Privacy Policy

We recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of Personal Information we collect from you. This Privacy Policy explains what information we may collect from you, how we use it, and in some cases disclose it. By using this website you are acknowledging and accepting our policies and practices.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

The type of Personal Information we collect depends upon why you are visiting our website. If you are a prospective resident or an applicant for employment, the information we request includes some or all of the following: name, address, age or date of birth, email address, occupation, employment information, telephone number, educational background, Social Security/national insurance number, payment card information, and/or financial account information.

For both prospective residents and applicants for employment, the process also involves directing you to the websites of one or more third party vendors. We share your Personal Information with these third-party vendors in order that they can assist with the services you seek. They also may independently collect additional Personal Information from you, and their collection and use of your personal information is governed by their privacy policies and terms of use.

Prospective residents may be asked for more information such as the service you request, the apartment size you would like, where you want to live, your building preference, your proposed rent budget, the number of individuals in your household and their ages, and whether or not you have pets.

If you become a resident of a community we manage, you may be asked to provide your credit card information in order to make payments of rent and for other services. We provide these credit card services through contractual arrangements with third-parties, and the Personal Information needed by these third parties to provide you with these services will be submitted by you directly while you are on their website. The use of your Personal Information by third parties service providers is governed by their privacy policies and terms of use.

For those interested in applying for employment with us, the following additional Personal Information may be requested: credit checks, background checks, reference checks, and employment verification. Where required, we will obtain your consent before undertaking these checks. If you accept a position, you may be asked to self-identify ethnicity or race (for the sole purpose of meeting government reporting requirements).

USAGE TRACKING: USE OF IP ADDRESSES

An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are connected to the Internet. Web servers, the main computers that serve up web pages, automatically identify your computer by its IP address. We collect IP addresses for the purposes of system administration, gathering and analyzing aggregated information, creating a better experience for users, and auditing the use of our site. Your session will be logged, along with your IP address. We will seek to link IP addresses with Personal Information when we feel it is necessary to protect this site and other users from harm and to prevent criminal misconduct.

USE OF “COOKIES” AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual for recordkeeping purposes. Cookies make web surfing easier for you by saving your preferences while you are at our site. The use of cookies is an industry standard, and as such, you will find them at most major websites.
This Site uses Google Analytics (and in the future may use other similar sites or services), a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”), to better assist us in understanding how the Site is used. Google Analytics will place cookies on your computer that will generate information that we select about your use of the Site, including your computer’s IP address. That information will be transmitted to and stored by Google. The information will be used for the purpose of evaluating consumer use of the Site, compiling reports on Site activity for our use, and providing other services relating to Site activity and usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. Please note that by doing so, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Site. The use of cookies by Google Analytics is covered by Google’s privacy policy (http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/).

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE SHARE OR DISCLOSE?

We will disclose Personal Information only as described below:
If you request us, or give us permission, to do so;
With vendors and service providers that may from time to time be selected or utilized by us for the purposes of carrying out transactions for the products or services you request;
To comply with court orders, to prevent suspected illegal acts, frauds, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person, or as otherwise required by law;
To defend against claims or establish or exercise any legal right that we may have; or
To help us prevent violations of the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy or to otherwise protect the rights, property, or safety of our employees, residents and others, including exchanging information with third parties for fraud protection and credit risk reduction, in accordance with applicable laws.

THIRD-PARTY SITE LINKS

When you are on our website you might be directed to other third-party sites that are beyond our control. For example, if you “click” on a banner, an advertisement, or a search result, the “click” may take you off our site. We do not control these sites and therefore are not responsible for their content.

EMAIL CONSENT AND OPT-OUT

If you provide your Personal Information to us on this site it constitutes your affirmative consent that we may contact you by email to provide you with information and notices that are applicable to you. You may choose to opt out of receiving email from us as a result of your use of this site.

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

We do not use the site to knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13) that requires parental notice and consent under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). If you are a child under thirteen (13) years of age, you are not permitted to use the site and should not send any information about yourself to us through the site. In the event that we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from any child, we will dispose of that information, or otherwise treat it, in accordance with COPPA and other applicable laws and regulations. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe that your child under age 13 may have provided Personal Information through the website, please contact us using the “Contact Information” section.

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS

We are located in the District of Columbia in the U.S. If you are providing Personal Information and are not a resident of the U.S., your country’s laws governing data collection and use may differ from those in the U.S. By providing information to us, you are transferring your personal data to the U.S., and you consent to the transfer to, retention of and processing of your data in the U.S.

CORRECTING AND DEACTIVATING PERSONAL INFORMATION

You have the right, freely and at reasonable intervals, to request that we inform you as to whether Personal Information relating to you is being processed. You have the right to request that we correct, supplement, delete or block your Personal Information. If you wish to exercise your rights or if you have any questions or suggestions regarding the use, collection, or security of your Personal Information, please contact us using the contact details in the “Contact Information” section.
When a request for user deletion is received, we will make all reasonable efforts to purge said data from our systems. Due to the nature of our service, some information may not be fully removed due to backups or archived copies; however, such information will only be used for the purpose of performing a contract that the user has entered into with us.

DATA SECURITY

We take reasonable steps to secure your Personal Information, but no data transmission over the Internet is completely secure. Likewise, no storage or processing of your Personal Information can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please consider this prior to submitting your Personal Information to us. If you have any questions about security, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Information” section.

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES

If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will advise you of those changes through a general description at the top of this Privacy Policy. We may also email you.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If your contact information changes (e.g., zip/postal address, phone, or email), or if you no longer desire to be registered with this site, please email us with attention to “Digital Marketing Department” at “info@wcsmith.com”.

You may also contact us by regular mail at The WC Smith Group, Attn.: Digital Marketing, 1100 New Jersey Avenue SE, Suite 1000, Washington D.C. 20003. If you contact us by mail, your communication should clearly be marked as a data protection query and as being time sensitive.

ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS

By using this site, or providing information to us, you acknowledge your awareness of the terms of this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is part of our website’s Terms of Use and by using this Site you agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use this Site. We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time.