Privacy policy.

Who is responsible?

Herman Ontruimingen, [STRAAT NR], [POSTCODE GEMEENTE]. KBO [KBO-NUMMER], VAT BE [BTW-NUMMER]. Questions about your details can be sent to info@hermanontruimingen.be or asked by phone on +32 XXX XX XX XX.

Which details do we process, and why?

Through the form: your name, phone number, email address and the postcode of the property. If you fill them in, also: the street and house number of the property, the situation, the type of property, the floor, when the property needs to be empty, how you prefer to be contacted, your message and the photos you send. We use these details only to handle your request: contacting you, giving you a price range, scheduling the home visit and giving you a fixed price. If you call, email or message us directly, we process the details you give us for the same purpose.

To avoid typing errors, the form checks whether the postcode is in West Flanders and whether the street exists (using a list from the Flemish address register stored on our own server), and whether the domain of your email address can receive mail. For that last check only the part after the @ is looked up; your details themselves are not sent to any other service. To prevent abuse of the form, our server keeps the IP address of each submission for 24 hours; after that it is deleted.

The legal basis is the performance of, or preparation for, a contract with you (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR).

How does the form reach us?

No external form service is involved. The form is processed by a script on our own server at Hostinger. Your request and your photos are stored there in a protected folder that cannot be reached through the website; only Herman Ontruimingen can view them, through a protected management page. Everyone allowed to log in there (the owner and possibly an employee who works on the assignments) has their own username and password. An employee sees the requests, but not the company settings. Where possible, we save photos again without the location data a phone sometimes stores in them. Herman Ontruimingen receives a notification email with your details, without the photos, at the company's email addresses. You receive a confirmation in your mailbox straight away. Emails we send you afterwards (a price range, an appointment, your fixed price) leave from the same server and are kept with your request, so we can see later what we wrote to you.

The server makes a daily backup copy of the data in the management page, which stays on the same server for 30 days. That way nothing is lost in case of a technical fault. If you delete your details, they also disappear from the backups at the latest 30 days later.

Herman Ontruimingen also receives a short text message saying there is a new request. That text message is sent through SMSBOX (JAAN bv, Zelzate, Belgium), with servers in Belgium. It only contains the postcode and municipality, the situation you chose and the number of photos. Your name, phone number, email address, address and message are not in it. SMSBOX keeps sent messages for thirteen months at most. The legal basis is the same as for your request: you ask us to contact you (Article 6.1.b GDPR).

Server logs of the hosting

Our hosting partner Hostinger, like every hosting service, keeps technical server logs: the IP address, the time of the visit and the type of browser. These logs are used for the security and proper functioning of the server; we do not use them to track visitors. Hostinger keeps them for a limited time according to its own policy. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a secure, working website (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

How long do we keep your details?

For as long as needed to handle your request. If it does not become an assignment, your details and photos are deleted automatically twelve months after the last change to your request. If it does become an assignment, we delete the photos twelve months after completion and keep the other details for as long as legal (accounting and tax) obligations require. If you would like us to delete everything sooner, just ask.

If you come to us more than once, we combine your requests in one customer record. A customer record without requests is deleted automatically twelve months after the last change.

If you work with us as a notary, estate agent, care home or building manager, we keep your business contact details (name, office, phone, email) for as long as we work together, based on our legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can always ask us to delete them.

Do we share your details?

Not with third parties for marketing. Only with service providers we need in order to work: Hostinger (hosting, our mailbox and sending the email), CookieYes (cookie management), SMSBOX (the text message to Herman Ontruimingen about a new request, without your name or contact details) and Google Calendar, where we put appointments for a home visit or clearance (the date, your name, your phone number and the address of the property). If you contact us on WhatsApp, that conversation runs through WhatsApp. Otherwise only with authorities when the law requires it.

Cookies

This website uses no tracking and no analytics. Only two things remember anything: the CookieYes cookie banner stores your cookie choice, and if you tick items on the checklist after a death, the site remembers those ticks locally in your own browser; they never leave your device. If you send the form, the server also places one technical session cookie, only to prevent the same form from being sent dozens of times in a row. All details are in the cookie policy. You can change your choice with the "Cookie preferences" button at the bottom of every page.

Your rights

You have the right to access, correct and delete your details, to restrict or object to the processing, and to data portability. To do so, email info@hermanontruimingen.be. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can contact the Belgian Data Protection Authority (gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be).

Last updated: October 2026.