Privacy Policy
housebrand is a company that provides a variety of services. These include real estate brokerage, as housebrand Real Estate Ltd. as well as architecture, construction management, interior design and furniture sales as housebrand Construction Ltd. The following Privacy Policy applies to all of these services and has been adopted Policy to ensure that housebrand continues to meet its commitment to you and your privacy. We respect the privacy of our clients and we are committed to keeping your personal information confidential, secure, private and accurate.
housebrand provides a variety of products and services to the public, including but not limited to: real estate brokerage services, real estate agency services, advising upon real estate purchase and sale decisions, architecture and interior design services, construction management services and furniture retail services.
During the course of these services, housebrand may collect with their consent, certain personal information about it’s clients. housebrand gathers and uses this personal information to provide you with the products and services you have requested in order to provide professional and competent real estate, architecture, construction management and interior design services to clients and to ensure that you are satisfied with the services we have provided.
“Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual. This may include, without limitation, the individual’s name, home address, age, income, credit history or other financial information, credit card information, personal preferences and other information about his or her family. Personal Information does not include the name, title, business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.
This Privacy Policy describes the ten principals that housebrand follows to ensure that we protect your personal information when we collect, use or disclose it in the course of our services. All employees who have access to personal information must adhere to the Privacy Policy and procedures. The housebrand Privacy Policy complies with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which includes the ten privacy principals outlined below.
The following ten principles govern our actions as they result to the use of personal information:
Principle 1 – Accountability
Members are responsible for the proper management of all personal information under their control, and shall designate one or more persons to be accountable for compliance.
Principal 2 – Identifying
Members shall identify the purposes of collecting information before or at the time the information is collected.
Principal 3 – Obtaining Consent
The knowledge and consent of the consumer are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information except where inappropriate.
Principal 4 – Limiting Collection Of Personal Information
Members shall limit the collection of personal information to that which is necessary for the purposes identified.
Principal 5 – Limiting Use, Disclosure And Retention Of Personal Information
Members shall use or disclose personal information only for the reason it was collected, except with the consent of the consumer or as required by law.
Principal 6 – Accuracy Of Personal Information
Members shall keep personal information as accurate, complete, current and relevant as necessary for its identified purpose.
Principal 7 – Protecting Information
Members shall protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
Principal 8 – Openness Concerning Policies And Practices
Members shall make readily available to consumers specific information about their policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
Principal 9 – Consumer Access To Personal Information
Upon request, members shall inform a consumer of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall give the individual access to that information.
Principal 10 – Challenging Compliance
A consumer shall be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principals to the designated accountable person or persons in the member office.
housebrand is obligated to keep your personal information confidential except under the following circumstances:
When Authorized by you:
Many of the services offered by housebrand require us to obtain personal information about you in order to perform the services you have requested that we provide. We will always obtain consent from you first, and will never use the information for purposes other than those we have discussed with you prior to. You may withdraw your consent at any time, if you do not consent to our use or disclosure of certain person information, we may be unable to continue to provide all or part of the services you have requested. We are legally required to disclose information relating to government tax reporting requirements. We may be required to disclose certain information to persons specified in the court order. We will only provide the specific information requested and only upon being satisfied that the authorities have legitimate grounds to request the information.
When Permitted by Law:
The legislation has provided certain situations where housebrand is legally permitted to disclose person information without your consent, situations including the collection of debt in arrears, medical emergencies, or suspicion of illegal activities.
housebrand has extensive controls in place to maintain the security of its information and information systems. Client and independent real estate broker files are stored according to the sensitivity of the information contained therein. Appropriate controls (such as restricted access) are placed on our computer systems and data processing procedures. Physical access to areas where Personal Information is gathered, processed or stored is limited to authorized employees.
From time to time housebrand publishes its completed projects in a variety of print, electronic and digital media. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, the name and address of the client will be withheld in all publications.
As a client, you have the right to access the Personal Information we keep in your file and you have the right to verify or amend the information if it is shown to be inaccurate. If you would like to view the Personal Information held in your file, please make a written request to the Privacy Officer at the address listed below, under “Questions, Concerns and Complaints”. We will respond to your request as efficiently as possible. To make a change, please make a similar request in writing to the Privacy Officer. If you have any questions or concerns or complaints about you personal information, or about the housebrand Privacy Policy please contact the Privacy Officer.