Tenant Track and Trace – GDPR?
Hi All, I have a tenant who is subletting (I don’t know any details of their agreement except that the person is living in the room and causing a lot of issues with the other flatmates) and now has stopped paying rent in response to me serving a S21 on him.
I have served a Section 21 and the court has sent a Notice of Issue which was deemed served on 12/08/2022, so I can send this back now.
There are a few discrepancies in the tenancy agreement and deposit which I posted about previously on here. I am worried the tenant will make this an issue in court.
I’m sure the tenant is working 3 hours away (his details are on a company website based in that area) and I suspect he must have another house or tenancy around that area.
I understand if I can prove he lives somewhere else his tenancy agreement is void anyway, so I’d like to be able to prove this to the court as a backup in case they rule in his favour due to the discrepancies on the tenancy agreement or at the least they call for a hearing which will delay things by at least 3 months.
My question is: If I use a Track and Trace company to find him, will there be any GDPR implications?
Obviously, I would need to share his personal details with them in order for them to find him. We would need to share his details with a contractor for a repair issue for example, would this be any different?
I would be grateful to anyone who can shed any light on this.
Meks
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Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 2002 - Articles: 21
3:26 PM, 31st August 2022, About 4 years ago
His tenancy is not void if he lives somewhere else. It may mean your property is not his main home but that is a different matter.
So what if he works 3 hours away! Are you sure he is there every day? Does he work from home some of the time?
As you are worried about “discrepancies” in your paperwork, I suggest you take professional advice. You would not want to get a Rent Repayment Order or find that your s21 notice was defeated in court. If he is now not paying rent, why not use s8?
Member Since August 2021 - Comments: 307 - Articles: 1
11:13 AM, 1st September 2022, About 4 years ago
As Ian says, it is up to the tenant to decide which is their main residence. If they told you at the start it would not be their main residence, then that would have required you to issue a non-assured shorthold tenancy or licence.
If they have sublet without your permission, then you can also issue S8 under Ground 12 – Breach of tenancy agreement (discretionary)
Given that your paperwork is not completely accurate, you need to get it sorted.
iHowz partner, SCS Law, offer a discounted fixed price for members.
https://ihowz.uk/join/
As for GDPR, you should be including a GDPR privacy statement with your tenancy which outlines how their details might be used, including tracing.
There is one as part of the iHowz AST
Member Since October 2020 - Comments: 1171
2:15 PM, 1st September 2022, About 4 years ago
If you don’t know his address, how did you serve the s21 notice on him? If youve served the notice on the sub-tenant it will be of no effect as you have no legal relationship with him.
Member Since April 2016 - Comments: 11
9:15 AM, 3rd September 2022, About 4 years ago
If you can get the written statements from other flatmates saying that the other tenant named on the tenancy is not living their and subletting.
Could you apply to as to remove squatters once you prove that he is leaving in your and you have have not given the tenancy.