You must be registered with the Information Commissioner?

You must be registered with the Information Commissioner?

9:30 AM, 2nd May 2023, About A year ago 13

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Hello, I wonder how many landlords are NOT aware that they must be registered with the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) for the Data Protection Registrar. I received my renewal today (£35 yearly).

Whether you are a LTD company, partnership or just you, it is almost certain you need to be registered and there are very few exceptions.

It doesn’t matter whether you only have 1 property or hundreds. Even if you use a letting agent it is very likely you still need to be registered and the letting agent can’t do this for you.

It is all to do with keeping the tenant’s personal data secure.

So if you hold any information for the tenant, it is likely you must register. At the beginning of a tenancy you must provide a copy of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) – or a link to them as they are at least 30 pages long (along with all the other pre-tenancy stuff like EICR and Gas certificate).

If you don’t, then if it comes to court for an eviction or a non-paying tenant, the tenant could argue the tenancy hasn’t been set up correctly so your case may fail.

So, be aware of this requirement.

Thank you,

Derek

 


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Comments

GlanACC

12:29 PM, 2nd May 2023, About A year ago

Thanks Judith, that about covers it. The only way you can avoid registering really is if you have a complete hands off approach - let the letting agent do everything and dont even ask you to approve the tenant, and I dont know any landlord who has not reveived information on their prospective tenant.

Claire Smith

18:16 PM, 2nd May 2023, About A year ago

Does this include where a property is managed but the landlord receives a copy of the lease and monthly statements? In addition, the tenants are given the landlord's number so she may have their phone number if they choose to contact her.
Thanks to anyone replying.

Chris @ Possession Friend

18:46 PM, 2nd May 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Derek STOBBS at 02/05/2023 - 12:29
... or if you keep paper records and don't store personal information electronically.

GlanACC

7:25 AM, 3rd May 2023, About A year ago

If you don’t process any personal information electronically - so no email, no texts or contact details on your phone or computer, no audio recordings for example - then you don’t have to register with the ICO. You do still have to comply with GDPR.

So Claire, looks like you will need to be registered, Chris looks like at the moment you may not need to be registered.

However, bear in mind that MTD (Making Tax Digital) for landlords is due to start in 2026 so by then you will almost certainly be storing tenants info electronically.

Smiffy

8:03 AM, 3rd May 2023, About A year ago

This extract from the ICO website, says it all.

"As the UK’s data protection regulator, we are contacting all organisations that appear to need to pay a fee under data protection legislation."

PAY A FEE.

It's just about money, once again.

The contents of a private contract, shouldn't need registering.

https://ico.org.uk/rst

GlanACC

8:31 AM, 3rd May 2023, About A year ago

Smiffy, just read the link. Its interesting that if you have a company car and a dashcam then you need to be registered.

Also, technicaly I guess your rented property is your business premises, so if you have CCTV fitted you also need to be registered (does that apply to Ring doorbells ?) - Talk about not being very clear, I think they make it up as they go along

Smiffy

11:14 AM, 3rd May 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Derek STOBBS at 03/05/2023 - 08:31
You'll probably find that if you own a mobile phone and have any work related contacts in it, you need to be registered.

Actually, the whole country probably needs to be registered!

Reluctant Landlord

13:34 PM, 3rd May 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Smiffy at 03/05/2023 - 11:14
if the whole country needs to be registered then (if you think about it realistically everyone holds other peoples info at some time for some reason whether it be a phone number or email address etc) there is no reason for a fee whatsoever. Moreover it means everyone is covered as much as liable.

AP

8:08 AM, 6th May 2023, About A year ago

Editor - I’m concerned that by placing & highlighting Jonathan’s comment in the body of your article you may appear to be suggesting he is correct.
If you go through the ICO self assessment page that the screen shot is taken from, question 7 is ‘are you processing information for any of the following purposes’, and one of the options is ‘property management including sale or lettings’.
Jonathan has answered ‘no’ to this. Surely it should be ‘yes’ which then means you need to pay the fee?

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