Privacy statement and terms of use

I. Introduction

1. This privacy policy explains how Immo Woestyn handles the personal data of its customers, natural persons, and all other natural persons who are in contact with Immo Woestyn (hereinafter referred to as ‘you’).

2. Personal data means any information that allows you to be identified, directly or indirectly, as a natural person.

3. Immo Woestyn attaches great importance to the protection of your personal data and fully respects your privacy. Immo Woestyn therefore processes and protects your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner.

When processing your personal data, Immo Woestyn naturally complies with the law, currently the Belgian Act of 8 December 1992 and, since 25 May 2018, European Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on data protection (better known as the ‘GDPR’), or any other legislative act amending it.

More information on the protection of personal data can be obtained from the Belgian Commission for the Protection of Privacy, called the Data Protection Authority since 25 May 2018 (www.privacycommission.be).

4. We invite you to read this statement carefully so that you know and understand Immo Woestyn's policy in this area.

This statement is updated regularly. The most recent version of the statement is available on our website. We will inform you through the usual communication channels if significant changes are made.

II. Who is the controller?

5. Immo Woestyn, with its registered office at Mimosastraat 2, 8301 Duinbergen, is the controller of your data.

6. Immo Woestyn is therefore your point of contact and is accountable to the Data Protection Authority for the processing of your personal data. Immo Woestyn determines the purposes for which your personal data are processed, as well as the means used and the characteristics of the processing.

7. Immo Woestyn may call on specialised service providers to process your personal data on behalf of Immo Woestyn and in accordance with Immo Woestyn's instructions, in line with this privacy policy. Only the personal data that are strictly necessary will be passed on to these service providers (hereinafter ‘Immo Woestyn's processors’).

8. For all questions relating to the protection of your privacy, you can contact the managing director. You can reach him by sending an email to [email protected].

III. Which categories of personal data does Immo Woestyn process?

9. Below is an overview of the categories of personal data that Immo Woestyn may process. Other data may also be processed if they are necessary or useful for the continuation of the contractual relationship with Immo Woestyn.

The context in which Immo Woestyn obtains or processes these data is also indicated. This overview must be read together with the description of the purposes for which Immo Woestyn processes the data.

Identification data of the client/principal (seller or landlord) and of the prospective buyer or tenant

Examples: name, address, place and date of birth, nationality, landline or mobile phone number and email address.

Context: these data are provided by you and processed when you request information, become a client, enter into a brokerage agreement or register to use Immo Woestyn's (online) services, for any identification or use. These data may be obtained, among other things, by reading your identity card.

Data on the property of the client/principal (seller or landlord)

Examples: title deed, planning information extract, soil certificate, inspection certificate of the electrical installation, EPC certificate, information on flood risk, post-intervention file, information on heritage value.

Context: these data are provided by you or requested on your behalf by Immo Woestyn from the authorities or technical experts.

Data of the prospective tenant relating to a proposed lease

Examples: information about occupation and employment, solvency, family situation, salary, etc.

Context: these data are collected by means of forms and contracts that you complete at your request.

Additional data for concluding a lease or a private sales agreement

Examples: national registration number.

Context: these data are provided by you. The national registration number is only used in the cases provided for or required by law.

Data of co-owners (or their tenants)

Examples: name, address, place and date of birth, nationality, landline or mobile phone number and email address.

Context: these data are provided by you as a co-owner to Immo Woestyn when Immo Woestyn acts as property manager (syndic).

Data relating to the performance of property management (syndic) services

Examples: payment transactions, including names and account numbers, communications and references, card numbers, etc.

Context: these data relate to your transactions as a co-owner that are coordinated by the property manager.

Data on Immo Woestyn's dealings with you

Examples: information relating to your contacts with Immo Woestyn, by telephone, email, fax, etc., and your interactions on web pages concerning Immo Woestyn, its services or its partners, on social networks, etc.

Context: these data come from contacts of any kind between you and Immo Woestyn (at meetings or events, a newsletter subscription, social networks, etc.).

Data on the behaviour and preferences of the client

Examples: information about your behaviour and preferences regarding the use of communication and relationship channels, information about your personal choices and lifestyle, private or professional projects, hobbies, etc.

Context: these data result from choices you have expressed or analyses carried out by Immo Woestyn in accordance with this statement and its legal obligations.

10. Immo Woestyn does not process any data revealing your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning health or sex life or sexual orientation, genetic data or biometric data.

IV. For what purposes does Immo Woestyn process your personal data?

11. Immo Woestyn collects and processes your personal data solely for the purposes described below. Immo Woestyn ensures that only the data necessary and relevant for a specific purpose are processed.

Immo Woestyn processes your data in the situations permitted by law, namely:

To comply with the legal obligations incumbent on Immo Woestyn (12.).
To perform a contract with you or to take certain steps at your request prior to entering into that contract (13.).
For the purposes of Immo Woestyn's legitimate interests, whereby these interests are weighed against your fundamental rights and freedoms (14.).
In specific cases, with your consent, following a specific and unambiguous request, preceded by clear and understandable information; you may withdraw this consent at any time in accordance with the law (15.).

12. Legal obligations

Immo Woestyn must comply with legislation that, in specific circumstances, obliges it to process your personal data in the context of its activities. These obligations may mean that Immo Woestyn has to cooperate with the competent authorities and/or third parties and may pass on some of your personal data to them.

These include, among others:

The obligation to help prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
The obligations imposed on a property manager (syndic) regarding the management of co-owned properties.
The obligation to respond to a formal request from the Belgian tax and judicial authorities.

The list of legal obligations for which Immo Woestyn must process your data is not exhaustive and is subject to change.

13. Contractual relations between Immo Woestyn and you as a client

Before entering into contracts, Immo Woestyn sometimes needs to obtain and process certain data, in particular in order to:

Respond to your request.
Assist you in providing information and in concluding the contract.
Follow up on a request, assess suitability and estimate the risks associated with a possible contract.
Carry out your brokerage assignment.

In the context of ongoing contracts or the management of contracts, Immo Woestyn needs to process a number of data, in particular to meet its administrative and accounting obligations.

In this context, your data may be transferred internally within Immo Woestyn to various departments, including those that are not directly responsible for the relationship with you or for the performance of a particular contract.

More specifically, Immo Woestyn processes your data in the performance of contracts as follows:

Management of ongoing contracts and ordered services.
Central management and overall view of clients.
The management of your property.
The management of the co-ownership in which you are a co-owner.

Immo Woestyn may process your personal data for additional purposes in the context of its relationship with you and the performance of contracts.

14. Legitimate interests of Immo Woestyn

Immo Woestyn also processes your data in pursuit of its legitimate interests. In doing so, Immo Woestyn strives to strike a fair balance between the need to process data and respect for your rights and freedoms, including the protection of your privacy.

Personal data are processed for purposes including:

Personalising Immo Woestyn's services.
Improving the quality of the service provided to you through: (a) evaluating and improving processes, including campaigns, simulations and sales, by various means such as statistical analysis, satisfaction surveys and various other research methods; (b) improving Immo Woestyn's existing products (or products under development), based on surveys of Immo Woestyn's clients, statistics, tests and client feedback via social networks (Twitter, Facebook) linked to Immo Woestyn.
Monitoring Immo Woestyn's activities, including turnover, the number of appointments in our offices, the number of calls and visits to Immo Woestyn's website, the nature of the questions asked by clients, etc.
Preparing studies and statistics, using anonymisation and pseudonymisation of the data subjects.
Training our staff by using practical examples for illustration purposes, including recording certain telephone conversations.
Using cookies to improve ease of use for visitors to its website. More information on how cookies work and on the options for restricting and deleting cookies can be found in article IX. Cookie policy.
Keeping evidence (archives).
Establishing, exercising, defending and preserving the rights of Immo Woestyn or of any persons it represents, for example in debt collection proceedings or disputes.

15. Specific legitimate interest of Immo Woestyn: direct marketing

Immo Woestyn segments its clients, in particular according to your needs, in order, for example, to offer you suitable properties and/or services that match your professional and personal situation. To that end, Immo Woestyn may, among other things:

Assess the services you already use and your socio-demographic data (age, family composition, income, etc.).
Analyse your behaviour across various channels (visits/meetings, emails, website visits, messages via our website), infer your preferences and thereby personalise the information and web pages you have visited.
Adapt the advertisements on web pages so that they match the interest you have shown through your behaviour on our website, on social networks, in an office or elsewhere (e.g. at events attended by Immo Woestyn).
Simplify the completion of forms by pre-filling certain fields with data already known and asking you to verify the accuracy of these data and update them where necessary.
Assess the key moments at which certain services would suit you best.
Send you personalised advertisements by post or telephone.

Immo Woestyn may process your personal electronic contact details (namely your mobile phone number and email address) in order to send you personal information, advertisements or proposals through direct marketing or newsletters. In this case, Immo Woestyn must first ask for your specific consent.

By accepting this privacy policy, you consent to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.

V. With whom does Immo Woestyn share your personal data?

16. Immo Woestyn handles your personal data with the utmost care and only shares your data in order to offer you the best services in the performance of its assignment.

Immo Woestyn may transfer your data to other entities within its group in Belgium and abroad, in particular to the other entities of the group that assist Immo Woestyn in the performance, management and control of its activities, including reporting, support and IT security, or in offering specific services and products.

17. In some cases, Immo Woestyn is required by law to share your data with third parties, including:

Public bodies or supervisory authorities where there is a legal obligation to provide information.
Judicial investigating authorities at their express request.

Immo Woestyn also transfers your data to specific service providers to help with:

Designing and maintaining computer equipment and internet applications.
Providing advertising and communication services, including online and social network providers.
Preparing reports and statistics, printing documents and designing products or services.
Marketing its activities, organising events and managing client communications.

Immo Woestyn must also pass on your data to online and social network providers that Immo Woestyn uses to provide advertising services.

Your personal data may also be disclosed to bailiffs or lawyers in the context of legal proceedings.

In the cases mentioned above, Immo Woestyn ensures that third parties only have limited access to the personal data necessary to carry out the specific tasks required. Immo Woestyn will also ensure that third parties undertake to use the personal data in a secure and confidential manner, in accordance with Immo Woestyn's instructions and its data protection policy.

18. Immo Woestyn stores your personal data within the EEA. Consequently, no data are transferred to countries outside the EEA.

VI. How long are your personal data kept?

19. Immo Woestyn will not keep your personal data longer than necessary to achieve the purposes for which the data are collected.

This period is linked to Immo Woestyn's legal and tax obligations, as well as the legal need to keep your data beyond the retention period as evidence or to respond to requests for information from the competent authority, for example:

10 years under anti-money laundering legislation.
10 years in connection with Immo Woestyn's contractual liability.
7 years for the accounts and supporting documents of associations of co-owners in connection with performing the role of property manager (syndic).

After these periods, your personal data are deleted or anonymised.

VII. How are your personal data protected?

20. Immo Woestyn applies strict standards to protect the personal data under its control against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Immo Woestyn therefore takes technical and organisational measures, such as encryption, antivirus software, firewalls, access controls and strict selection of staff and suppliers, to prevent and detect inappropriate access to, loss of or disclosure of your personal data.

In the unlikely and unfortunate event that your personal data under Immo Woestyn's control are compromised by a breach of information security, Immo Woestyn will act immediately to identify the cause of such breach and take action through adequate remedial measures. Where necessary, Immo Woestyn will notify you of this incident in accordance with the applicable legislation.

VIII. What are your rights regarding the processing of your personal data?

21. Right of access, rectification, restriction, erasure, data portability and objection

For the purposes mentioned above, you have:

A right of access to your personal data held by Immo Woestyn. This means that you can ask Immo Woestyn whether it processes your personal data, for what purposes these data are processed, which categories of data are processed and to whom they are disclosed.
A right to rectification if you find that your personal data are inaccurate or incomplete.
A right to restriction if, for example, you contest the accuracy of your personal data, for a period enabling Immo Woestyn to verify this.
A right to erasure of your personal data. When your contract with Immo Woestyn has ended, you can ask Immo Woestyn to erase your personal data if they are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected. You can also at any time request the erasure of personal data processed by Immo Woestyn on the basis of your consent (unless Immo Woestyn has another legal ground for the processing) or on the basis of Immo Woestyn's legitimate interest (unless there are overriding compelling legitimate grounds for the processing). In any event, Immo Woestyn may retain these personal data if this is required for evidential purposes in the context of legal claims.
A right to portability of the data you have provided to Immo Woestyn yourself, if your personal data are processed on the basis of a contract or of your consent to receive electronic communications and these personal data are processed by automated means. Under this right, you can ask Immo Woestyn to send your personal data to you or directly to another controller, insofar as this is technically possible for Immo Woestyn.
A right to object to the processing of your data for the purposes mentioned in article 14. In that case, Immo Woestyn will stop processing your personal data, unless Immo Woestyn demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or where there are grounds relating to the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
A right to object to direct marketing. In article 15, your consent was requested to process and use your electronic contact details to send you commercial information, advertising or personal proposals (through direct marketing campaigns or electronic newsletters). This applies in particular to communications to your mobile phone number and email address. You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for electronic direct marketing and to refuse to receive such advertising in the future. However, exercising the right to object does not prevent Immo Woestyn from contacting you for any other purpose, including a legal obligation or the performance of the contract, in accordance with this statement.

22. Right to lodge a complaint

You can exercise your rights by sending a written, dated and signed request, together with a copy of your identity document, by post to Immo Woestyn, Mimosastraat 2, 8301 Duinbergen, or by email to [email protected].

You can also lodge a complaint with the Commission for the Protection of Privacy, by post at Drukpersstraat 15, 1000 Brussels, by email at [email protected] or by telephone on +32 2 274 48 00.

IX. Cookie policy

23. When you visit a website or use an application or app of Immo Woestyn, files and technologies may be used that store information on your terminal equipment (PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.) or that access information already stored on your terminal equipment. These files and technologies may consist of cookies, web beacons, log files, settings and information on your terminal equipment and the like.

24. The Immo Woestyn website uses the following types of cookies:

Functional cookies: these cookies are necessary for the basic functionality of the website. They ensure the technical operation of the website and contribute to the visitor's ease of use.
Analytical cookies: these cookies enable us to analyse the use of the site so that we can measure and improve its performance (e.g. Google Analytics).
Third-party cookies: this website incorporates functionalities of Facebook. Immo Woestyn has no influence over third-party cookies or the data that these parties process with them. Read Facebook's privacy statement to find out what it does with your (personal) data processed through these cookies.

25. You can disable the cookies, web beacons, log files and other files and technologies used by Immo Woestyn to the extent and in the manner described below. Deleting and/or refusing cookies, web beacons, log files and other files and technologies may mean that you can no longer use the website optimally.

The procedure depends on the browser you use and can be consulted via the links below:

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en
Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/278835/how-to-delete-cookie-files-in-internet-explorer
Firefox/Mozilla: https://support.mozilla.org/nl/kb/navigatie-zoek-en-downloadgeschiedenis-verwijderen
Safari: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH17191?locale=en_GB
Opera: https://help.opera.com/en/latest/web-preferences/#cookies

Terms of use: General

Your use of the site ‘woestyn.com’ implies that you fully accept the following terms of use.

Terms of use: Links to other sites

In certain sections, the Immo Woestyn site contains hyperlinks to content originating from third parties or to websites managed by third parties. We are not responsible for the quality and accuracy of the content of these websites. Nor can we be regarded as a body that approves, publishes or endorses the content of these websites or websites in general. Consequently, the operators of those websites are solely responsible for complying with the laws and regulations relating to the products and services they offer for sale on their website, in particular with regard to consumer protection, distance selling, pricing legislation, etc.

Terms of use: Reliability of the information on the site

On our site, we provide information to you entirely without obligation. These data are offered to you purely for information purposes and we therefore cannot guarantee that the information is reliable, complete and relevant. We therefore recommend that you seek the advice of reliable professional advisers (estate agents, experts, architects, lawyers, notaries, tax advisers or others) before making a decision regarding any aspect of your property. We do everything possible to provide reliable and regularly updated property information on the Immo Woestyn site. However, the Product Website cannot be held responsible for any errors in the information. We therefore strongly advise you to verify the accuracy of the information and the availability of the property yourself by contacting us before making any decision (purchase, rental, etc.) regarding the property.

Terms of use: Availability of the site

Although we strive to make the Immo Woestyn site available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, we reserve the right to interrupt access to the site at any time and without prior notice, for technical or other reasons. We also reserve the right to discontinue our services. We cannot be held responsible for these interruptions or for their possible consequences for you or for a third party.

Terms of use: Denial of access to the site

We reserve the right to unilaterally deny access to all or part of the site to any natural or legal person:

who infringes these terms of use;
who in any way damages the good reputation of the site;
who infringes the intellectual property rights of third parties;
who uses the site for unlawful purposes.

We also reserve the right to take legal action against those persons.

Terms of use: Applicable law and jurisdiction

Any dispute arising from the use of the Immo Woestyn site is governed by Belgian law, and the Belgian courts have exclusive jurisdiction.