1. Introduction
1.1 House of Student (referred to as “we”, “us”, and “our”) recognises the importance of privacy for our users (referred to as “you” and “your”) and is committed to protecting the confidentiality of information you provide when visiting the Platform.
1.2 This Privacy Policy outlines our commitment to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information. It explains what types of personal information we collect and hold when you use our Platform, how we collect and use that information, whether we disclose it to third parties, the choices you have regarding its use, how you can access or correct your personal data, and how to lodge a complaint if you believe we have breached our privacy obligations.
1.3 Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By continuing to access our Platform and use our services, you agree to the terms of this policy and consent to our collection, storage, and processing of your personal information as described herein. If you do not wish to provide your personal information, you are not obliged to do so; however, this may limit our ability to provide certain services to you.
1.4 House of Student uses the information collected from you solely to deliver the services you request. We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes without your consent, except where expressly stated in this policy. All personal information is handled in accordance with the applicable privacy legislation relevant to your location.
1.5 In this policy, the phrase “privacy legislation applicable to you” refers to the relevant data protection laws in your jurisdiction, including:
(a) For residents of Australia: Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
(b) For residents of the EU or UK during the Brexit transition period: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and national implementing laws and regulations
(c) For UK residents post-Brexit: any applicable legislation enacted to replace the UK GDPR
(d) For California residents: Online Privacy Protection Act 2003 and Right to Know Act 2013
(e) For residents of India: Information Technology Act 2000 and, if passed, the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019
(f) For residents of all other countries: the relevant privacy laws in effect from time to time
This includes any related amendments, regulations, guidelines, or principles under those laws.
2. Controller
2.1 The controller of your personal information is House of Student, the operator of the Platform.
3. What Data Do We Collect?
House of Student collects and uses personal information that you voluntarily provide. We only collect information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions or services.
We may collect your personal information when you:
Use our Platform or subscribe to our services
Update your registration details, social media information, or payment information
Agree to act as a guarantor or emergency contact for another person
Report a problem or contact our customer support team
Leave a review of a Property or our services
Communicate with us via phone, email, or other methods
We collect, store, safeguard, and use this information as outlined in this Privacy Policy.
4. Personal Data You Communicate to Us
4.1 Personal information refers to any information or opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from that information or opinion.
4.2 The type of personal information we collect and hold varies depending on our interactions with you. This may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) Name, date of birth, gender, passport number, and other identification details
(b) Contact information such as your address, email address, phone number, and fax number
(c) Details of a guarantor, emergency contact person, or individuals referred by you (e.g., friends); you are responsible for ensuring that these individuals are aware of the disclosure and have accepted how House of Student will use their information as outlined in this Privacy Policy
(d) Payment information, which may include card and bank details
(e) Username and passwords, booking history, academic details such as your university, course of study, course duration, city, and chosen Property
(f) Preferences including room type, roommate preferences, preferred dates, and budget
(g) Information collected from your feedback, reviews, and participation in surveys
(h) Any other information you provide to us from which you can be identified
(i) Information about your usage of our Platform
4.3 In most instances, if you do not provide the required personal information, we may not be able to perform certain activities or deliver the services or information you have requested.
5. How Do We Collect It?
5.1 We collect personal information that you provide voluntarily by filling in a form on our Platform or by contacting us through one of the following methods:
(a) Subscribing to our Platform
(b) Making an enquiry about our services
(c) Submitting a Property enquiry
(d) Reviewing a Property or our services, or providing feedback
(e) Participating in a survey or competition
(f) Subscribing to receive marketing communications
(g) Contacting us via a social media platform
(h) Communicating with us via phone, email, or instant messaging services
(i) Speaking with us in person
6. Sensitive Information
6.1 Sensitive information includes information about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union or professional association membership, sexual orientation, criminal record, and health.
6.2 We may collect the following types of sensitive information from our customers:
Medical conditions
Roommate preferences
6.3 We will only collect sensitive information with your consent, and only if it is reasonably necessary for one or more of our functions or activities, or as otherwise permitted by the applicable privacy legislation.
7. Personal Information We Collect Automatically
7.1 Even if you do not subscribe to our Platform, we may automatically collect certain technical and usage-related information when you visit or interact with it. This allows us to improve the user experience and continually enhance our services using cookies and similar technologies. The automatically collected information includes:
(a) IP address, login data, access date and time, time zone, location data, hardware and software configurations, browser type and version, browser plug-in types and versions, UTM parameters, operating system, and platform details
(b) When accessing the Platform via mobile device: mobile device identifier, device settings, characteristics, and related system activity
(c) Usage behavior on the Platform, such as clickstream data (URLs visited), page response times, time spent on pages, download errors, and interaction patterns
8. Personal Information We Receive from Other Sources
We may also obtain your personal information from third parties we work with closely. These may include:
Affiliate and business partners
Technical service providers
Payment processors and financial institutions
Advertising networks
Credit reference agencies
Search information providers
Utility providers, telecoms, insurers, and other related entities
Social media platforms (when you log in via your social media account, we may collect information associated with that account depending on your login method)
9. Australian Commonwealth Government Identifiers
9.1 This clause applies exclusively to residents of Australia.
9.2 We do not use Australian Commonwealth Government identifiers (such as driver’s licence numbers) as our own identifiers for individuals. We will only use or disclose such identifiers in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
10. How Do We Use Your Personal Information?
10.1 We use your personal information for a variety of legitimate business purposes to operate our services effectively and enhance your experience. The ways we use your information include:
(a) To process and complete your booking
(b) To address complaints, queries, and feedback by sharing your information with our global customer service team
(c) To create and manage your user account, enabling you to track inquiries, update personal settings, and save preferences
(d) To maintain our relationship with you, including sending updates about changes to our policies and inviting you to leave reviews or complete surveys
(e) To invite you to participate in market research, surveys, or competitions
(f) To send marketing communications based on your profile, preferences, or engagement with us (provided you haven’t opted out); you may unsubscribe anytime via the "Unsubscribe" link in the communication
(g) To contact you via email, phone, post, or SMS in relation to your queries, bookings, reviews, service feedback, relevant administrative updates, or security alerts
(h) To analyze usage patterns and feedback for the continual improvement of our website, services, and customer relationships
(i) To provide tailored content and advertising on our Platform and to measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns
(j) To make personalized suggestions or recommendations about properties or services that may be of interest to you
(k) To administer, protect, and maintain our Platform, including for internal operations such as troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, and hosting
(l) To manage and resolve legal disputes, comply with regulatory investigations, and respond to lawful requests from law enforcement authorities
10.2 Legal Bases for Processing Your Personal Information
To process your personal information as outlined in this Privacy Policy, we rely on the following legal bases:
10.3 Legal Basis for Processing
(a) to (e): For purposes related to processing bookings, addressing complaints, queries, and managing account facilities, we rely on the legal basis that processing personal information is necessary for the performance of our contract with you. Without this information, we would be unable to respond to your inquiries or provide customer service.
(c) to (k): For activities such as improving our services, enhancing user experience, maintaining network security, and preventing fraud, we rely on the legal basis that processing personal information is necessary for our legitimate commercial interests.
(k) and (l): For handling legal disputes and complying with regulatory requirements, we rely on the legal basis that processing personal information is necessary to fulfill our legal obligations.
10.4 Purpose Limitation and Opt-Out
We use your personal information solely for the purpose for which it was collected. If you wish to object to the processing of your information for purposes outlined in (c) to (j) and wish to opt-out, please contact us at [email protected].
11. When Do We Share Your Information?
We do not share your personal information with third parties except as outlined below and where required by applicable law or judicial authority:
(a) We may disclose your personal information to our employees and those working on our behalf when necessary to provide you with services.
(b) We may share your personal information with the Housing Provider for the Property you intend to lease to assist with your enquiry or resolve any queries.
(c) We may share your information with third-party service providers globally who assist with IT services, data processing, and system administration.
(d) We may provide third parties with aggregated information about users, search patterns, traffic volumes, etc., but without personal identifiers.
(e) We may disclose your personal information to legal advisors, police, or regulatory bodies if necessary in connection with criminal offenses or suspected legal breaches.
(f) We may share your personal information with tax authorities, revenue regulators, and professional advisors such as lawyers, auditors, insurers, and bankers.
(g) We may disclose your personal information to third parties if we sell, transfer, or buy business assets.
12. Security and Retention of Your Personal Information
12.1 International Transfer and Processing
Your personal information may be transferred to and stored overseas. It may be processed by our staff or suppliers operating outside of your country, including those engaged in completing your booking request, processing payments, or providing customer support. By submitting your personal information, you consent to such transfer, storage, and processing.
12.2 Security Measures
We implement physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to safeguard your data. All information provided by you is stored on secure servers to prevent misuse, loss, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. If you are provided with a password to access certain parts of our Platform, it is your responsibility to keep the password confidential and not share it with others.
12.3 We use reasonable means to secure your personal information when transmitting it to third party in order to complete a service request made by you. However, we cannot guarantee the security of data intercepted, altered or misused while transmitting over the internet. Once we have received your information, we will use strict measures to try to prevent any unauthorised access.
12.4 We retain your personal information for as long as we deem it important to enable you to use our services, to comply with applicable laws, accounting or reporting regulations, resolve disputes with any parties and as necessary to allow us to conduct our business, detect and prevent any fraudulent or illegal activities. All personal information is subject to this Privacy Policy.
12.5 We will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information that is no longer needed for any purpose that is permitted by the privacy legislation applicable to you.
13. Ensuring personal information is up to date
13.1 To provide our services to you in a quality manner, it is important that the personal information that we hold about you is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date. If you find that the information we hold is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so that we can update our records and continue to provide quality services to you.
14. How Can You Control the Personal Information Given to Us?
14.1 We want you to be in control of how your personal information is used by us. You have the following rights.:
(a) Request access to the personal information we hold about you and ensure that it is lawfully processed;
(b) Request changes to any existing personal information we hold about you;
(c) Request removal of your personal information;
(d) Object to processing of your personal information;
(e) Restrict us from processing your personal information;
(f) Request transfer of your personal information to you or a third party; and
(g) Withdraw consent at any time from the use of your personal information.
14.2 If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please write to us at [email protected]
15. Accessing your personal information
15.1 If the privacy legislation applicable to you sets out circumstances in which you may request details of personal information that we hold about you, you may access that personal information in those circumstances. If permitted by the privacy legislation applicable to you, we may charge you an administrative fee for access to personal information we hold about you, to cover our reasonable costs of retrieving that information.
15.2 If we cannot provide access to your information, we will generally provide you with the reasons why and the mechanisms available to complain about that refusal.
16. Correcting your personal information
16.1 If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, or if you would like any of your personal information to be erased, please contact us by email. We rely in part upon customers advising us when their personal information changes. We will respond to any request within a reasonable time. We will endeavour to promptly correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
16.2 If the personal information we hold about you is not accurate, complete and up to date, we will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date. If we cannot take reasonable steps to correct the information because such correction is not technically possible or would be impracticable for us to perform, we may be unable to continue to provide services to you. In these cases, we will provide reasons for denial of your correction request.
16.3 If we refuse to correct your personal information, you have the right to associate with a statement that the information is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. We will take such steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to associate that statement with records containing the relevant information.
17. Complaints
17.1 If you believe that we have breached the privacy legislation applicable to you and wish to make a complaint about that breach, please contact us by email at [email protected] setting out details of the breach. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you in writing setting out the outcome of our investigation, what steps we propose to take to remedy the breach and any other action we will take to deal with your complaint.
17.2 If you are a resident of Australia and you feel that we have not satisfactorily addressed your complaint, you may also make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by visiting www.oaic.gov.au, emailing [email protected] or writing to GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001
18. Google Privacy Policy
18.1 When you use our services, you also agree to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
19. Changes to Our Privacy Policy
19.1 This policy was last updated on 11 February 2020. Any changes that we make to our privacy policy will be updated on this page. All the personal information we hold will be governed by our most recent privacy policy located at www.houseofstudent.com.
20. Contact
20.1 For any questions, requests or feedback relating to this Privacy Policy, please contact [email protected]