Privacy Notice

1. Who we are

Homeowner.org.nz is a non-profit organisation focused on informing and supporting residential homeowners, buyers, and sellers in New Zealand. We are the agency for the purposes of the Privacy Act 2020 in respect of information collected through this site and related member services.

For contact details, see the Governance page.

2. What we collect, and why

• Account information. Email address, display name, and optional profile metadata. Used to authenticate you and to send service messages you have consented to.
• Documents you upload to the Advisor. Sale and purchase agreements, agency agreements, LIMs, building reports, correspondence. Used only for your private sessions with the Advisor. Encrypted at rest and in transit.
• Conversation content. The messages you exchange with the Advisor. Retained while your account is active; deleted on request.
• Usage analytics. Pages visited, language preference, approximate region. Used to improve the service. Privacy-respecting analytics only; no third-party advertising trackers; no session replay.
• Newsletter signups. Email address and language preference, stored until you unsubscribe.
• Contribution submissions. Case studies, feedback, translation contributions. Used under the Moderation Policy.

3. What we do not do

• We do not sell personal information.
• We do not use member documents or conversations to train third-party language models.
• We do not accept advertising from the real-estate industry (agents, agencies, industry bodies).
• We do not share identifiable information with real-estate service providers.
• We do not publish member case material without explicit consent and completed anonymisation.

4. Where information is stored

Account data, documents, and conversation content are stored on infrastructure operated by our technology supplier AgentTeam, with data residency in regions that comply with the Privacy Act 2020's cross-border transfer requirements (IPP 12). We review residency arrangements on each renewal.

5. Your rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you (IPP 6).
• Correct information you believe is inaccurate (IPP 7).
• Request deletion of your account and all associated documents and conversation history. Deletion is immediate and confirmed in writing.
• Withdraw consent at any time for optional uses (newsletter, research participation).
• Complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if you believe we have breached the Act. Contact details are published at privacy.org.nz.

6. Retention

• Account data: retained while the account is active. Deleted 30 days after account closure, or immediately on explicit request.
• Documents uploaded to the Advisor: retained while the account is active, or for the shorter period you specify in your Advisor settings.
• Conversation content: same retention as the account.
• Newsletter list: retained until you unsubscribe.
• Analytics: aggregated and anonymised within 12 months.

7. Security

Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256). Access to production systems is limited to a small number of named personnel and logged. Incident response procedures follow Office of the Privacy Commissioner guidance for notifiable breaches (Privacy Act 2020 Part 6).

8. Changes to this notice

Material changes are announced in the site changelog and, where significant, by direct email to active members. Small clarifying edits are made inline.