Data Governance

Data Retention & Erasure Schedule

How long Mintstone retains each category of personal data, the legal basis for retention, and how data is securely deleted when the retention period expires.

Guiding principles
Our approach to data retention
Mintstone retains personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, comply with legal obligations, or establish/defend legal claims.

🗓️ Purpose limitation

Data is kept only as long as it is needed for the original processing purpose. When the purpose expires, deletion is triggered.

⚖️ Legal obligation

Where regulators (PRA, FCA, HMRC) require minimum retention periods, we comply with the longest applicable requirement.

🔒 Secure deletion

When retention expires, data is permanently deleted or irreversibly anonymised. Deletion is logged in the audit trail.

⚙️ Automated enforcement

Retention categories are tagged at the database level (REGULATORY_7Y, FINANCIAL_6Y, OPERATIONAL_3Y) and enforced programmatically.


Retention schedule
Retention periods by data category
Last updated: 11 April 2026. This schedule applies to all personal data processed by Mintstone Ltd.
Data Category Retention Period Legal Basis / Justification Deletion Method Applies To
Regulatory & audit records
Risk weight classifications, covenant status changes, SHA-256 hash-chained audit log entries, drawdown records
REGULATORY_7Y
7 years from record creation PRA record-keeping requirements for regulated firms' outsourced activities; Basel 3.1 evidence obligations; Limitation Act 1980 (6-year limitation + 1-year buffer) Automated database purge; deletion logged in audit trail; S3 lifecycle policy for associated documents Lender employees (action logs), borrowers (loan classifications)
Financial transaction records
Bank transactions, account balances, AI classification outputs, drawdown verifications
REGULATORY_7Y
7 years from transaction date HMRC record-keeping (6 years + 1-year buffer); Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (5 years); Anti-Money Laundering requirements Automated database purge with cascade deletion of linked records; TrueLayer consent tokens revoked at source Borrowers, bank account holders
Uploaded documents
Construction invoices, professional certificates, valuations, site photographs, QS reports
REGULATORY_7Y
7 years from upload date PRA regulatory evidence; Limitation Act 1980; contractual obligation under facility agreements S3 object lifecycle deletion; database metadata purge; deletion verified and logged Developers, contractors, professional advisors
Financial calculation records
Interest calculations, fee records, facility utilisation snapshots, budget tracking
FINANCIAL_6Y
6 years from record creation HMRC requirements for financial records; Companies Act 2006 s.386; Limitation Act 1980 Automated database purge; associated reports deleted from S3 Borrowers, lender organisations
User account data
Name, email, hashed password, role, organisation, consent timestamps
REGULATORY_7Y
Duration of account + 7 years post-closure Contractual necessity during account life; regulatory record-keeping post-closure (user actions are embedded in audit logs) Account deactivated on closure; PII anonymised after 7-year post-closure period; audit references preserved with anonymised identifiers Lender staff, platform administrators
Contractor communications
Telegram messages, site progress photos, media files, EXIF metadata
OPERATIONAL_3Y
3 years from message date Operational business need; construction defect liability period (typically 2 years under JCT); Limitation Act buffer Automated database purge; S3 media files deleted via lifecycle policy; Telegram-side data not controlled by Mintstone Contractors, subcontractors, site workers
Property market data
Valuation snapshots, Land Registry data, comparable sales, pre-sale agreement details
REGULATORY_7Y
7 years from project completion Regulatory evidence for loan monitoring decisions; valuation audit trail; Limitation Act 1980 Automated database purge; associated cache entries cleared Borrowers, pre-sale buyers, neighbouring property owners (public data)
Platform logs & analytics
IP addresses, user-agent strings, page views, error logs, API response times
OPERATIONAL_3Y
3 years from collection Security incident detection and investigation; service reliability; NIS Regulations 2018 Automated log rotation; Vercel logs subject to Vercel retention policy; application logs purged from database All platform users
Website enquiries
Contact form submissions, demo requests (name, email, company, message)
12 MONTHS
12 months from submission Legitimate interest in responding to business enquiries; no regulatory requirement for longer retention Manual review and deletion from Formspree and email; or converted to customer record (Row 5 then applies) Prospective customers, website visitors
Open Banking consent tokens
TrueLayer consent tokens, consent status, consent expiry timestamps
90 DAYS
90 days (automatic expiry) FCA Open Banking consent requirements; OBIE standards; TrueLayer platform enforced expiry Automatic expiry at TrueLayer; expired tokens marked invalid in database; re-consent required for continued access Borrowers with connected bank accounts

Exceptions & overrides
When retention may be extended
In limited circumstances, data may be retained beyond the standard period.

Legal holds: If Mintstone or a customer is involved in active litigation, regulatory investigation, or a formal dispute, relevant data will be preserved until the matter is resolved, regardless of the standard retention period.

Data subject requests: Where an individual exercises their right to erasure under Article 17 UK GDPR, we will delete their data unless a legal obligation or regulatory requirement overrides the request. In such cases, we will restrict processing instead and notify the individual of the reason.


Governance
Review & accountability
This schedule is reviewed at least annually or when there is a material change to processing activities.

📅 Annual review

This schedule is reviewed annually (next review: April 2027) or when new processing activities are added to the ROPA.

👤 Accountability

The data controller (Shray Sharma, Director, Mintstone Ltd) is responsible for ensuring adherence to this schedule.

📧 Contact

For questions about data retention or to exercise your rights: privacy@mintstone.co.uk

Related documents: Privacy Policy · Data Processing Agreement · Trust & Security · Information Security Policy