Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 25, 2026

This page explains, in plain words, what information Laneway House collects, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. “We” and “us” means Laneway House, the business behind lanewayhouse.com, lanewayhouse.net and lanewayhouse.ca.

The short version

Reading our city guides needs no form. We don’t ask who you are.
When you ask for a free Site Report and Free Quote, we use your details to build your report, email it to you, and send your details to the one builder we work with in your city so they can contact you about a quote.
Once we have a builder in your city, they are named on the form before you click. If we don’t have one yet, we only send your details once one joins, and you can say no at any time. Builders pay us a flat monthly fee to be the builder we introduce. They do not pay us per person.
We do not sell your personal information to anyone else, and we never sell or rent email lists.
Marketing emails: you only get our newsletter if you tick the box. You can unsubscribe from any email in one click.
You can ask to see, fix or delete your information, or tell the builder to stop, at any time: hello@lanewayhouse.com.

What we collect

When you fill in the Site Report form:

Your property address, and whether you own it or are buying it.
Your answers about the size, purpose and timing of the home you have in mind.
Your first and last name, email address and phone number.
Whether you ticked the newsletter box.
A record of what you agreed to: the date and time, the exact wording shown, the builder named, and which version of this policy was live.

Information about your lot that we look up from public records: the lot’s ID number (PID), legal description, lot size and shape, zoning, and nearby rents, places and transit. This comes from public government and open-data sources. It is about the property, but because it’s linked to your name we protect it the same way as the rest of your information.

When you visit the website: like most websites, our web server records basic technical details, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, to keep the site running and secure. We use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages people find useful. It sets cookies and sends Google details such as the pages you view, your browser and device, your rough location and how you found the site. We do not send your name, email, phone number or address to Google Analytics, and we do not use advertising trackers. You can block Google Analytics with Google’s opt-out browser add-on or your browser’s cookie settings.

When you email us, we keep your email so we can reply.

We don’t ask for and don’t want sensitive information like your income, banking details, government ID or health information. Please don’t send it.

Why we use it

To make your Site Report and email it to you.
To get you your Free Quote, by sending your details to the builder for your city (see below).
To follow up about your report or quote, for example to check you received it or answer questions.
To send you news about Laneway House rules in your city, but only if you ticked the newsletter box, or for up to 6 months after your request where Canada’s anti-spam law allows it. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
To keep records of your consent, so we can prove what you agreed to.
To run, fix and protect the website, and to stop spam and misuse.
To meet our legal duties.

We use your information only for these reasons. If we ever want to use it for something new, we will ask you first.

Who we share it with

The builder named on the form. The free Site Report comes with a free quote from the one Laneway House builder we work with in your city. When you click “Get my free Site Report and Quote”, we send your name, email, phone, property address and your answers to that builder so they can contact you. If we don’t have a builder in your city yet, we keep your details and send them only once one joins; we tell you in your report, and you can ask us not to at any time. If they don’t reply within two business days, we send your details to the backup builder, who is also named. The builders pay Laneway House a flat monthly fee to be the builder we introduce. You don’t have to hire them. Any builder we work with has to agree in writing to use your details only to contact you about your project, and never to sell or pass them on.

Companies that help us run the service, only to do that work for us and not for their own use:

GoDaddy, our website host, which stores the website and our hello@lanewayhouse.com mailbox.
Google (Gmail), where we read and answer emails sent to hello@lanewayhouse.com.
Cloudflare, which receives the Site Report form, stores your form entries and consent record, and hosts your private Site Report page.
An email delivery service that sends your report. We will name it here before we start sending reports.
Map services that look up your lot as you type: the Province of British Columbia (BC Address Geocoder and ParcelMap BC), your city’s open-data maps (for example the City of Vancouver and the District of Squamish, whose maps are hosted by Esri), and Mapbox, if we add a satellite photo to your report. Your typed address, or the location of your lot, is sent to these services to find your lot. We don’t send them your name or email.
Google Fonts, which supplies the lettering on our pages. Your browser connects to Google to load it, which shares your IP address with Google.
Stripe, our payment processor, for builders who pay us (homeowners never pay us).

If the law requires it, for example a court order. If the business is sold, your information may move to the new owner, who must follow this policy.

We never sell, rent or trade lists of names or emails, and we never buy them.

Where your information is kept

Laneway House is run from the United States, and our website and some of the companies above store information in the United States. That means it can be reached by courts and authorities there under US law. Some services, like the Province of BC’s map tools, are in Canada. We pick providers that protect information, and the rules on this page apply wherever it is stored.

How long we keep it

Your form details and your private Site Report page: 2 years after your last contact with us, then deleted. Sooner if you ask. Anyone who has the private link to your report can open it, so don’t share the link unless you want to.
Consent records: 3 years after our last email to you, so we can prove what you agreed to.
Unsubscribe requests: kept so we don’t email you again.
Website server records: deleted on our host’s normal schedule.

The builder who receives your details keeps them under their own privacy policy. To make them stop, tell them, or tell us and we will pass it on.

Your choices and rights

See your information. Ask for a copy of what we hold about you and how we’ve used it.
Fix it. Tell us if something is wrong.
Delete it. Ask us to delete your details. We’ll keep only what the law makes us keep, like a record that you unsubscribed.
Stop the builder. Tell us you no longer want to hear from the builder and we will tell them to stop and to delete your details.
Stop emails. Click “unsubscribe” in any email, or write to us. We act on it within 10 business days.
Withdraw consent at any time. This doesn’t undo anything already done.

Email hello@lanewayhouse.com with “Privacy” in the subject. We may ask you to confirm who you are. We answer within 30 business days.

How we protect it

We use secure (HTTPS) connections, strong passwords and limited access, so only people who need your information can see it. No website is perfectly secure. If a breach happens that could harm you, we will tell you and the regulators as the law requires.

Who our service is for

Site Reports are for people who own, or are buying, a property in British Columbia, Canada, and are 18 or older. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

Links to other websites

Our reports and pages may link to other sites, like city or government pages. Those sites have their own privacy rules.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use information you already gave us, we’ll ask you first.

Contact us or make a complaint

Privacy Officer, Laneway House
Email: hello@lanewayhouse.com

If you’re not happy with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia: oipc.bc.ca.