Can my Landlady do this?

orangeslimes

booksurr wrote: »

are you by any chance a letting agent ?

no

Your comment is the sort of UTTER TRIPE I would expect from such people who think they know what they are talking about

a photo of personal possessions is not data
a photo of a bit of paper with your personal info on may be relevant

http://ico.org.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/the_guide/key_definitions

It really depends what the personal possessions in the photos are - e.g. if there are visible photographs in the backgrounds then those would be personal data, and I would argue that many of your personal possessions could (depending on circumstances) be personal data as they are information about identifiable individuals and their lifestyles.

However it probably would only count if the letting agent were a public authority (which it won't be) and I should have thought of that, but there is no need to be so rude. I'm not a lawyer or giving legal advice.

I also think most letting agents are probably clueless about these sorts of things, and it might be a way to make them hesitate, and I was suggesting it more as that, because I don't think it would be enforced by a court, but I do think it is an invasion of privacy to publish photos of someone's home without their permission.

(the only other legislation that I can think of is the Human Rights Act, because it says you have the right to a private family life - that might be the better argument, but I don't know anything about how that's enforced)

Chrysalis

the s21 can only be for the end of the tency not during the tenancy.


of course private rental now days is rarely over 12 months (my landlord even started issuing 10 month agreements usually he did 12) and is often 6 months so I am guessing you probably have a max year or so before a s21 can take affect.


If the deposit is protected then a 3rd party can decide on what she keeps, if its not protected she may well be breaking the law. Although in my view the deposit is currently the least oi your problems.


In regards to changing the locks, I think its a grey area, but I assume if you changed it back before giving up the properly she cannot claim anything of you for it, and I also believe she cannot legally break into your property either.


I almost moved near my parents a few years back, nice area, near the sea. The problem was the owners of the property, they were in a financial mess and extremely desperate for a tenant, they were agreeing to all my demands, and it got to the point I decided not to take it because of fear of the bank repossessing it or them selling up, where as where I am now isn't exactly great but the landlord owns 100s of properties and runs a business of it, so he is in it for the long term.


in regards to the photos, they almost certainly need your permission to publish them, in fact the estate agent really should know this and I think they are been irresponsible by not accepting your wishes.

Guest101

EasyAs123 wrote: »

In the past, what I've done, is cleaned the flat. Emptied it all out into the van or similar, then paid a local cleaner to come in and do a clean - I think the most it's ever cost was £30 for two ladies for an hour, and (while I think my cleaning was sufficient) it gave me an all important receipt for professional cleaning that I could use should there be a dispute about the state of the property

? How is abit of paper proof the flat was clean?

What about doing it yourself and taking a photo? That's much more proof.

Guest101

orangeslimes wrote: »

no


It really depends what the personal possessions in the photos are - e.g. if there are visible photographs in the backgrounds then those would be personal data, and I would argue that many of your personal possessions could (depending on circumstances) be personal data as they are information about identifiable individuals and their lifestyles.

However it probably would only count if the letting agent were a public authority (which it won't be) and I should have thought of that, but there is no need to be so rude. I'm not a lawyer or giving legal advice.

I also think most letting agents are probably clueless about these sorts of things, and it might be a way to make them hesitate, and I was suggesting it more as that, because I don't think it would be enforced by a court, but I do think it is an invasion of privacy to publish photos of someone's home without their permission.

(the only other legislation that I can think of is the Human Rights Act, because it says you have the right to a private family life - that might be the better argument, but I don't know anything about how that's enforced)

The data protection act is not a public sector liability only. Your getting confused with freedom of information.

But a: you were giving legal advice
&
B: no, you're wrong. I could take a picture of you on the street and that would not breach data protection, so a few photos of your possessions won't breach it either. ( agreed that data such as bills, etc might be ).
&
C: human rights act? that's protection from the state! Not from private companies.

EasyAs123

Guest101 wrote: »

? How is abit of paper proof the flat was clean?

What about doing it yourself and taking a photo? That's much more proof.

Well, a receipt for professional cleaning is proof that a professional came in to clean...

How is a contract proof of an agreement to return the flat clean?

In my experience, photographs, unless Polaroids that have been dual signed and dated, are not evidence of a clean flat as they can be argued to not be representative of the flat when you leave - just evidence of the flat at some point...

Guest101

EasyAs123 wrote: »

Well, a receipt for professional cleaning is proof that a professional came in to clean...

How is a contract proof of an agreement to return the flat clean?

In my experience, photographs, unless Polaroids that have been dual signed and dated, are not evidence of a clean flat as they can be argued to not be representative of the flat when you leave - just evidence of the flat at some point...

Ok, define professional clean. If u paid me to clean, and I wouldn't advise it, it would be professional, ie paid for.

Have u not thought u get the newspaper of the day, put it in your photos and now u have that proof?

For a money saving site, ur advise is basically throw 20 away. But each their own

Ulfar

Guest101 wrote: »

B: no, you're wrong. I could take a picture of you on the street and that would not breach data protection, so a few photos of your possessions won't breach it either. ( agreed that data such as bills, etc might be ).

In this your argument is false, a picture of a street is a public place and the person on the street has no right or expectation of privacy, the tenants flat is their home and they have a right to privacy.

The photographer has committed trespass by not having permission of the person whose home it is(note this does not mean the landlord's permission as they have given the property over to the tenant as their home for the duration of the contract).

Whether this would cover possessions is another question, it could well do depending upon what is in the photos.

Given that the above is incredibly hard to rectify, I would change the locks, refuse viewings. When the landlord tries to serve a s21, then I would advise that as they haven't protected the deposit this isn't worth the paper it is written on.

I would want my deposit back right now, otherwise I would be going to the court for non-compliance with the deposit protection law.

EasyAs123

Guest101 wrote: »

Ok, define professional clean. If u paid me to clean, and I wouldn't advise it, it would be professional, ie paid for.

Well, if you were a cleaning business and provided me with a VAT receipt, I'd expect cleaning to a good standard before I paid you. Meaning no, just paying anyone wouldn't be having a receipt for professional standards.

At the end of the day, I'm sharing my experience. Doing as I outlined secured the return of a large deposit from the DPS who dismissed my digital photos (and those of the landlord that were actually taken at some point mid tenancy without my knowledge) as they were not countersigned and dated.

£20 secured £1000+ seems sensible to me :money:

EasyAs123

Ulfar wrote: »

When the landlord tries to serve a s21, then I would advise that as they haven't protected the deposit this isn't worth the paper it is written on.

I would want my deposit back right now, otherwise I would be going to the court for non-compliance with the deposit protection law.

I thought the OP confirmed the deposit had been protected?

Propertyauthor

Clearly this situation has escalated into "row territory" through no fault of your own.

What I would do is find somewhere I did want to live through a decent agent/landlord only search through agents who are members of NALS, ARLA or RICS as they have a free independent third party complaints system and offer client money protection. If you rent directly from a landlord make sure they are a member of the RLA, NLA or local authority accreditation scheme.

Once you have found somewhere to move to, put in writing that the date you want to leave, the final rental payment you will make up to that date and check which scheme your deposit is protected in. Then you will know the latest you will get your deposit back.

If there is no inventory from the start of your tenancy take photos of everything now and of the locks being changed back when you leave.

It may be a good idea to pop in and see the Estate Agent to say you feel very mistreated by the landlord and as such don't feel viewings would be appropriate until you have left.