Privacy policy

Last updated: 9 November 2026

1. About this policy

This policy explains how Michael Anthony collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you use our estate agency or lettings services, contact us or visit www.michaelanthony.co.uk. It also explains your rights and how to use them.

We may also give you more specific information when we collect your details, for example in our landlord Terms of Business, tenant information or sales agreements. Please read those alongside this policy.

2. Who we are

“Michael Anthony”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the four companies below. Each company is a separate controller of the personal information it handles. The company you deal with depends on the service and branch:

Michael Anthony Aylesbury Ltd: sales, Aylesbury. Company number 12553875. ICO registration ZA804058.
Michael Anthony Lettings Ltd: lettings and property management, Aylesbury. Company number 13992206. ICO registration ZB324433.
Michael Anthony (Leighton Buzzard) Ltd: sales, Leighton Buzzard. Company number 14837821. ICO registration ZB543377.
Michael Anthony (Leighton Buzzard) Lettings Ltd: lettings and property management, Leighton Buzzard. Company number 14842732. ICO registration ZB543382.

All four companies are registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 31 High Street, Winslow, Buckinghamshire, MK18 3HE. Head office: 54 Kingsbury, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP20 2JE.

The four companies trade together as Michael Anthony and use shared systems. If you use more than one of our services, for example as both a seller and a landlord, the companies may share your details with each other so that they can serve you.

Contact us about your data

Our data protection contact is info@michaelanthony.co.uk. You can also write to Data Protection, Michael Anthony, 54 Kingsbury, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP20 2JE. We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer, as we are not required to have one.

3. The information we collect

Depending on how you deal with us, we may collect:

Identity and contact details: name, title, date of birth, address and address history, email address and phone numbers.
Identity and residence checks: copies of passports, driving licences and other identity documents, proof of address, nationality, immigration status and right-to-rent results, and the results of anti-money laundering checks (including politically exposed person and sanctions screening).
Financial information: bank details, income and employment details, credit reference and referencing results, guarantor details, proof of funds and mortgage information (for buyers), rent payments, arrears and deposit records.
Property and tenancy information: property details and value, ownership, tenancy agreements, inventories, inspection reports and photographs, maintenance and repair records, safety certificates, meter readings and utility details.
Household information: other occupiers, including children, and pets, where relevant to a tenancy.
Communications: emails, letters, messages, call records, notes of conversations, feedback and complaints.
Marketing preferences: whether you want to hear from us about our services, and your property search requirements.
Website and device information: IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit and how you use our site (see section 13, Cookies).

4. Where we get it from

From you, when you contact us, fill in forms (including online application forms), sign agreements or speak to us.
From other people involved in your sale, purchase or tenancy, such as other agents, buyers and sellers in a chain, solicitors and conveyancers, landlords, tenants, guarantors, managing agents and contractors.
From referencing, credit reference and identity checking providers, and from previous landlords and employers.
From the Home Office online right-to-rent checking service, using a share code you give us.
From property portals and websites, when you make an enquiry through them.
From the inventory, inspection, rent collection and utility notification providers we use.
From public sources such as HM Land Registry, Companies House and the electoral register.

5. How we use it and our lawful bases

We only use personal information when the law allows it. Our main purposes and the lawful basis under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) for each are:

Providing our sales and lettings services: marketing properties, arranging viewings, handling offers, setting up and managing tenancies, collecting rent, arranging repairs, inspections and inventories, dealing with deposits, and communicating with you. Basis: contract, to enter into or carry out our contract with you. Where you are not our client (for example a buyer, a tenant of a let-only property or a guarantor), our legitimate interests in providing the service our client has asked for.
Right-to-rent checks on adult occupiers. Basis: legal obligation (Immigration Act 2014).
Anti-money laundering checks on sellers, buyers and landlords, including identity checks and sanctions screening. Basis: legal obligation (Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017).
Protecting tenancy deposits and giving the required information. Basis: legal obligation (Housing Act 2004).
Tax and accounting records, including HMRC’s Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and other reporting where required. Basis: legal obligation.
Meeting other housing, safety, consumer and regulatory duties (for example safety certificates, redress scheme and client money protection membership) and responding to authorities and courts. Basis: legal obligation.
Referencing and credit checks on tenants and guarantors. Basis: legitimate interests in checking that a tenancy is affordable and suitable, for us and our landlord clients, and contract.
Running our business efficiently: keeping records, using software (including AI-assisted software, see section 7), training staff, checking quality, handling complaints and preventing fraud. Basis: legitimate interests.
Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, for example rent arrears or deposit disputes. Basis: legitimate interests.
Sending you news, property alerts and information about our other services. Basis: consent. You can withdraw it at any time (see section 12).
Non-essential website cookies. Basis: consent, which you can withdraw at any time through your browser settings (see section 13).

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against your rights, and you can ask us for details. If you do not give us information we need for a contract or a legal check, such as right to rent or anti-money laundering, we may not be able to provide the service.

6. Sensitive information

We do not usually need special category information, such as health information. Sometimes you may tell us about it, for example a disability that affects a tenancy or a repair. We only use it where the law allows: with your explicit consent, to protect someone’s vital interests, where it is needed to establish or defend legal claims, or where the Data Protection Act 2018 otherwise permits. Anti-money laundering checks may reveal information about criminal convictions or sanctions. We use that only to meet our legal obligations, as the Data Protection Act 2018 permits.

7. How we use software, including AI-assisted tools

We use selected software to run our services. This includes our property management system and AI-assisted software from a carefully selected technology provider, which helps our staff keep records up to date. The provider works under a written agreement and acts only on our instructions.

These tools can read and update records in our property management system, such as property, tenancy, contact, maintenance and safety certificate records. They can also read inspection reports, the results of identity and right-to-rent checks, application forms, rent account balances and emails sent to us. They use this information to prepare draft emails, reports and reminders for our staff.

People stay in charge:

A member of our team checks and approves every email before it is sent to you.
A member of our team makes every decision that affects you, including referencing outcomes, right-to-rent checks, deposit deductions and rent reviews.
We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

We use these tools because we have a legitimate interest in running an efficient, accurate and well-organised service. They also help us carry out our contracts and meet our legal obligations, such as keeping safety certificate and right-to-rent records. We assessed the privacy impact before we started using them. Where we can control this, we do not allow our data to be used to train the provider’s general AI models. Your records stay in our property management system and are kept as set out in section 11.

8. Who we share it with

Service providers who process information for us

These providers act only on our instructions, under contracts that require them to keep your information secure and confidential. We share with each one only what it needs. They include providers of:

property management (CRM) and business software, including AI-assisted software;
identity, right-to-rent and anti-money laundering checks;
tenant referencing and credit checks;
inventories, check-ins, check-outs and property inspections;
online forms and electronic signatures;
rent collection, payments and client accounts;
utility and council tax notifications when tenants move in or out;
email, office software and telephone systems;
website hosting, website tools and IT support.

Other organisations

Where it is needed for your sale, purchase or tenancy, or where the law requires it, we may also share information with:

landlords, tenants, guarantors, buyers and sellers, as far as the transaction or tenancy requires;
other estate agents, solicitors and conveyancers involved in your sale, purchase or chain;
property portals, where we advertise properties or receive enquiries;
contractors and tradespeople who carry out repairs, safety checks and inspections;
government-approved tenancy deposit schemes, utility companies and local councils (for example for council tax);
HMRC, the Home Office, local authorities, the police and other public bodies, where the law requires or allows it;
our redress scheme, client money protection scheme, insurers and professional advisers, such as accountants and solicitors;
debt recovery and tracing agents, if money is owed;
financial advisers, mortgage brokers or removal firms, but only if you ask us to put you in touch;
a buyer of our business or any part of it, if that happens.

We do not sell your personal information.

9. Transfers outside the UK

Some of our service providers may process personal information outside the UK. Where they do, we make sure it is protected. Either the UK has approved the destination country as providing adequate protection (UK adequacy regulations), or the transfer is covered by the International Data Transfer Agreement or the International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the Information Commissioner. You can ask us for more information about these safeguards.

10. How we keep it secure

We use technical and organisational measures to protect your information. Access to our systems, including by the software tools we use, is limited to what each task needs and is protected by passwords, access controls and multi-factor authentication where available. Our staff are trained in data protection. If a personal data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will tell you and the Information Commissioner’s Office as the law requires.

11. How long we keep it

We keep information only for as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy, including to meet legal, tax and regulatory requirements and to deal with possible claims. Our standard periods are:

Landlord, tenant and tenancy records, including rent and deposit records: 6 years after the tenancy or our relationship ends.
Sales records for sellers and buyers: 6 years after completion or after the instruction ends.
Anti-money laundering records: 5 years after the transaction or business relationship ends.
Right-to-rent check copies: for the length of the tenancy and 1 year after it ends.
Accounting and tax records: 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to.
Applicants who do not go ahead with a tenancy: 6 months after our last contact.
Marketing preferences and property alerts: until you unsubscribe or withdraw your consent. After that we keep a minimal record so that we do not contact you again.

When information is no longer needed, we delete it securely or anonymise it.

12. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

be informed about how we use your information (this policy explains it);
access your information and get a copy of it;
rectification: have inaccurate information corrected and incomplete information completed;
erasure: have your information deleted in some circumstances, for example when we no longer need it;
restrict how we use your information in some circumstances;
data portability: receive information you gave us in a common electronic format, or have it sent to another organisation, where we use it on the basis of consent or contract;
object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests, and to object at any time to direct marketing;
withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent (marketing and non-essential cookies). This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it;
not be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects. We do not make such decisions (see section 7).

To use any of these rights, email info@michaelanthony.co.uk or write to us at the address in section 2. There is normally no charge. We will reply within one month, or tell you if we need longer (up to two more months for complex requests). We may need to confirm your identity first. Some rights have legal exceptions. For example, we must keep anti-money laundering and right-to-rent records for the required periods even if you ask us to delete them.

Please let us know if your details change, so that our records stay accurate.

13. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies:

Essential cookies make the site work. They cannot be switched off.
Analytics cookies, loaded through Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, help us understand how visitors use the site so that we can improve it.
Security cookies from Google reCAPTCHA protect our forms from spam and abuse.

You can block or delete cookies, including analytics cookies, at any time through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the site working.

14. Children

Our website and services are not aimed at children. We may hold limited information about children who will live in a rented property, such as the names and ages of occupiers, but only where the tenancy or the law requires it.

15. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first at info@michaelanthony.co.uk so that we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Helpline: 0303 123 1113. Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated. If we make significant changes, we will tell you where appropriate.

17. Other websites

Our website may link to other websites, such as property portals and service providers. They have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they handle your information.

Aylesbury