Storage best practices
Keep listing files tidy, store personal data such as title deeds and agency agreements in line with KVKK, and check before you share.
3 min read
An estate agency collects thousands of photos, floor plans and documents a year. Most are harmless; but title deed copies, IDs and signed agency agreements contain personal data and must be protected under KVKK, Turkey's data protection law. This article sets out how to keep Media Storage tidy, secure and ready for an audit.
Note
This article is general information, not legal advice. Work with a lawyer on your agency's privacy notice, consent forms and retention periods.
Organise by listing
- Use one root folder: every listing file under
Listings. - Open one folder per listing, named listing code + area + type. Keep the listing code on the contact and opportunity too. See Recommended custom fields.
- Separate documents containing personal data: deeds, IDs and agreements go in the
03_Title-deed-docsand04_Agency-agreementsubfolders, apart from photos and brochures. - Keep general files sent to everyone in the
Officefolder.
For creating folders and naming step by step, see Uploading and organising files.
What goes where, and who sees it?
- Access by document type: the whole team can use listing photos, floor plans and brochures. Agency agreements, deed copies and IDs stay with the listing agent and admins. To restrict access per user, ask your consultant: Restricting data access.
- Check before sharing: make sure photos don't show the vendor's family pictures, documents or number plates. If you must share a sample deed, hide the name and ID number. Send personal documents only to the person concerned, as an attachment in the conversation.
KVKK in practice
| Principle | In Media Storage |
|---|---|
| Data minimisation | Only keep documents the work needs. Don't upload unnecessary ID copies or bank details. |
| Purpose limitation | Don't use interior photos taken to sell a home for another purpose (e.g. an agency ad) without the vendor's permission. |
| Access control | Every employee has their own user; no shared passwords. See Roles and permissions. |
| Retention | Review and delete documents for sold or let properties when your agency's retention period ends. |
| Data subject rights | If a vendor asks for their documents to be deleted, the listing folder lets you find them all quickly. See Data privacy and KVKK. |
Important
Don't keep vendors' documents on personal phones, personal WhatsApp accounts or USB sticks. Every copy outside the panel is a risk you can't control. When someone leaves, deactivate their user at once: My staff.
When taking photos and video
- Before the shoot, ask the vendor to remove family photos, documents and valuables.
- Crop or blur neighbours' windows, number plates or people.
- In tenanted homes, the tenant must know about and agree to the shoot and viewings.
- For developments, use the developer's current images and keep any "for illustration only" notes.
Monthly housekeeping checklist
Once a month, an admin (e.g. Burak Aydın) checks:
- Are there listing files outside
Listings? (e.g. deed photos dropped in the root folder) - Have files that break the naming rule been renamed?
- Have folders for sold or let properties been archived, and those past the retention period reviewed?
- Are users of people who have left deactivated?
- Have brochures for listings with price changes been updated, and has your consultant been told so the assistant's portfolio is current? See Portfolio preparation.
To see who deleted or changed which file, use Audit logs.
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