Whenever you provide personal data to Help to Buy (Wales) Limited, or we collect personal data about you, we will only use it in accordance with this privacy notice.
This privacy notice applies to Help to Buy (Wales) Limited, a subsidiary of the Development Bank of Wales plc. Whenever the terms ‘HtBW’, ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ are used in this notice, it means Help to Buy (Wales) Limited.
For our full list of privacy documentation click here.
Find out more about our governance structure on our governance page.
Our privacy principles
We take your privacy seriously and are committed to protecting your personal data. We will always:
Only ask you to provide us with personal data that helps us to help you.
Hold your personal data securely and responsibly. We use safeguards such as encryption to help keep your personal data secure.
Only share your personal data with other companies in the DBW Group, with suppliers who perform services on our behalf, and as otherwise set out in this notice.
Never sell your personal data.
Who we are
This section gives you the legal name of the company who holds your personal data - known as the 'legal entity' - and tells you how you can contact us.
Development Bank of Wales Plc (Banc Datblygu Cymru ccc) is the holding company of a Group that trades as ‘Development Bank of Wales’. The Group is made up of a number of subsidiaries which are registered with names including the initials DBW.
Development Bank of Wales Group Plc is a development finance company wholly owned by the Welsh Ministers; it is neither authorised nor regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Development Bank of Wales Group Plc has three subsidiaries which are authorised and regulated by the FCA. Please note that neither the Development Bank of Wales Plc nor any of its subsidiaries are banking institutions or operate as such. This means that none of the group entities are able to accept deposits from the public.
Help to Buy - Wales is a scheme administered by Help to Buy (Wales) Ltd. a subsidiary of Development Bank of Wales Plc.
In summary, Development Bank of Wales is made up of a mix of companies, set up via different legal entities. We'll let you know which of these you have a relationship with when you take out a product or service with us.
Why we collect and use your personal data
We may collect and use your personal data for the following reasons:
To manage our Shared Equity Loan products.
To respond to any specific enquiries you have made to us.
To keep you informed about our products and services.
We may contact you by post, telephone, email, text message, or other digital methods. We may send you communications for the purposes of:
Ongoing management of equity Shared Equity Loan products.
Meeting our legal and regulatory obligations.
Marketing our products and services if you opted in during your application.
For marketing communications, you can opt-out of this at any time by emailing enquiries@helptobuywales.co.uk, or clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link in any of our marketing emails.
More details about how we use your information for each of these purposes can be found below. This website also uses cookies, more details can be found in our cookies policy.
See also gov.wales cookie policy
1. Using your personal data for our Shared Equity Loan products
Why does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited need to use my personal data?
If you apply for a Shared Equity Loan, we need to use your personal data to assess your eligibility.
If successful, we will use your information for keeping in touch with you and taking care of your Shared Equity Loan Account. We’ll use your personal data to:
Process your application for a Shared Equity Loan.
Manage your Shared Equity Loan account and keep in touch with you.
Send you communications to service your Shared Equity Loan account.
Manage any queries and complaints you might have.
Make sure the data we hold about you is correct and up to date.
We also use information provided by others, such as financial associates. For instance, if you are financially associated with an applicant, then we will need to collect personal data about you both.
We will also share your personal data with third parties to comply with our legal and contractual obligations, and where it is in our legitimate interests to do so (for example, to prevent fraud or financial misconduct, or to monitor compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme).
What personal data does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited collect and hold about me?
The information we might collect and hold about you includes:
Identity and contact details, such as your name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, and date of birth.
Information about your work or profession, your nationality and education.
Details of the accounts and products you hold and/or previously held with us, and how you use them.
Information about your financial position and history, which may include source of funds and wealth.
Details of when you contact us and when we contact you.
Information about your interactions with us in writing or by telephone.
Other information that you supply to us or that we obtain from our relationship with you.
Particularly sensitive personal data, known as special category data (e.g. information about your health).
When we talk about ‘information’ throughout this notice, we’re referring to all of the above.
What personal data does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited collect from third parties?
We may collect or receive personal data about you from third parties, including but not limited to:
Credit reference agencies (CRAs)
Government bodies and agencies
HM Revenue & Customs and other tax authorities
Regulators
Law enforcement agencies
Fraud prevention agencies (FPAs)
Insurers
The Electoral Roll and other sources of publicly available information (e.g. Sanctions list, media)
Our service providers
Companies and organisations that introduce you to us
Financial advisers
Land agents
Card associations
Retailers
Comparison websites
Market research providers
Tracing and debt recovery agents
Organisations providing data services to support us in managing our relationship with you and operating our business.
On occasion, we may also collect information from people who are acting on your behalf. This could be from a joint applicant or a power of attorney. If this person provides us with information, well record that it’s been provided and by who.
What does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited do with my information?
When you provide your information to us, or it is provided by others as part of an application, we will use it to:
Our uses of your information include:
Credit Referencing: Conducting searches at credit reference agencies, which provide us with credit information and electoral register data. These agencies will record details of any searches, whether or not your application proceeds. More information about how your information is used by these agencies is available in the Credit Reference Agency Information Notice ("CRAIN"). You can access the CRAIN here.
Financial Crime Prevention: Sharing your personal data with fraud prevention agencies to help prevent financial crime. If required for fraud or criminal investigation reasons, we (and the fraud prevention agencies) may also allow law enforcement agencies to access and use your information.
Developer and Landlord Communication: Sharing your information with developers and private landlords to assign a plot of land for your property development.
Legal Formalities: Sharing your information with solicitors/conveyancers for legal formalities related to your property transaction.
Property Data Validation: Sharing your data with HM Land Registry to validate property data.
Compliance Assessment: Sharing your data with Rent Smart Wales to assess compliance with the HtBW scheme policy on subletting property.
Research and Feedback: Sharing your data with the Welsh Government and their agents for research purposes, including scheme reviews, customer feedback, and statistical surveys. You can opt-out of these activities. HtBW may also share this data with other government departments, local authorities, and agencies working on their behalf.
Financial Assessment: Sharing your information with independent financial advisers and mortgage brokers to assess the financial implications of your property purchase.
Arrears Collection: Sharing your information with tracing agents to collect arrears if you fall behind on Shared Equity Loan repayments.
Complaint Resolution: Using your information to handle and resolve complaints, including sharing information with an Ombudsman, Dispute Resolution Service, or Regulatory Authority.
Terms and Conditions Compliance: Using your information in accordance with the fund's Terms and Conditions.
As part of these activities, we may share your information with the specified parties, your accountants, employers, and the Welsh Government.
Sharing Information with Credit Reference Agencies
We share your personal data with credit reference agencies to ensure that a Shared Equity Loan is right for you. We do this for the following reasons:
Assess your creditworthiness and ensure you can afford the Shared Equity Loan.
Check the information you have provided is accurate.
Prevent financial crime.
Manage our ongoing relationship.
Trace and recover debts.
Things You Need to Know About Credit Referencing:
When we ask a credit reference agency to do a search on our behalf, this may leave a search footprint on your credit file that may be seen by other lenders. This happens whether or not you, or us choose to proceed with your Shared Equity Loan application.
The number of searches carried out may have an impact on credit decisions made by us and other lenders.
If you’re making a joint application, your credit records will be linked together. This creates what’s known as a ‘financial association’ at credit reference agencies. You should always discuss and agree this with other applicants before disclosing their information to check that they’re happy to proceed.
Information about any financial associations will be shared with other lenders if either of you make a credit application in the future – whether it’s in just your name or together with someone else. We may receive and use information about your existing financial associations as part of our decision-making process.
What is the lawful basis for using my information?
Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis for collecting and using your personal data. When you apply for a Shared Equity Loan with us, the following lawful bases may apply:
Performance of a Contract
We use your personal data to perform necessary pre-contractual steps, enter into a contract with you, and fulfil our contractual obligations.
Legal Obligation
We use your personal data to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. This includes, for example, compliance with anti-money laundering legislation and Financial Conduct Authority requirements.
Legitimate Interests
We use your personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests. This includes:
Checks on Potential Customers: Conducting appropriate checks on potential customers, including ID checks.
Shared Equity Loan Repayment: Ensuring Shared Equity Loan repayment.
Compliance Assessment: Assessing compliance with scheme policies and terms.
Property Management: Managing the development of your property and transaction.
Data Validation: Validating property data with HM Land Registry.
Enquiry and Complaint Management: Investigating and managing enquiries and complaints and analysing them to prevent failures and rectify impacts.
Customer Welfare: Considering customers' welfare needs and providing necessary adjustments, support, or protection.
Financial Crime Prevention: Identifying, preventing, and investigating financial crime, including fraud and money laundering, and other financial misconduct.
Product and Service Improvement: Developing and improving our products and services, including conducting customer surveys and research.
Business Continuity: Ensuring business continuity, disaster recovery, and network and information security.
Lawful Basis for Processing Special Category Data
Data Protection laws treat some types of personal data as being particularly sensitive. This information is called ‘Special Category Data’. We will not collect or use these types of data unless the law allows us to. If we do, it will be under one of the following lawful bases:
Substantial Public Interest: For reasons of substantial public interest; or
Explicit Consent: We have your explicit consent to do so; or
Legal Claims: To establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
How long does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited keep my information?
We keep your personal data for different lengths of time based on the purpose we process it for. These purposes are listed below:
Successful Applications: If your application is successful, we will keep your personal data for the duration of your contract with us, and for 12 years after the contract ends. This ensures a full record of the contract in case of disputes.
Unsuccessful or Withdrawn Applications: If your application is unsuccessful or withdrawn, we will keep and delete your personal data in accordance with our data retention schedule.
Email Correspondence: Emails are kept for 2 years. If needed, emails may be kept longer to comply with legal requirements, manage existing claims or complaints, or for regulatory or technical reasons.
Legal Obligations and Claims: We may hold your information for as long as necessary to comply with legal obligations, exercise legal rights, comply with the Terms and Conditions of the fund, or defend legal claims.
Customer Relationship: Information will be kept for as long as necessary to manage your relationship with us and comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
Shared Equity Loan Account: Personal data may be kept up to 12 years after your Shared Equity Loan Account has closed.
Legal, Regulatory, or Technical Reasons: Information may be kept longer than indicated if deletion is not possible due to legal, regulatory, or technical reasons.
Research or Statistical Purposes: Information may be kept for research or statistical purposes. In such cases, your privacy will be protected, and the information will only be used for these purposes.
What happens if I do not provide my information to Help to Buy (Wales) Limited?
If you don’t provide us with the information we need, we will be unable to assess your application, and it may result in you not being able to access our Shared Equity Loan.
2. Using your personal data to respond to your enquiry
Why does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited need to use my personal data?
If you contact us to make an enquiry, we will need to process your personal data to respond to you.
What information do I need to provide to Help to Buy Wales?
That will depend on the nature of your query. The ‘Contact Us’ page on our website details the minimum information needed to respond to you. You may also contact us email at: enquiries@helptobuywales.co.uk.
What does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited do with my information?
We use your information to respond to your query and, with your consent, to provide information to you about our products and services (see section 3 below).
What is the lawful basis for using my information?
Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis for collecting and using your personal data. When you contact us with an enquiry, the following lawful bases may apply:
Performance of a Contract
We use your personal data to perform necessary pre-contractual steps, enter into a contract with you, and fulfil our contractual obligations.
Legal Obligation
We are permitted to use your personal data where it is necessary in order for us to comply with our legal obligations.
Legitimate Interests
Where you contact us with an enquiry, we process your personal data for the following reasons under our legitimate interests:
Investigating and managing enquiries and complaints: including analysing enquiries and complaints for the purposes of preventing failures and rectifying negative impacts on customers
Enquiry and Complaint Management: Investigating and managing enquiries and complaints and analysing them to prevent failures and rectify impacts.
Customer Welfare: Considering customers' welfare needs and providing necessary adjustments, support, or protection.
Product and Service Improvement: Developing and improving our products and services, including conducting customer surveys and research, and obtaining feedback from customers.
Business Continuity: Ensuring business continuity, disaster recovery, and network and information security.
Lawful Basis for Processing Special Category Data
Data Protection laws treat some types of personal data as being particularly sensitive. This information is called ‘Special Category Data’. We will not collect or use these types of data unless the law allows us to. If we do, it will be under one of the following lawful bases:
Substantial Public Interest: For reasons of substantial public interest; or
Explicit Consent: We have your explicit consent to do so; or
Legal Claims: To establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
How long does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited keep my information?
We keep your information for the duration of your query and normally delete it after 2 years unless you request ongoing communication. This includes correspondence you have with us by email or via the 'Contact Us' form on our website.
If we need to keep your personal data for a longer period than stated, we will do so to either to comply with the law, if there are existing claims or complaints that will require us to keep your information, or for regulatory or technical reasons.
What happens if I do not provide my information to Help to Buy (Wales) Limited?
If you do not provide the information we request, we may be unable to respond to or resolve your query.
3. Using your personal data to keep you informed of our products and services
Why does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited need to use my personal data?
If you would like to be kept informed of our services, we will use your personal data to send you direct marketing communications (such as emails). We will only do this if you have agreed to us using your personal data for this purpose.
What information do I need to provide to Help to Buy (Wales) Limited?
You may provide us with your name and contact details via our application, registration, or expression of interest forms, which can be found on this website.
What does Help to Buy Wales do with my information?
We use your contact details to provide you with information about our products and services. We never sell or share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
What is the lawful basis for using my information?
Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis for collecting and using your personal data. When we use your information for marketing purposes, the following lawful bases apply:
Legitimate Interests
Where we use your information for marketing purposes, we process your personal data for the following reasons under our legitimate interests:
Informing you about our Products and Services: Informing you about the products and services of the DBW Group.
Product and Service Improvement: Developing and improving our products and services, including conducting customer surveys and research, and obtaining feedback from customers.
Consent
Where we ask for your consent before we send you marketing information about our products and services.
How long does Help to Buy (Wales) Limited keep my information?
We will keep your information until you opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us.
What if I do not wish to receive marketing communications from Help to Buy (Wales) Limited?
You can opt-out of receiving marketing information at any time by emailing us at enquiries@helptobuywales.co.uk or by clicking the 'unsubscribe' link in our marketing emails.
Sending your Information Outside the UK
We may transfer personal data to countries outside the UK when:
You request for us to do so.
We’re required or permitted to by law.
We’re sharing data with a third party to support us in managing your account.
When working with our suppliers and/or transferring information to countries outside the UK, we take appropriate steps to ensure that there is adequate protection in place and that data protection legislation is followed.
This could be by:
Ensuring that we transfer information to countries that we believe have comparable data protection legislation to the UK.
Putting suitable clauses in our contracts so that organisations take appropriate steps to comply with UK data protection law.
If you would like more information on this, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under data protection laws, you have certain rights over your personal data. Below is a list of these rights, including a description and how to contact us about them:
The right of access – You have the right to ask for copies of your personal data (this is also known as a subject access request).
The right to rectification – You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate, and the right to complete information you believe is incomplete.
The right to erasure – You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions
The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to data portability – You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organisation, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
The right to complain to the regulator - the Information Commissioner's Office, if you are unhappy about how your personal data is being used. The ICO can be contacted at www.ico.org.uk.
Rights in relation to automated decision making – You have rights not to be subject to a decision that is based solely on automated processing if the decision affects your legal rights or other equally important matters. You also have rights to understand reasons behind decisions made about you by automated decision making, including profiling.
Your rights and how to contact us
If you have questions about how we use your personal data, or you wish to exercise your data protection rights, you can contact our Data Protection Officer.
Data protection queries and rights requests
For general enquiries about your personal data, or to exercise your rights (including access requests), please contact us at:
Email: dpo@developmentbank.wales
You can contact us to:
Request access to your personal data (a subject access request).
Ask us to correct or update your personal data.
Request erasure or restriction of processing.
Object to how we use your data.
Ask about how your personal data is handled.
We will respond in line with applicable data protection legislation.
Making a complaint
If you are dissatisfied with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to make a complaint.
Contact our Complaints Team
We aim to provide a high standard of service and take complaints seriously. You can raise a complaint with us at:
Email: cr@helptobuywales.co.uk
We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and investigate it fairly and impartially. Where appropriate, your complaint will be reviewed in conjunction with our Data Protection Officer.
Contacting the regulator
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection regulator at any time:
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Website: www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
You do not need to raise your complaint with us before contacting the ICO.
Making a complaint will not affect your legal rights.
Last Updated: June 2026
