Single-property landlord - ICO and GDPR

jtgaoler

Quick question too all the landlords out there.


If you have e.g. just one let property, have you or do you intend to register with the ICO?


https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/register/self-assessment/


Have you taken any steps to be GDPR compliant? Or are you relying on e.g. a letting agent to do all the work?!

G_M

I've not heard of a single one-property landlord who registers.
LLs with a property portfolio business might be wise to.

da_rule

The question will come down to whether or not you are processing the data.

Do you obtain it? Do you update it? Do you record it? These may all be no if you use an agent.
Do you store it? If your agent sends you a copy of the tenancy agreement and you keep it then yes potentially.
Do you share it? Do you pass the agreement or the names of the tenants on to anyone else (mortgage lender/insurance provider etc) if so then yes.

If you answer yes to any one of those questions then you are processing personal data. For the sake of a £35 a year fee (which you will probably be able to recover as a tax deductible expense) and given the new, very high fines that come into place on Friday it may be worth doing it.

jtgaoler

I use an agent for let only, which definitely limits a lot of the scope for 'processing'.


I can't imagine the ICO is going to chase every single landlord who doesn't pay the fee. It just seems overkill for someone like me who is just going to have the tenancy agreement and one tenant's contact details.


At a push, I could even avoid putting any details on a computer (printout of the tenancy agreement from the agent and all contact details could be filed on paper) - that might also cover you(?).

da_rule

If you receive the tenancy in hard copy (rather than email) then you do not need to register. However, if you receive it electronically (even if you print it out and delete the email) you will.

I agree that the ICO is unlikely to chase. However, all it takes is for you to get that one tenant from hell to report you to the ICO for not being registered for things to go wrong. Not registering is a risk, you will have to decide whether, to save £35 a year, it is a risk you want to take.

MrWB

da_rule wrote: »

If you receive the tenancy in hard copy (rather than email) then you do not need to register. However, if you receive it electronically (even if you print it out and delete the email) you will.

This is incorrect. GDPR is about data protection in any format. Whether data is on e-mail or paper makes no difference.

Slithery

Indeed that is correct - I did my GDPR training at work yesterday

ACG

There is no stipulation on how the data is held with GDPR.

GDPR is more about having processes in place for how you deal with data (ie where it is stored, when it is removed, how it is used) and having it documented. The idea being to think about what you have and why you need and to remove it if not.

da_rule

MrWB wrote: »

This is incorrect. GDPR is about data protection in any format. Whether data is on e-mail or paper makes no difference.

Please point to where I said it had anything to do with GDPR compliance?

My responses were in relation to registration with the ICO, where there is an exemption to registration if you do not process data electronically (i.e. on paper).

Cakeguts

We have several properties that are let and they are all agent managed.