Privacy Notice - Residential Household Survey
Please read this privacy notice carefully as it contains important information about who we are, how and why we collect, store, use and share your personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information, and how to contact us and the supervisory authority if you have a complaint.
Who We Are
arc⁴ Limited is a specialist housing research organisation, registered in England (Company No. 06205180). Our registered address is 41 Clarendon Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 2DY.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO Registration No. Z992934X).
We conduct household surveys to better understand housing issues in your area.
How We Collect and Use Your Information
Your address has been selected to receive information about this survey. Address lists are either provided by councils or obtained from commercially available sources.
When completing the survey, we ask you to provide a broad geographical reference – such as the parish or ward in which you live – but not your full address. This helps us understand patterns of housing need across different communities while keeping your response anonymous.
arc⁴ will only share the anonymous results of the survey with relevant Data Controllers (such as a council or housing association).
The Data Controllers rely on the lawful basis of Public Task carried out in the Public Interest for the above processing.
arc⁴ has a Legitimate Interest to retain and process the survey information indefinitely (which will not include your name, house number or street name) for statistical and future research purposes.
Types of Personal Information We Collect
This includes:
- Broad location identifier (based on parish or ward)
- Information about your home and all members of your household
- Information about your housing history
- Information about your household’s future housing needs
Special Category Data
We collect health and disability information relating to the current and future housing needs of all members of your household. For this we rely on the lawful basis under the Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1, Part 1(1) Social Protection and (2) Health and Social Care purposes.
The Data Protection Act 2018 requires us to hold an Appropriate Policy Document (‘APD’) for the processing of special category data. The APD sets out our procedures for securing compliance with data protection principles and our policies regarding the retention and erasure of personal data.
We collect the ethnicity of all members of your household and rely on the lawful basis under the Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1, Part 2(8) Equality of Opportunity or Treatment.
Sharing Your Information and How Long We Retain It
arc⁴ contacts households in various ways, although we have primarily moved to online data collection. We use data processors to mail letters to households inviting them to take part in surveys, and we may also contact households by email.
Where we use traditional postal surveys, we use data processors to send paper surveys to households and to carry out data entry.
arc⁴ retains the survey results, including location identifier, indefinitely for statistical purposes. In doing so, arc⁴ will ensure that the results of the research, or any resulting statistics, are not made available in a form that identifies you as an individual.
Where Your Data Is Stored
We use secure, UK-based cloud providers for storing your information. All personal data collected as part of this survey is retained within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA). We do not transfer your personal data outside the UK/EEA
Your Data Protection Rights
Right of Access
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. To make a subject access request, please contact us at businessteam@arc4.co.uk or call 0800 612 9133.
Right to Rectification
If you believe any information we hold about you is inaccurate, please contact us using the details above. We will consider your request and respond within one month. Please bear in mind that the research captures your views and circumstances at the time it was conducted.
Right to Erasure, Right to Object or Restrict Processing
Where arc⁴ processes data under a Legitimate Interest for statistical purposes, a legitimate interest assessment has been carried out to ensure your rights are not unduly outweighed.
Please note that your name, house number and street name are not included in the information we retain. Our work also requires us to maintain the integrity of datasets, which may limit the extent to which erasure is possible.
Right to Complain
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us using the details above. If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Contact Details
arc⁴ Limited
41 Clarendon Road, Sale, Cheshire, M33 2DY
Company Registration No. 06205180 (England)
ICO Registration No. Z992934X
Email: businessteam@arc4.co.uk
Telephone: 0800 612 9133
Updated: May 2026