Privacy Policy

How we protect your data and privacy.

1. Information We Collect

The Affordable Community Residence Association (ACRA) collects Personally Identifiable Information (PII) when you voluntarily submit forms on our website, such as our Housing Application, Contact Form, or Volunteer Form. This information may include your name, address, date of birth, income sources, and household composition details necessary to determine initial housing eligibility.

2. How We Protect Your Data

We take your privacy and data security very seriously. All sensitive application data submitted through our website is protected by industry-standard security measures:

  • Encryption at Rest: All PII stored in our online database is scrambled using military-grade AES-256 encryption. This means that even in the unlikely event of a server breach, your data remains completely unreadable to unauthorized parties.
  • Secure Transmission: Data is transmitted over a secure connection (HTTPS/SSL). Furthermore, we do not transmit sensitive applicant data in plain-text over email notifications.

3. Data Retention Policy (90-Day Purge)

To further protect your privacy and minimize risk, ACRA enforces a strict data retention policy for our online systems. Any application and its associated PII submitted through our website will be automatically and permanently purged from our online web database 90 days after submission. Once your application is processed into our secure internal offline systems, it is no longer retained on the web server.

4. Online Application Opt-Out

While our online application process is highly secure, we understand that some individuals may prefer not to submit sensitive information electronically. You are fully welcome to opt-out of the online submission process. You may download and print a paper copy of the housing application directly from our Our Housing page and submit it by mail or in person.

5. Third-Party Sharing

ACRA does not sell or trade your Personally Identifiable Information. However, to effectively process your application, your information may be shared with our partner organization, CASA, during the initial stages. Please be aware that ACRA does not govern CASA's individual data privacy policies or dictate who they may subsequently share information with. Additionally, if your application progresses, your data may ultimately be shared with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as required by federal housing assistance guidelines. Beyond these necessary partnerships, your information is used strictly for internal purposes to assess your eligibility and to contact you regarding your application.

6. Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this privacy policy or how we handle your data, you may contact us using the information below:

ACRA
PO Box 25265
Durham, NC 27702
Phone: (919) 973-4369

Last Updated: May 2026