Privacy Policy

01 Who we are

This Privacy Policy is issued by Navigate Japan Limited, a company registered in New Zealand (NZBN 9429052367342), trading as Home & Heart Property Management. In this policy, "we," "us," and "our" refer to Navigate Japan Limited.

We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles.

02 Scope of this policy

This policy covers personal information we collect through this website — for example, when you submit an enquiry, request an appraisal, or otherwise contact us.

If you are a tenant or an applicant for a property we manage, we also collect information in that context — see Section 3 below.

03 Information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us:

• Enquiries and appraisal requests — name, email, phone number, property address, your current location, language preference, and anything else you choose to tell us in a message.
• Prospective and current owners — the above, plus, once you engage us, information needed to manage your property under the Agreement: bank account details for disbursements, insurance information, and property records.
• Tenants and rental applicants — name and contact details, identification, references, and, with your consent, information from credit and reference checks, tenancy history, and income information relevant to assessing a rental application.
• Website use — we do not currently operate tracking cookies or analytics on this website; see Section 10.

We do not knowingly collect more information than we need for the purpose it is collected for.

04 How we collect it

Most personal information is collected directly from you — through our enquiry and appraisal forms, by email, by phone, or in person.

Where you consent, we may also collect information about you from third parties — for example, a credit reporting agency or a previous landlord, as part of assessing a rental application.

05 Why we collect and use it

We collect and use personal information to:

• respond to your enquiry and prepare a rent appraisal;
• provide property management services under a signed Agreement, including rent collection, financial reporting, maintenance coordination, and compliance record-keeping;
• assess rental applications and manage tenancies, including reference and credit checks carried out with consent;
• meet our legal obligations, including under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, the Healthy Homes Standards, and our tax and reporting obligations; and
• communicate with you about your enquiry, your property, or your tenancy.

We do not use your personal information for marketing by a third party, and we do not sell personal information.

06 Who we may share it with

We may share personal information with:

• credit reporting and tenancy reference agencies, with your consent, to assess a rental application;
• contractors and tradespeople, to the extent needed to carry out maintenance or repairs you or we have authorised;
• government agencies where we are legally required to — for example, Tenancy Services, Inland Revenue, or in response to a lawful request;
• our professional advisers, such as our accountant or lawyer, where relevant to a specific matter; and
• another Home & Heart division, only where you have engaged that division's services or where related-party work at your property has been disclosed and approved as set out in your Agreement.

We do not share personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

07 Information sent overseas

Many of the owners we work with live overseas, most commonly in Japan. Where you ask us to correspond with you, or with your representative, at an overseas address or through an overseas communication channel (including LINE), we will disclose the personal information necessary to do that.

Where we disclose personal information to a person or organisation overseas, we take reasonable steps to be satisfied that the information will be subject to protections comparable to the Privacy Act 2020, consistent with Information Privacy Principle 12, or that you have authorised the disclosure in the circumstances.

08 Storage and security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, or disclosure. Financial and client-money records are held in accordance with the controls described in your Agreement. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

09 How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected for, or as required by law.

• Enquiries that do not proceed — kept for a reasonable period in case you follow up, then deleted or anonymised.
• Unsuccessful rental applications — deleted or anonymised once the tenancy is filled and any reasonable dispute period has passed, unless we are required to retain them for longer.
• Successful tenants and current owners — kept for as long as needed for tenancy or property administration, compliance, dispute resolution, or other legal obligations, including the record-keeping periods required under tax and tenancy law.

10 Cookies and website analytics

This website does not currently use tracking cookies, advertising pixels, or third-party analytics. If that changes — for example, if we add analytics to understand how the website is used — we will update this section to describe what is collected and how you can control it.

11 Access and correction

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct it if it is wrong. To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 15. We will respond within the timeframes required by law, and will tell you if we are unable to provide access or make a correction, and why.

12 Children's privacy

Our services are directed at adults responsible for a property or a tenancy. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

13 Complaints

If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first using the details in Section 15 — most concerns can be resolved directly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.

14 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, including to reflect changes to our services, our website, or the law. The version published on this website is the version in effect, and takes effect from the date shown at the top of this page.

15 Contact

Questions about this policy, or requests to access or correct your personal information, are welcome.