1 Who we are
Countrywide Properties (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a firm of Registered Real Estate Agents, E(3) 0338, with its office at Suite 8-LG-8 (LG Floor), Menara Mutiara Bangsar, Jalan Liku, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. Our Principal is Mr. Madhavan Nambiar, E(1387).
We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used, and we are responsible for it under Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act 2010, as amended by the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024 (together, “the PDPA”).
2 About this policy
This policy explains what personal data we collect when you use countrywide.com.my, message or call us, or work with us to buy, sell, rent or let a property; why we collect it; who we share it with; how long we keep it; and the rights you have. It is our notice to you under the PDPA.
This policy is available in English and Bahasa Melayu. If the two versions differ, the English version applies.
3 The personal data we collect
3.1 What you give us on this website
Our forms ask only for what we need to reply.
| Form | What it asks for |
|---|---|
| General enquiry | Your name, email address, phone or WhatsApp number, and any message you add |
| Property enquiry | Your name, phone or WhatsApp number, email address (optional), whether you are buying to live in, investing, buying as a foreign buyer or renting, your budget range (optional) and any message. The property’s reference number is added for you. |
| Book a viewing | Your name, phone or WhatsApp number, the day and time you prefer, and any note |
| Seller enquiry | Your name, phone or WhatsApp number, the property type and its area, and, if you choose to give them, your email address, the tenure, your expected price and a message |
| Partner enquiry | Your firm’s name and registration number, the contact person, phone number, email address and any message |
| Loan help (“Get pre-approved”) | Your name, phone or WhatsApp number, the property price and the loan amount you would like |
| Private listings | Your name, phone or WhatsApp number, whether you want to buy, rent or sell, what you are looking for or selling, and a budget or price range |
Our website forms never ask for your identity card, passport or payment card numbers. Please do not include them, or any health, religious or other sensitive information, in a message.
3.2 What we record automatically when you use the website
- With every enquiry: the date and time, the page you sent it from, the property reference (if any), the language of the page, and whether you ticked the consent box.
- Where you came from: if you reached our site from an advertisement or a link with tracking codes (UTM codes, a Google click ID or a Meta click ID), we keep those codes and the first page you visited for the rest of your visit, and attach them to any enquiry you send. This tells us which advertisement or link brought you. They are not sent to us unless you send an enquiry.
- A coded version of your internet (IP) address: we turn it into a one-way code that cannot be read back as your address, and use it only to stop repeated or automated submissions.
- Button taps: when you tap a WhatsApp, Call or Email button, the page notes which button, on which page and for which property. This stays in your browser unless analytics is switched on and you have accepted analytics cookies (section 12). It never includes your phone number or the content of your message.
3.3 When you contact us directly
When you message us on WhatsApp, call us or email us, we receive your name or profile name, your phone number or email address, and what you tell us. WhatsApp is a service of WhatsApp LLC (Meta), and it handles your messages under its own terms and privacy policy. Tapping a WhatsApp button on our site only opens WhatsApp with a suggested message. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
3.4 When we act for you in a transaction
If you go on to buy, sell, rent or let a property through us, we may collect more personal data, outside this website, because the transaction or the law needs it. This can include your identity card or passport details, your address, ownership documents and the financial details of the sale or tenancy. We ask for these directly, and we tell you why at the time.
3.5 From other people
We may receive your details from a property portal such as iProperty when you enquire there, from another real estate firm working with us under a co-agency arrangement, or from lawyers, valuers and banks involved in a transaction you are part of.
4 Why we use your personal data
We use your personal data to:
- reply to your enquiry and send you the information you ask for;
- arrange viewings and follow up on them;
- match buyers and tenants with suitable properties, and tell you about properties when you have asked us to;
- advise owners, market their properties and represent them under the terms agreed with them;
- work with other registered real estate firms under co-agency arrangements;
- put you in touch with a bank about a housing loan, when you ask us to;
- carry out a sale, purchase or tenancy, including working with lawyers, valuers and bankers;
- meet our legal and regulatory duties, including those that apply to registered real estate agents, and keep the records the law requires;
- keep our website secure and stop spam and misuse; and
- understand which pages and advertisements help visitors, but only where you have accepted analytics cookies; we look at the results as combined totals, not visitor by visitor.
5 Do you have to give us your data?
No. Giving us your personal data is voluntary. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) on our forms are the ones we need to reply. If you leave them out, we cannot answer that enquiry. All other fields are optional. If you prefer, you can call or WhatsApp us instead of using a form.
6 Who we share your personal data with
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only when we need to, and only with:
- People in the transaction: the owner, buyer, landlord or tenant of the property you are interested in, and their appointed representatives, to the extent needed to arrange a viewing, make an offer or complete the transaction;
- Another registered real estate firm working with us on the same property under a co-agency arrangement;
- Lawyers, valuers and banks involved in your transaction;
- A bank we work with, only when you ask us to put you in touch about a housing loan through our Loan help form or directly;
- Our service providers, who act on our instructions and must keep your data confidential: the company that hosts this website and stores enquiries, the email service that delivers enquiries to our office, and our web developer, Brandify Studios Marketing Sdn. Bhd., when it needs access to maintain the site and its enquiry system;
- Regulators, courts and the authorities, including the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP), when the law requires it.
When you open a map on our website, your browser fetches the map from OpenFreeMap, which receives your internet address and the area of the map you are viewing. The map is not loaded until you open it.
7 Transfers outside Malaysia
Some of our service providers, including the company that hosts this website and stores enquiries, may store or process personal data on servers outside Malaysia. When this happens, we transfer it only in the circumstances that section 129 of the PDPA allows, and we use providers that are bound to keep it confidential and secure.
8 How long we keep your personal data
- Enquiries that do not lead to a transaction: up to 24 months after our last contact with you, then deleted.
- Private listings registrations: until you ask us to stop contacting you. We ask you to confirm every 24 months and delete your details if you do not.
- Records of a transaction: seven years after the transaction is completed, to meet legal, tax and professional record-keeping duties.
- Loan help requests: up to 12 months after we pass them to the bank, then deleted from our records. The bank keeps what it receives under its own policy.
- The coded internet address described in section 3.2 is deleted with the enquiry it belongs to.
When we no longer need personal data, we delete it or make it anonymous.
9 How we protect your personal data
We take practical steps to protect your personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, change and disclosure. Our website uses an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. Enquiries are stored in a protected database. Access is limited to Mr. Madhavan, our office administrator and, for maintenance only, our web developer. Our forms have spam controls, and our enquiry system does not store your internet address in readable form.
If a personal data breach happens, we will notify the Personal Data Protection Commissioner, and you where the breach is likely to cause you significant harm, as the PDPA requires.
10 Your rights
Under the PDPA, you may:
- Access the personal data we hold about you, and ask for a copy. We respond within the time the PDPA sets for access requests. We may charge the fee allowed by the regulations, and will tell you the amount first.
- Correct personal data that is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or out of date.
- Withdraw your consent to our use of your personal data. If you do, we may not be able to continue helping you with a property, and we may still keep records the law requires.
- Ask us to stop using your personal data in a way that is causing, or is likely to cause, you substantial damage or distress.
- Ask us to stop sending you marketing (section 11).
- Ask us to send your personal data to another organisation (data portability), where this is technically possible and the data is in a compatible format.
- Complain to the Personal Data Protection Commissioner (Jabatan Perlindungan Data Peribadi, www.pdp.gov.my) if you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data.
To use any of these rights, write to us using the details in section 16. We may ask you to confirm your identity before we act, so that we do not disclose your data to someone else.
11 Marketing
We send news of properties only to people who ask for it, for example through the Private listings form. You can ask us to stop at any time, by replying “Stop” on WhatsApp, by email, or by telling us when we call. We will then stop within a reasonable time and keep only a note that you asked us to stop.
12 Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies and similar technologies are small pieces of information stored by your browser. Our website uses only the following, and none of them are used to advertise to you.
| Name | Stored | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| cw-shortlist | On your device | Remembers the properties you save with the heart, so your shortlist is there when you return. It is not sent to us unless you choose to share your shortlist. | Until you clear it |
| cw-source | On your device, for this visit | Keeps advertisement or link codes and the first page you visited, so they can be attached to an enquiry you send (section 3.2). | Until you close the browser tab |
| cw-last-enquiry | On your device, for this visit | Holds a summary of the enquiry you have just sent, so the confirmation page can show it and offer to send it on WhatsApp. | Until you close the browser tab |
| cw-consent | On your device | Remembers whether you accepted or declined analytics cookies. Used only when analytics is switched on. | Until you clear it |
We do not use analytics or advertising cookies at present. If we add them, for example Google Analytics, Google Ads or Meta, they will be set only after you click Accept on our cookie banner, and we will list them in this table. From then on, you can change your choice at any time through the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page, or by clearing your browser’s site data.
13 Links to other websites and apps
Our website links to other services, such as WhatsApp, Google Maps, Facebook and iProperty. They have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they handle your personal data. Please read their policies before you give them your details.
14 Children
Our website and services are for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
15 Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services, our website or the law change. The new version will be posted on this page with a new “Last updated” date. If a change affects how we use personal data you have already given us, we will tell you before it applies.
16 Contact us
For any question about this policy, or to use your rights, please contact:
Personal data requests
Countrywide Properties Registered Real Estate Agents E(3) 0338
Attention: Mr. Madhavan Nambiar, Principal
Suite 8-LG-8 (LG Floor), Menara Mutiara BangsarJalan Liku, Off Jalan Bangsar59100 Kuala Lumpur