What Landlords Need To Do To Comply With GDPR

GDPR

Yes, yes, yes! I know, I’m late to the freak show.

Apparently I should have written this blog post back in 1999. That is, according to the seven billion people that have emailed me, expressing their utter disappointment and growing disgust in my negligence of the matter, and how I failed to meet their impeccable expectations.

If you were one of those people, I didn’t reply because I felt too embarrassed to confess the bitter truth: “THE GDPR blog post… it’s coming… soon. Can’t confirm a day. But it’s coming. Stay tuned. It’s coming!

Fortunately, while I’ve been sitting on the naughty-step I’ve had time to compose myself.

The fact is, I needed a moment to gather my thoughts and process the whole GDPR shit-storm. And by that, I mean wait until some other schmuck – that actually has a clue – to share some decent and digestible information that’s smooth enough for my feeble noggin to munch through and regurgitate.

Which leads me onto my next crucial point

Here’s an obligatory disclaimer, so that my snotty, finger-twiddling, overpriced solicitor doesn’t roll me into a snot-ball and throw me out the window: I’m not a lawyer, so not even a single word contained in this blog post (or website, for that matter) should be construed as legal advice. The title of this blog post is actually missing a closing question mark and grunt, it should really be, “What Landlords need to do to comply with GDPR, aye?

My objective is to simply share my opinions and thoughts on what GDPR is and how it affects ME as a landlord, including the steps I’ve taken to comply. If you want legal advice to ensure you’re covered, you should speak to a qualified professional. Happy spending!

And now, here’s my second disclaimer: I’m going to avoid getting into the legal technicalities of GDPR for the reasons mentioned in my first disclaimer, so fair warning, my attempt at simplifying complex information that’s way beyond my shockingly limited capacity may equate to a 1 year old reciting Quantum Mechanics.

I’ll try and stick to what I believe to be the need-to-knows for landlords, avoiding the background noise. So hopefully there won’t be any labour pains, just a baby tossed into your arms, albeit a gooey one. However, I will link to the more in-depth and – what I believe to be – notable resources below, for those that want to get hardcore with it. You’ll need matches and coffee for that journey, though!.

We good? We good.

Let’s go…

What is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)?

Ok, real quick…

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and was designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.

Source: https://www.eugdpr.org/eugdpr.org-1.html

In layman’s terms: GDPR is a new set of rules designed to give EU citizens more control over their personal data.

GDPR regulation came into effect on the 25th May 2018, and it’s scaring the shit out of people because the fines for failing to comply can reach up to a ridonculous €20 million or 4% of a company’s global annual turnover. So no need to panic, it’s only a shit-ton of money, and possibly our livelihoods.

Does it affect landlords?

Yup, because landlords typically use and store their tenants personal information (e.g. name, email address, phone number, menstrual cycle dates etc) in some form or another. Landlords are legally required to comply with GDPR, which is cool, because it’s not like we have enough legal obligations as it is.

Basically, as landlords, we need to process and control our tenants information in a transparent fashion, which includes explaining:

  • What personal information we collect.
  • Why we need their personal information.
  • How we might use their personal information (including who the information might be shared with), and ensuring we only use it in that way (unless there are overriding legal precedence requiring the information).
  • How long their personal information is retained for.

What am I going to do to comply?

Based on all the lengthy and confusing guff floating around, you’d think you’d have to shred a landfill worth of paper and perform brain surgery on a Raccoon to comply. But in practical terms – as far as landlords are concerned – there doesn’t seem to be too much to it, from what I can tell, anyways. I did the following two things…

  • 1) Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office
    If you currently or at some point stored, used or deleted tenant personal information (e.g. name, email, telephone, address etc.) on any electrical device (e.g. computer, phone or tablet etc.) – which is most likely everyone with a pulse – then you should be registered with the ICO, and that’s actually regardless of GDPR.

    Registering with the ICO has always been required by landlords, but it wasn’t widely talked about or recognised until GDPR was a thing. It costs £35-40 per year (depending on payment method) to register. You can register here, or if you’re adamant on fighting the cost (all the power to you) you can use this tool to see if you’re exempt from registering (which you probably won’t be).

    The registering process
    The process is pretty straightforward, but I did get slightly confused by the “Sector” section of the application. Nothing really screamed “Landlord”, so I contacted ICO for guidance, and they advised me to select the following options:

    ICO Registration

    ICO Registration, “Sector” options recommended for private landlords.

  • 2) Use Privacy Policies where personal information is collected
    This seems to be the most important step of complying. If we’re going to get bent over for GDPR negligence, it will probably have something to do with this.All the documents/forms used by agents/landlords that gather personal information from tenants should contain a privacy policy, clearly explaining ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘for how long’ their information is controlled and processed.I’ve updated all the landlord documents available on this website that require personal information from tenants with a privacy policy, including the Tenancy Agreements, Guarantor Agreements, Tenancy Application form (free to download), and Guarantor Application form (free to download).

    For example, here is a snippet from the Privacy Policy in the tenancy application form:

    Personal information which you have supplied may be used in a number of ways, for example:

    • To make a decision about granting a tenancy
    • To confirm identity and obtaining references
    • For tenancy/licence agreement preparation
    • Debt collection
    • Providing references and the conduct of any tenancy in the future
    • Providing information to utility companies or a local authority about any tenancy

    Note that it doesn’t need to be written in old English from the 1200’s, like most of our legal guff is. Just plain old simple and clean English will suffice as long it makes sense.

    Go ahead; download, adapt, use at your own risk, and stick it up your bum.

    Oh, and please, please, please!!! If you’re already subscribed to my mailing list and you plan on downloading the free documents, use the same email address you’re subscribed with so you don’t resubscribe (otherwise you’ll double up on all my emails, and you’ll probably hate me for your own carelessness).

What is GDPR?

Anyways, what was all the GDPR fuss about, right?

During my ‘research’ phase, I glanced through the usual suspects for answers, including the RLA, and a few of the other heavy hitters… MY SHITTING-GOD, the shear depth of all the loosey-goosey ‘general’ information they’re flaunting on GDPR is, quite frankly, soul-destroying.

Personally, I didn’t need another GDPR manual, I just needed to know what I need to do in order to comply!

Sadly, I struggled to unearth guides explaining the practical steps required; I just kept bumping into endless reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels and reels…… of legislation that wasn’t really telling me anything.

It’s, like, they don’t even know we’re regular every day people… which means, by and large, we don’t give a flying fuck about the fluff!

I’m sorry, I’ve gone off on an awkward tangent. No wonder none of the other landlord webmasters invite me to the parties/gatherings/fancy black-tie dos.

Anyways, maybe I’ve misunderstood and/or oversimplified it, but they’re the two steps I’ve taken.

A word on “Consent”

The word “consent” has been deeply penetrated into almost all GDPR threads, so I just want to mention it in case you freak out because I didn’t.

“Consent” is a gigantic part of GDPR, and that’s precisely why we’ve all been email-bombed by companies, groveling for “consent” to remain on their shitty emailing lists so they can, ironically, continue bombing us with shitty marketing shit. I’m assuming they’re having to jump through those hoops because somewhere along the line they weren’t completely transparent with what they intended to do with our personal information.

So, anyways, do we need consent from tenants to process their personal information?

According to this article on the GRL, landlords are unlikely to require ‘consent’ to process personal information (don’t confuse that with the need to be transparent, though).

From what I understand, consent is not required if personal information will be processed under ‘legal requirement’, ‘contract’, ‘vital interest’ or ‘legitimate interests’, which pretty much covers the reasons for why landlords would process information while managing a tenancy, so we should be just fine without consent as long as we do our job as we’re supposed to. *high-five*

Again, from what I understand, consent is largely required for those that use any personal information for the purposes of sales or marketing. So, for example, if you’re the type of landlord that up-sells cutlery and bed linen to your tenants, then you’re probably the kind of asshole that will require consent before you’re able to continue doing so.

Additional notes

Existing tenancies

Couple of points and circumstances to consider here, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide which dusty road to walk down:

  • If your existing tenancy agreement already has some form of privacy policy in place (which many do), then they might be sufficient for now (albeit, not as elaborate as the post-GDPR tenancy agreements available).
  • As new tenants take over properties, the older tenancy contracts (which lack privacy policies) will eventually disappear.
  • If you want to play it super safe, you could contact all your tenants with your shiny new privacy notice, explaining that your privacy policy for using their information has been updated.

Using a letting agent?

If you’re using a letting agent to manage the tenancy applications, they should take care of the privacy policies since they’ll be the be the one’s collecting and processing the data. Your agent’s privacy policies should state that they may share your tenant’s personal information with you, but yes, that’s their responsibility, not yours.

If you’re not using an agent to manage the applications, just ensure any of the documents you use to collect personal information from your tenants – prospective or otherwise – contain sufficient privacy policies.

Information requests

Under GDPR, tenants have the right to request details about the personal information you hold about them.

Remember, transparency is key!

Right to be forgotten

Tenants have a “right to be forgotten”, which means they can request for all the information you hold on them to be removed/deleted. However, where you are legally required to process information (e.g. ID to prove they have a right to rent), there is no right to erasure.

Recommended GDPR resources for landlords

I’m only going to recommend one resource produced by The Guild of Residential Landlords, because almost all the information in this blog post was accumulated from information available on their website, specifically this page (go there for a more in-depth explanation of GDPR). It was probably the only website which I came across which catered to my limited attention span and very limited ability to absorb boring shit.

Needless to say, if you’re looking for a good time and practical day-to-day landlording tips, then RIGHT HERE is home. However, if you’re serious about staying on top of all the landlord legal junk, then I can’t recommend becoming a member of The Guild of Residential Landlords enough. I’ve been recommending and endorsing them for a while now – they’re the best Landlord Association, in my opinion.

Any questions? Hope not!

If you have any questions regarding GDPR I hope I’ve made it abundantly clear that it’s not worth asking me. But drop it down in the comment section anyways, because maybe Adrian from GRL will stop by since I [willingly and deservedly] plugged his services, or perhaps someone else with a credible legal mind can assist.

If you feel I’ve missed anything out, if you feel there’s been an oversight, or if you did something different to comply, please drop a comment!

Hope this rides been usAful! xoxo

P.s. Apologies for the delay on getting this out! Writing about legal nonsense doesn’t really flow as easily as a dip-stick tenant that ruined my walls with anal warts. But that’s my curse, not yours.

59 Join the Conversation...

Showing 9 - 59 comments (out of 59)
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Col 1st June, 2018 @ 08:45

Don't forget you should keep all Tenancy Agreements for at least 5-7 years in case you have to prove your income to the tax man.

I'm trying very hard to avoid contacting the ICO to see if I have to contact the past 7 years worth of tenants to give them our privacy policy...

PS, the avatar for Agent truly doesn't represent my current mood

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Pete 1st June, 2018 @ 09:18

THANK YOU for giving me a great laugh with your inimitable style and different approach to this subject.
I hesitated before clicking the link as i have had my fill of GDPR notifications but I'm glad I did.
One thing to consider is that PPI claims will end next year and all the firms will be looking for new targets and data will be right up there.
Keep up the good work

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Gillian 1st June, 2018 @ 10:39

Very helpful information.

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Antonio 1st June, 2018 @ 10:39

What we would do without the Landlord blogger. He lightens the load that comes with being a landlord and de-dramitises wonderfully with his sense of humour. Its funny, because I had done the same thing as you (i.e. trawl through all the endless info on GDPR for Landlords) and came to exactly the same conclusion as you: you just need to register with the ICO and add a Privacy Policy to documents given to tenants such as Tenancy Agreements etc. Great to have that confirmation though. Thank you Landlord Blogger.

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Meryl 1st June, 2018 @ 13:05

Thank you Landlord Blogger for a very witty and informative view of this mind numbingly boring subject. Keep up the good work!

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lilian ucanda 1st June, 2018 @ 15:19

Very helpful!

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Gary 1st June, 2018 @ 17:36

Worked up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week but never been so stressed at all this government poke your nose in shit. Had enough, thinking of selling up. If all landlords did sell up,( or threaten to ) what a f@&%ing mess this government would be in re housing. They think it is private landlords responsability to house people.
Big thanks to landlord blog. Kept me amused and informed throughout all the shit times and arsehole political interference.

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Gary 1st June, 2018 @ 17:45

You are right Pete. Where there is a quick buck to be made, the greed mob are on the case. Landlord are doing a great job but there is always somebody who wants to make a money at our expense.

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Bob 1st June, 2018 @ 19:40

Wow. Private landlords complaining about people wawmting to make a fast buck. Wow.

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Alister 1st June, 2018 @ 22:10

Thanks, good to read common sense ..... and next £ on the agenda is? Great ICO accounts next year

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Henry 2nd June, 2018 @ 02:12

I really hope I don't need to register with the ICO. Nor pass on the cost of doing so (and my time for that) to tenants. Same as I don't revise rent upwards for many years, even though the tenanacy agreements provide for that.
[No, Bob who commented, I'm not into making a fast buck; and not all landlords are- some of us used to be tenants in a previous life and treat tenants as we were/would like to be.]

My tenants fall into about 2 categories:
-those (generally older) whose contact details I keep on paper and who don't want anyone else to contact them (apart from the agents, who have a good GDPR policy). Arrangements for visiting 'workpersons' {okay they're men} are done indirectly, usually through me (it saves my agents's time). So for those I seem safe; and
- the family who are happy for me pass on specific contact means/details to others (e.g. to the plumber by electronic means to liase direct about when its convenient to visit for repairs). For this tenant I obtain prior consent, specifically state the purpose for me ever doing so (they get repairs quicker and any problems solved faster). And when I wasn't not sure if their contact details were shared with the builder last year, I contacted them again to make sure that would be okay again for me to pass them on for a job to be done next week.
All this may be less onerous and time consuming than one instance of being on hold to the ICO to check what they think I should be doing. 50 minutes really!
If any tenant, past or current wants me to delete any electronic (or paper)information about them I'd be happy to do so, apart from the legal reasons The Landlord helpfully points out.

Well done The Landlord in researching GDPR. Pity a few more agents didn't comment as they must have looked into it professionally.

I look forward to GDPR giving me more against over the grandmother-selling slimy bastards who should be really facing the huge penalties. And completely wasting our time with junk e-mails and cold calls.

Henry

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 2nd June, 2018 @ 08:48

Thanks for all the comments, people. Appreciated as always!

Glad to hear my thoughts on the matter have been useful.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 2nd June, 2018 @ 09:02

A few people have commented on their reluctance to register with the ICO, and I completely understand. As said, I think it's down to you to make up your own mind.

A few people have also said that they're going to refrain from receiving/storing any personal info so they don't have to register. Just to clarify, the adviser on the phone did say to me that even if you retrospectively received personal info on an electronic device, then you should still register.

Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just saying :)

If I'm completely honest, I can't imagine anyone getting the jam stolen out of their donut for not registering.

Someone else raised a good point, that there doesn't seem to be a case where a landlord has actually been penalised for not registering. Until there is, you may not feel obligated to register.

Of course, I'm not saying that's a reason for you not to register.

Ultimately, it's down to you to assess what the consequences of not complying might be (now and in the future), combined with ease of just doing it so you don't have to waste time and energy contemplating it.

But yeah, the added expense does leave the kind of salty and slimy taste in my mouth that I don't enjoy!

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Dyna 2nd June, 2018 @ 21:38

Thank you for the doing the dirty work - I thought the cartoon very appropriate!

As if there was not enough stuff coming down the pan..

I too wonder why and where all those £40 are going. Why not make it free at the individual level?

I read a discussion around giving the tenant's details to a very-expensive-trades-person (so they can fix the not-broken central-heating...'well actually that's how central heating sounds when it's heating up duh') requires consent or at least recording.

But wait - you've just given out the private details of said very-expensive, highly-marketed trades-person to the tenant (quick another privacy/consent notice to him).

Do what?

I have a feeling this will be turning over a rock ... not to mention how many people will jump on the bandwagon to sell services and advice, being one page ahead of the rest of us.

Good on you for taking one for the team. :)

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Steph 3rd June, 2018 @ 09:53

Thanks for doing the research and having 45mins more patience than I have. As a small landlord, always trying hard to be the best I can to provide a decent home for my decent tenants at a decent rent - (which I have not increased at all in 10 years) - I have found it hard to cover increasing landlord costs, or avoid making losses. Your blogs have been really helpful and full of sound ideas. It’s good to know there are others out there struggling with many of the same issues, and willing to share experiences.
I dutifully registered in the council led statutory selective landlord scheme in my area - and I’m wondering why that shouldn’t simply become a joined up process with other legal obligations to cover ICO registration and GDPR. That might reduce the phone waiting time at least.
Thanks again - and for the funny bits.... gives us some perspective when we’re banging our heads on the floor.
Regards

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Grump 3rd June, 2018 @ 22:43

Bob (#8)

I agree, but our tenant on HB has been there for prob 6 or 7 years. Nice bloke really so don’t want to turf him out. However contrary to popular believe we can’t run a charity for ever.
Already renovations this year have exceeded the grosss rent.

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Paul 4th June, 2018 @ 10:52

If the willy waggler is not right then perhaps the writer of this article and/or the non-willy wagglers mentioned herein would like to explain why the ICO has not made every landlord register.

Why also, have they not fined every one of the circa 4 million landlords that are not ICO registered for holding the details of their tenants without an ICO registration?

I give the willy waggler my vote and please do not use my email address that you have just asked me for to register with you without express consent or you may get a £20 million fine :-)

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 4th June, 2018 @ 15:13

@Paul,

Are the Paul from RF by any chance? You sound of similar ilk :)

Not sure if you read the post/comments properly (rhetorical question), but I did say that it's what's been advised by experts, one being a landlord law solicitor, the other a landlord association. I'm not asking anyone to register to the ICO if they don't want to. This blog post was just sharing what I CHOSE to do in order to comply.

Perhaps your concerns/questions are better aimed at Tessa.

I never really said the willy-flaunter was wrong, I just didn't like his approach to expressing his point, and I'd rather have faith in other sources.

I also mentioned that no one has been fined in comment #21.

I didn't ask you to register to anything, or provide your email address, you did it out of your will because you wanted to leave a comment- while agreeing to the privacy policy (which is clearly linked to below the "submit" button). It's called a soft opt-in. Perfectly with in the guidelines of GDPR :)

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Bob 5th June, 2018 @ 08:22

Grump, I accept all that, which is why I think you should be cruel to be kind rather than be kind and end up being unintentionally cruel.
Maybe sit down and have a chat about his options if you're both comfortable with that.

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Stealth Bomber 7th June, 2018 @ 13:30

Bob. Get a grip pal, `making a fast buck` is totally different to being charged for something for no real reason. I.T. turning humans into morons at it`s very best, I for one, are quite happy to be Fred Flintstone, give me their details (which I don`t really need or want) on a sheet of paper, without having to pay for the privilege.

Plus, when we cross paths with cockroach tenants, who are preparing to do a moonlight, they change their details more than they do underpants, so we get charged for holding details which are nothing short of useless. How mad is that?

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Bob 8th June, 2018 @ 07:31

Bomber, it costs peanuts. I'm not the one with the loose grip.

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emma6 10th June, 2018 @ 14:32

I find the whole thing ludicrous. I filled in the ICO questionnaire. It said does my organisation contain 1-50 people or 50+ people. It contains one. Me. The idea that the rules are the same for my managing agents, which has nearly a dozen staff and thousands of tenant, supplier and landlord clients, as they are for me, as an individual, is insultingly stupid. I don't 'process' information about tenants or suppliers. I hold the minimum necessary required of me by law and I don't share it with anyone. If I get hacked, they'll have my tenants' addresses and phone numbers, all of which are freely available elsewhere anyway. I don't hold 'sensitive' information, nor do I hold people's details once they are gone in anything other than paper form, so I was safe under the old legislation, and probably safe under the new, and I am damned if I am paying £40 EVERY YEAR to be told that the same still holds true now.

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Benji 10th June, 2018 @ 16:23

Well said Emma.

GDPR for landlords is all a load of old bollocks.

Crap fairy tale 'guidance' to frighten the weak.

In the highly unlikely event of a landlord ever being taken to court over this, then I might be slightly concerned.

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dyna 11th June, 2018 @ 00:50

@emma6 - it's worse than that... they then PUBLISH your details... what about my privacy?!!

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Stealth Bomber 11th June, 2018 @ 10:28

Bob. Well done! These money making scammers love people like you. How many of these £40 `peanuts` do you think they are stealing? Millions of pounds generated by nothing short of glorified theft.

Tenants should be charged £100 for having MY details, where is MY privacy in all this.

Get a grip!

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Bob 11th June, 2018 @ 18:17

Bomber, scammers want nothing from the likes of me.
We tenants need your details for when you screw us over.
Go on, tell me to get a grip again, you cheeky wee devil.
Actually, no, think of your blood pressure.

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Tony 11th June, 2018 @ 20:07

"We tenants need your details for when you screw us over."

Have you ever considered the reason you get shit landlords who screw you over is cos no competent landlord would ever take on a tenant with your attitude?

Shit tenants get shit landlords.

(And no, I don't think you are clever enough to disguise it, dickheads get sussed out straight away)

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Bob 11th June, 2018 @ 23:31

I was generalizing, Tony. You were being very personal without knowing anything about me. I've had one very long tenancy so I must be OK.
Oh, and that actually is the reason tenants have landlords' addresses, when you think about it.
Have you had dickheads as residents, Tony?

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Stealth Bomber 12th June, 2018 @ 11:36

Bob, well done mate, pure gold you are, can`t see the Government and so called authorities are the biggest scammers of all, with the bent schemes they create. None of which benefits Landlords nor tenants, just creates a giant money pot for those at the top to play with, that`s all.

There is no `them and us` in this, only fools (usually tenants) create that situation. We are all stiffed by the system, tenants only become the losers because they believe too many silly television programs.

Wise up mate (polite way of saying GET A GRIP).

Blood pressure`s spot on by the way. Private health care and secured early retirement sees to that.

Happy Days!

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Bob 12th June, 2018 @ 13:56

Thanks for the compliment, Bomber. What is it you find so precious about me? Do elucidate for, this time, I am actually addressing you.

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Tony 12th June, 2018 @ 15:21

"I was generalizing, Tony."

So not based on fact or even personal anecdote, just a petulant rant.

"Have you had dickheads as +tenants+, Tony?"

Not for a very long time, they are very easy to spot. I think I'd see you coming a long way off.

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Bob 12th June, 2018 @ 15:42

Whereas your opinion of me is based on absolute proof.

So, you failed to see them coming, as did my current and previous landperson, apparently.

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dyna 12th June, 2018 @ 21:36

I don't mind my tenant having my address (in fact I think that is already a legal requirement) - I just don't see why it needs to be published to the world in general if we are being precious about privacy - and cost £40 for no identifiable benefit - who is getting the money - not landlord or tenant.

According to the RLA provided form. I also need apparently to give my tenant the name of:
my bank
insurance company
accountants
email address and email provider
website provider or hosting provider
guarantors
any professional service providers - plumbers, electricians etc.

- just imagine if my (next) tenant is a low-life phisher - that gives them a whole lot of details to do a very well-informed phishing attack on their landlord. And they are worried about privacy - they have no %$£@ idea.

Phishing definition: to try to obtain financial or other confidential information from Internet users, typically by sending an email that looks as if it is from a legitimate organization, usually a financial institution, but contains a link to a fake website that replicates the real one.

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Stealth Bomber 13th June, 2018 @ 10:25

Bob, there`s not much of a compliment there, when you clearly don`t see who the biggest con men and scammers of all really are. You need to wise up mate, which is why I don`t mind posting a few comments to help get you started. Long way for you to go though me thinks!

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Bob 13th June, 2018 @ 13:09

Thanks ever so much for the, um...help, Bomber...

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Stealth Bomber 14th June, 2018 @ 10:19

Bob. Not a problem, happy to help. Start with the Government and work your way from there. Private landlords are not the reason the housing system and tenants are in the poo!

Landlords never had too much grief when they rented out HMO`s to students, which is predominantly how most landlords and private letting started. We were never in it to carry some housing plight of the nation, and now the knife has twisted against benefit claimants, we are seeing this starting to bite.

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Gillybean 18th June, 2018 @ 19:51

Fabulous read as usual, such entertainment value as well as no nonsense facts!
Thank you so much! I was wondering when we could read your thoughts on all of this and knew you wouldn't let us down!

I tried calling ICO I actually held on the line for an hour, I then ended the call realising that my media company charge after an hour so I gave up, tightwad that I am.

I am one of those accidental landlords (yes I am fortunate I know) but I find all this jargon and jumping through hoops all too much, it makes me want to sell up. Anyhow I have one property and there's just lil ol managing it the best I can (with the help of good but rather expensive tradesmen, to whom I'm eternally grateful) my point is why do I have to pay the same as a company with loads of employees doesn't seem fair.

Also as I email my tenant (or rather they email me...) I will have to send a privacy notice, I can see you tenancy agreements reflect the new law but as mine is on a rolling one is here a downloadable privacy policy ?

Thanks again, you're a superstar, love your blog makes me laugh out loud x

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Nicola 19th June, 2018 @ 14:52

Ducking hilarious as always.

You are the Deadpool of Landlord bloggers. I love reading your meandering thoughts on issues that actually affect me.

Thank you!

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 20th June, 2018 @ 07:51

Thanks folks, appreciate it as always! :)

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landordyr2 3rd July, 2018 @ 12:49

Hi Landlord,

I don't think anyone has asked this in the comments above. My property is fully managed by estate agents, and they've found new tenants for my property who have apparently passed their credit and reference checks. I have asked my estate agents to send me copies of their credit and reference checks however they've refused on the grounds of data protection. They have assured me that the tenant checks are clear and there is nothing of concern flagged in them.

Surely I have legitimate interest in this case to have full view of credit checks etc?

Please advise if the letting agent is pulling a fast one on me and if there are any extracts from the GDPR I can throw at him to ensure they send them to me.

Regards,

Landlordyr2

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The Landlord 3rd July, 2018 @ 15:58

@landordyr2,

Interesting.

I personally wouldn't accept tenants without checking the results of the credit check/referencing for myself first. And I don't think any sane landlord would either, so I think you're being totally reasonable. I wouldn't even work with an agent that refused to pass over that kind of critical information.

Legally, I don't think there's an issue with the agents handing over the information as long as they make it clear to the prospective tenants that they are going to use their information in that way i.e. pass over the results of the checks over to the landlord.

Maybe they haven't disclosed that in their privacy policy, and that's why they're reluctant. Very weird, though. I can't imagine any landlord would be happy with the situation.

Either way, you have a right to refuse the tenant if you're not happy.

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Mindy 14th July, 2018 @ 17:55

Hi,can I ask this quick on here...ex tenants no forwarding address - am I allowed to give the address of their solicitor (long painful story) to gas/electric company?? thanks! I'll join properly and post on forum as soon as... tia

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Owen 23rd August, 2018 @ 02:07

As a lawyer and a landlord, in my expert (?) opinion... this is a right pain in the arse.

I'm a Remainer, but I'd welcome Brexit with open arms to get out of this ball ache. Ho hum...

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Jeniffer Lopage 29th August, 2018 @ 08:31

I love reading your meandering thoughts on issues that actually affect me.

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Judith St Claire 29th November, 2018 @ 08:41

As a landlord of 2 properties I have registered.
What I cannot learn is WHAT SERVICE WE ARE PAYING FOR? Also, why do they want paying annually? What on earth do we get in return for our money and what do "they" do for us in return?

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The Landlord 29th November, 2018 @ 15:14

@Judith,
I wish I knew, I wish I knew... it's ridiculous!

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Dyna 29th November, 2018 @ 18:46

Hear hear Judith St Claire

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Ines 19th August, 2019 @ 15:47

Would this work re: GDPR

1. Give Tenant(s) a 'Privacy Statement' for data you hold for the Tenant by giving this document:-
Model private residential tenancy - privacy (GDPR) notice
Available here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/privacy-gdpr-notice-for-landlords/

2. Amending above doc for England and Wales with following: -
Privacy notice
Assured Shorthold Tenancy of 10 The Ding-Dong, Elsbels

This privacy notice is being issued in order to comply with obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Your personal information will be held for the purpose of administering and managing the tenancy.

Your personal information: -

1. may be shared with the local authority in connection with taxes and any other associated charges;

2. will be shared where legally required, such as with a tenancy deposit administrator in accordance with legislative requirements;

3. may be shared for contractual fulfilment, such as passing details to a contractor for carrying out repairs; and

4. will be used where as the Landlord I have a legitimate interest

Yours sincerely

Ms Govt Do Please Regulate

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mike 20th December, 2019 @ 20:26

Thank you for your report. What about a landlord who has no contact with tenants as his couple of properties are run solely by the letting agent??

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Teabin 17th January, 2020 @ 21:09

I wonder what will happen with this legislation now, with brexit approaching....?

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Dudley 21st July, 2021 @ 12:26

I see myself as exempt, in that my business is not as a letting/selling agency. The ICO document on exemption tells me that I don't need to register, as the information I hold on my tenants is only used for 'core business purposes'. This is exactly the fact of it - I only hold their details for the 'core business' of administering their tenancies. But I guess I'll still have to write something out to reassure the tenants of this anyway... Thanks again for a most useful site.

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