Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Verbas Estate Agents ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with us.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Information We Collect

Personal Information

We may collect the following personal information:

• Name, email address, telephone number, and postal address
• Property details and preferences for buying, selling, or renting
• Financial information necessary for property transactions
• Identification documents for anti-money laundering compliance
• Communication records including emails, calls, and messages
• Viewing history and property search preferences

Technical Information

When you visit our website, we automatically collect:

• IP address and browser type
• Device information and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns
• Referral source and exit pages

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Property Services: To help you buy, sell, rent, or let properties, including arranging viewings, negotiations, and transactions
• Communication: To respond to your enquiries and provide customer support
• Marketing: To send you property alerts, newsletters, and promotional materials (with your consent)
• Legal Compliance: To comply with anti-money laundering regulations and other legal obligations
• Service Improvement: To analyse usage patterns and improve our website and services
• Fraud Prevention: To protect against fraudulent activities and security threats

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Contract: Processing necessary to perform our services for you
• Legitimate Interests: For business operations, marketing, and service improvement
• Legal Obligation: To comply with regulatory requirements
• Consent: For marketing communications and optional data processing

5. Data Sharing

We may share your information with:

• Property Portals: Rightmove, Zoopla, and OnTheMarket to advertise properties
• Professional Partners: Solicitors, mortgage brokers, and surveyors involved in transactions
• Service Providers: IT systems, cloud storage, and marketing platforms
• Regulatory Bodies: HMRC, the Property Ombudsman, and other authorities as required
• Landlords and Tenants: Reference information during letting processes

We never sell your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our services and maintain our relationship with you
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements (typically 6 years for financial records)
• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements

Property transaction records are retained for a minimum of 6 years. Marketing preferences are retained until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data (subject to legal obligations)
• Restriction: Request limitation of processing
• Portability: Request transfer of your data to another provider
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for marketing at any time

To exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@verbas.io or write to our Data Protection Officer at 47 Hill Street, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1TW.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:

• Encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS)
• Secure password policies and access controls
• Regular security assessments and updates
• Staff training on data protection
• Physical security measures at our offices

9. International Transfers

Your data is primarily stored and processed within the UK and European Economic Area. Where we use service providers outside these regions, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new policy on our website with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.