Do landlords using letting agents need to register with the Information Commissioners Office?

An important part of any business is the information it holds. This can be things such as

• customer names and addresses,
• family details,
• financial information, such as the rent that they pay and their bank account,
• information about their health

The proper use of this information is now regulated by our data protection legislation.  There is an official body, the Information Commissioners Office (known as the ICO), which advises on and enforces the legislation.

The main funding for this organistion is provided by businesses which are required to register with the ICO and pay an annual fee.

Are landlords in the Private Rented Sector required to register?

Many private sector landlords are unfamiliar with the data protection rules and so fail to register. However, this is NOT a good idea.  The ICO have wide-ranging powers to fine, and the fines can be for eye-watering sums.

Many landlords who are aware of the legislation consider that the rules do not apply to them.  They are also unwilling to register as they are unhappy about their name and address being on a public register.

Other landlords consider that they are not required to register because they use a letting agent. The letting agent is required to register, they argue, but not them, as they are not managing the property.

However, my view is that very few landlords, even if you are using a letting agent, will be exempt from registration.

Let’s take a look at the rules.

Why landlords should register with the ICO

The ICO have an online self assessment guide which landlords can follow. However here are the main issues it covers.

Are you currently trading, carrying out activity or receiving income?

Being a landlord is considered to be a business (whatever view the individual landlord may take of this) and landlords will be receiving an income – their rent.

Are you processing personal information?

This ICO site describes personal information as

information about customers, clients, suppliers, employees, volunteers or others you deal with. Personal information is any information about a living person that can be used on its own, or with other information, to identify or tell you something about them. Names, date of birth, contact details, location, financial details, or employment status are all examples of personal information.

Clearly, landlords will hold information about their tenants even if the property is managed by letting agents. They will know who their tenants are and will know what rent they are receiving, if nothing else.

It is possible that some landlords will leave everything about managing their property to their agents and will not even know the names of the tenants. However, this is unusual. It is also inadvisable. If landlords do not keep themselves informed about the management of their property, how will they know if their agents are doing their job properly?

Particularly as landlords are liable in law for everything that their agents do. For example, if the property is substandard and breaches regulations, it is, in most cases, the landlord who will be fined (even if they know nothing about it).  Not the letting agent.

The ICO describe ‘processing’ as

a term to describe anything you can do with the personal information you have. This includes (but is not limited to) collecting, recording, organising, storing, using, retrieving, altering, erasing and disclosing it.

So, if you are sent an email from your agents with the name of your new tenants and the rent they are paying, this complies with the description.

Are you processing information electronically?

This is described as

any processing of information that uses computers, including cloud computing, desktop PCs, laptops and tablets. It also applies to any other system that can process information automatically, including … email

So, if you communicate with your agents via email about your tenants, this will bring you within the definition. Most landlords nowadays will use email.

However, if all your dealings with your tenant or your agent and all your records are solely paper-based, then you may be exempt.

The other points raised in the guide will not normally apply to landlords – for example:

• You will not be a public authority
• You will not be a charity or not-for-profit organisation
• You will not be a small occupational pension scheme (this is not the same as renting property instead of getting a pension)
• You will not be using the information you hold for services such as crime prevention, community services, health, education or childcare services.

So, what landlords will be exempt from registering with the ICO?

If you:

• Do not know the name of your tenants or anything about them, or
• If all your dealings with your letting agent or with your tenants are entirely paper-based, or
• If you are a registered charity or not-for-profit organisation

You will probably be exempt.

However, you should always check this with the ICO. Try to get their advice in writing and also try to get the name of the person giving the advice.  Then, if they contact you later and threaten to fine you for non compliance, you will have something to refer to by way of an excuse.

Otherwise, you should register with the ICO and pay the annual fee.

It is not expensive. If you pay via direct debit, the fee will normally be £35. Then, you need not worry about being fined.

Find out more

The most authoritative source of information is the ICO website.

On this blog we have a guide for landlords about data protection and the GDPR, which gives information about the rules and a plan of action for landlords.  Further information can be found here.

On my Landlord Law membership site, we have further guidance and templates for data information forms to serve on tenants.