Privacy Policy

Last updated 22 September 2026

1. Who we are

Ashtons Estate Agency is the trading name of Respective Associates Limited, company number 05616178, whose registered office is Glebe Business Park, Lunts Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 5SQ.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Respective Associates Limited is normally the controller of the personal information described in this policy. This means that we decide why and how that information is used.

This policy applies when you use our website, contact an Ashtons branch, enquire about a property or service, or deal with us as a seller, buyer, landlord, tenant, applicant, guarantor, occupier, contractor, supplier, business contact or representative.

Some services may be provided by another business, for example a mortgage adviser, auction provider, conveyancer or insurer. Where that business decides how it uses your information, it is a separate controller and its own privacy notice will apply.

2. How to contact us about personal information

You can contact our Data Protection Lead about this policy, your personal information, a rights request or a data protection complaint:

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01925 479334
• Post: Data Protection Lead, Ashtons Estate Agency, Glebe Business Park, Lunts Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 5SQ

You do not have to use these contact details for a subject access request. A valid request may be made verbally or in writing to any part of our organisation. Using the details above will, however, help us deal with it promptly.

3. Personal information we collect

The information we collect depends on your relationship with us and the services involved. It may include:

• Identity and contact information: including your name, address, date of birth, email address, telephone number and preferred contact method.
• Property information: including property addresses, ownership and title information, photographs, floor plans, property descriptions, access arrangements, utility and council tax details, occupancy information and information about a sale, purchase, letting or tenancy.
• Transaction and service information: including valuations, instructions, viewings, offers, negotiations, feedback, memorandum of sale information, sales progression, tenancy applications, property management records, maintenance requests and complaints.
• Identity verification and financial crime information: including identification documents, proof of address, beneficial ownership information, source of funds or wealth information, sanctions and politically exposed person checks, risk assessments and the results of anti-money laundering checks.
• Financial information: including bank and payment details, rent and deposit records, affordability information, fees, invoices and payment history.
• Referencing and tenancy information: including employment, income, previous addresses, landlord references, credit-reference results, right-to-rent information, guarantor information and information needed to assess a tenancy application.
• Communications: including emails, letters, messages, notes of conversations, call recordings where our telephone system records calls, and communications through our website, portals or social media.
• Marketing information: including your marketing preferences, property search requirements and how you respond to our communications and advertising.
• Website and device information: including IP address, device and browser information, pages viewed, links selected, approximate location, referral source and cookie or similar technology identifiers.
• Special category or sensitive information: where relevant, such as accessibility or health information needed to provide reasonable adjustments, and information relating to suspected fraud or criminal activity where the law permits us to process it.
• Other information: that you choose to provide or that is reasonably required to deliver our services, meet a legal duty or deal with a dispute.

4. How we collect personal information

We may collect information:

• directly from you when you contact us, complete a form, register for property alerts, book a valuation or viewing, instruct us, apply for a tenancy, enter into an agreement or communicate with us;
• from another person acting for you, a joint owner, landlord, tenant, guarantor, occupier, family member or representative;
• from buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants and other parties involved in a property transaction or tenancy;
• from property portals, referral partners, auction providers, developers and other introducers;
• from solicitors, conveyancers, surveyors, mortgage advisers, insurers, contractors, inventory providers, referencing providers and deposit protection schemes;
• from identity, credit-reference, fraud-prevention, sanctions and anti-money laundering service providers;
• from HM Land Registry, Companies House, local authorities, electoral registers and other public or official sources; and
• automatically when you use our website or interact with our electronic communications, subject to applicable cookie and consent requirements.

If we obtain your information from another source, we will provide privacy information within the period required by law unless an exemption applies or you already have the information.

5. Why we use personal information

We use personal information where it is necessary for one or more of the following purposes:

• to respond to enquiries, arrange valuations and viewings, provide property information and take steps requested before entering into a contract;
• to provide estate agency, lettings, property management, land and new homes, commercial property and related services;
• to market properties, manage offers and negotiations, progress sales, arrange tenancies and administer ongoing property management;
• to verify identity, ownership, authority and eligibility, and to carry out anti-money laundering, sanctions, fraud-prevention and right-to-rent checks;
• to conduct tenant and guarantor referencing and affordability checks;
• to collect and account for rent, deposits, fees and other payments;
• to arrange access, photography, floor plans, energy performance certificates, inventories, repairs, maintenance and other property services;
• to keep records of instructions, decisions and communications, including recording calls where this is used and providing appropriate notice;
• to manage our relationship with you, obtain feedback, improve our services and train or monitor staff;
• to send property alerts and other marketing where permitted, and to manage your preferences and objections;
• to operate, secure, analyse and improve our website, systems and digital advertising;
• to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, respond to complaints and resolve disputes;
• to comply with laws, court orders, regulatory requirements and requests from authorised public bodies; and
• to manage our business, professional advice, insurance, audits, corporate transactions and business continuity.

6. Our lawful bases

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of personal information. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on:

 

Lawful basis	How it applies
Contract	where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as an agency agreement, tenancy-related service or supplier agreement.
Legal obligation	where we must comply with laws applying to us, including anti-money laundering, sanctions, right-to-rent, tax, accounting, deposit protection, consumer protection and regulatory requirements.
Legitimate interests	where the use is necessary for our legitimate business interests or those of another person and your rights do not override those interests. These interests include operating an estate and lettings agency, progressing property transactions, managing properties, preventing fraud, keeping appropriate records, improving and securing our services, dealing with complaints and claims, and marketing our services where permitted.
Consent	where we ask for and receive your consent, including for some electronic marketing, optional cookies or tracking, referrals, or particular uses of sensitive information. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect earlier lawful processing.
Vital interests	in rare circumstances where processing is needed to protect someone’s life.
Public task	where a specific function in the public interest applies to the processing. We do not normally rely on this basis for our ordinary commercial services.

7. Sensitive information and criminal offence information

Where we process special category information, such as health information supplied for an accessibility adjustment, we also identify an additional condition under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, this may be your explicit consent or a condition relating to legal claims, employment or equality law, or substantial public interest.

We process criminal offence, sanctions, fraud and financial crime information only where authorised by law and with appropriate safeguards.

8. When information must be provided

Some information is required by law or is necessary for us to enter into or perform a contract. For example, we may need identification, evidence of ownership, anti-money laundering information, right-to-rent information or payment details. If required information is not provided, we may be unable to act for you, proceed with a transaction, arrange a tenancy or provide a service. We will explain when information is mandatory.

9. Marketing and property alerts

We may send property alerts, market updates or information about our services by email, text, telephone or post where the law permits. Depending on the communication, we may rely on consent or legitimate interests, together with the rules applying to electronic marketing.

You can opt out at any time by using an unsubscribe link, telling the member of staff who contacts you, updating your preferences where available, or contacting us. We may retain a minimal suppression record so that we can respect your choice. Service messages about an active instruction, transaction, tenancy or account are not marketing and may continue where necessary.

We will not pass your information to an unrelated business for its own marketing unless you have agreed or the law otherwise permits it.

10. Cookies analytics and online advertising

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Technologies that are strictly necessary may be used without consent. Where consent is required, for example for certain analytics, tracking or personalised advertising technologies, we will ask for it before using them. You can change your choices through our cookie controls.

Further information is available in our Cookie Policy at https://www.ashtons.net/cookie-policy/

11. Call recording

We may record telephone calls where our telephone system provides this function. We use recordings to keep an accurate record of instructions and discussions, monitor service quality, train staff, investigate complaints and protect our legal rights. We will provide appropriate notice when a call is recorded. Access is restricted and recordings are retained only for as long as needed under our retention schedule or for a specific complaint, transaction or legal claim.

12. Who we share personal information with

Where necessary and lawful, we may share personal information with:

• sellers, buyers, landlords, tenants, applicants, guarantors and their authorised representatives where needed for a property transaction or tenancy;
• solicitors, conveyancers, surveyors, valuers, mortgage advisers, insurers, auction providers and other professional advisers;
• property portals, developers, new-home providers and marketing or media suppliers used to advertise properties;
• tenant referencing, credit-reference, identity verification, anti-money laundering, sanctions and fraud-prevention providers;
• deposit protection schemes, inventory providers, contractors, tradespeople, utility providers and local authorities where relevant to a tenancy or managed property;
• our software, website, cloud storage, CRM, telephony, communications, payment, analytics, IT support and data hosting providers acting on our instructions;
• HMRC, the National Crime Agency, police, courts, regulators, ombudsman schemes and other public bodies where disclosure is required or permitted by law;
• our accountants, auditors, insurers, legal advisers and other professional advisers;
• a proposed buyer, investor or successor if our business or assets are reorganised, sold or transferred, subject to appropriate confidentiality arrangements; and
• another business where you ask us to make an introduction or give permission for us to do so.

Some recipients act as our processors and may use information only on our documented instructions. Others are separate controllers and are responsible for their own use of the information. We do not sell personal information.

13. Mortgage and other referrals

If you ask us to introduce you to a mortgage adviser or another service provider, or you give us permission to do so, we will share the contact and property information reasonably needed for the introduction. The receiving business will normally be a separate controller and will provide its own privacy information. Declining a referral will not prevent you from using our core estate agency or lettings services.

14. International transfers

Some suppliers may store or access information outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will ensure that an approved legal transfer mechanism or exception applies and that appropriate safeguards are used. These may include UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses, or another mechanism permitted by law. You may contact us for further information about the safeguards relevant to your information.

15. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet legal, regulatory, accounting, insurance and dispute-resolution requirements. Our normal retention approach is set out below. A longer or shorter period may apply where the law requires it, a complaint or claim is active, or the information is no longer needed.

Record	Normal retention approach
Client and transaction files	Normally six years after the instruction, transaction, tenancy or management relationship ends, unless a longer period is reasonably required for an active matter or legal obligation.
Anti money laundering records	Normally five years after the business relationship ends or the relevant transaction is completed, after which the records are deleted unless the law permits or requires longer retention.
Unsuccessful or general enquiries	Normally up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact, unless the person remains actively registered for property alerts or another purpose applies.
Marketing records	Until consent is withdrawn, an objection is made or the information is no longer useful for the stated purpose. A minimal suppression record may be kept to prevent further marketing.
Tenant applications and referencing	Normally for the duration of the application and, if successful, in line with the tenancy or managed-property file. Unsuccessful applications are normally retained for up to 12 months unless a dispute or legal requirement justifies longer.
Call recordings	For the period set in our operational retention schedule, and longer only where a recording is needed for an active transaction, complaint, investigation or legal claim.
Website and cookie data	For the periods shown in our cookie controls or Cookie Policy, subject to the settings and purpose of each technology.
Complaints and rights requests	Normally six years after closure where needed to demonstrate how the matter was handled, subject to the nature of the request and any ongoing claim.

16. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. These measures include access controls, staff responsibilities, supplier checks, secure systems, backups and incident-management procedures appropriate to the information and risk involved.

No internet or electronic storage system is completely secure. If a personal data breach creates a risk requiring notification, we will notify the affected people and the Information Commissioner’s Office as required by law.

17. Automated decision making

We do not normally make decisions about you based solely on automated processing where the decision produces legal or similarly significant effects. A third-party referencing, identity or fraud-prevention provider may use automated tools as part of its service. Where automated decision-making rules apply, we or the relevant provider will give you the required information and access to applicable rights.

18. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis used, you may have the right to:

• Access: ask whether we use your personal information and receive a copy of it together with supporting information.
• Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate information or complete information that is incomplete.
• Erasure: ask us to delete information where the legal conditions for deletion apply.
• Restriction: ask us to restrict how information is used in certain circumstances.
• Object: object to processing based on legitimate interests or a public task. We will stop unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or need the information for legal claims.
• Object to direct marketing: require us to stop using your information for direct marketing at any time. This right is absolute.
• Data portability: receive certain information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or ask us to transmit it to another controller, where the right applies.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw consent at any time where our processing relies on consent.
• Automated decisions: ask for human involvement and challenge a qualifying decision made solely by automated means.
• Complain: make a complaint to us and, if you remain dissatisfied, to the Information Commissioner’s Office or through the courts where applicable.

These rights are not all absolute. We may need to retain or continue using information where a legal exception applies, and we will explain our decision.

19. Subject access requests

A request for your own personal information is commonly called a subject access request or SAR. It may be made verbally or in writing and does not need to mention data protection law. We may ask for information reasonably needed to confirm your identity, locate the information or confirm that a representative is authorised to act for you. We will not request more identification than is proportionate.

We will respond without undue delay and normally within one month. The period may be extended by up to two further months where permitted because a request is complex or you have made a number of requests. If we need reasonable clarification, the time limit may pause until it is received. We will tell you if an extension or pause applies.

We normally provide information free of charge. A reasonable fee may be charged, or a request may be refused, only where the law permits, such as where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive or further copies are requested. We make reasonable and proportionate searches and may redact information about other people or withhold information where an exemption applies. Information will be supplied securely and in a clear, accessible format.

20. Data protection complaints

If you believe we have not handled your personal information properly, please contact our Data Protection Lead using the details in section 2. Please explain what happened, when it happened and what outcome you are seeking, and provide any information that will help us investigate.

We will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days. Without undue delay, we will take appropriate steps to investigate and respond, keep you informed where appropriate, and tell you the outcome. If we cannot resolve the matter immediately, we will explain the next steps and any further information we need.

You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would appreciate the opportunity to resolve the issue first, but you do not have to contact us before approaching the regulator.

Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/  Telephone: 0303 123 1113

21. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services, systems or legal obligations. The current version will be published on our website with its revision date. Where a change is significant, we may also bring it to your attention by another appropriate method.