services.
• To ensure that content from our website is presented in the most effective manner for you and your computer.

How Long We Keep Your Data For

We will retain your personal data for different periods depending on the service you have chosen to use us for. In some circumstances, we may be required by law, regulation, legal claim or complaint requirements to retain your data for longer than is necessary to provide our services.

Who Your Information Will Be Shared With

We will pass your details to the following organisations (our "data processors") who carry out activities on our behalf as part of delivering our services:

ExpertAgent & CFP WinMan trading as Property Software Group, Lettings Hub, Veriphy, London & Country, Shredit, HMRC, Blain Pritchard Accountants, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Deposit Protection Service, Swale Borough Council, Utility Companies, Rightmove, Zoopla Property Group, The Guild of Property Professionals, Landmark, BriefYourMarket and QuickBooks (Intuit).

We may share limited personal data with approved contractors for arranging repairs, maintenance, safety checks or obtaining quotations. Contractors will only receive information necessary to carry out the required work and must handle your data securely.

We will also pass your details where necessary to your property solicitors and those of the other party to your transaction, including agents in the property chain where required to progress the transaction.

We may also disclose your personal data:

• When selling or purchasing a business or assets.
• If our company or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party.
• To comply with legal or regulatory obligations or to protect the rights, property or safety of the company, customers or others.
• For fraud prevention and credit risk reduction through exchanges with appropriate organisations.

We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes without obtaining your prior consent.

Security of Your Data

Your data will be held on secure servers within the European Economic Area (EEA) with reasonable technological and operational safeguards in place to prevent unauthorised access.

Where possible, identifiable information will be encrypted or minimised.

If we provide you with login credentials allowing access to certain areas of our systems, you are responsible for keeping them confidential and must not share them with anyone.

Your Rights

How You Can Access and Update Your Information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, known as a Data Subject Access Request. You may also request corrections or updates to inaccurate information.

Requests can be sent to:
Mark Cross
Rule & Rule
37-39 Broadway
Sheerness, Kent ME12 1AD
Tel: 01795 662604
Email: info@ruleandrule.co.uk

How You Can Request Erasure of Your Data

You may request that we delete personal data where there is no valid reason for continued processing. Certain legal obligations may prevent us from complying with all erasure requests, and we will explain those reasons where applicable.

How You Can Withdraw Your Consent

You may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing carried out before the withdrawal of consent.

How You Can Restrict or Object to Us Using Your Data

You may ask us to restrict processing or object where processing is based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for continuing the processing.

Restricting or stopping processing may affect our ability to continue providing our services.

Moving Your Information to Another Organisation

Where processing is carried out by automated means and based on consent or contract, you may request a copy of your personal data for transfer to another organisation.

Please email info@ruleandrule.co.uk if you wish to request a transfer of your data.

Data Use Act 2025 Compliance Statement

In addition to the information set out in this Privacy Notice, Rule & Rule Estate & Letting Agents complies with the Data Use Act 2025, which introduces enhanced requirements for transparency, responsible data handling and digital accountability.

• Data Minimisation: We only collect and retain personal data that is necessary and proportionate for the services we provide.
• Digital Transparency: Where digital tools or automated systems assist us in delivering services, we provide explanations and ensure appropriate human oversight.
• Strengthened Security: Enhanced technical and organisational measures are used, including encryption, access controls and breach-response procedures.
• Your Enhanced Rights: You may request information about how your data is used in digital systems, challenge automated decisions and request human review where automated processing affects you.
• Updated Third-Party Requirements: All third-party processors must meet governance and security standards required under the Data Use Act 2025.
• Restrictions on Secondary Use: We will not use your personal data for profiling or behavioural analysis without informing you and obtaining consent where required.

Complaints About the Use of Your Personal Data

If you wish to raise a concern or complaint regarding how we have handled your personal data, please contact:

If you are not satisfied with our response, or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that does not comply with data protection law or the Data Use Act 2025, you may contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Website: www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113