Welcome to our new 'Good to know' feature were we take a little time to post a reminder or update on things that its just 'good to know'. It might be something that's new to you that you need to building into your property business, or simply a refresher on something you already do.
For our first post we'll take a look at GDPR.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaced the Data Protection Act in May 2018 and regulates how business and organisation collect and hold personal information. Since 2018 this legislation applies to private landlords and lettings agents.
This means landlords and agents must follow certain rules when they collect and hold certain information about their tenants and applicants.
What is personal data?
Personal data is information that can be used to identify a living person, examples of personal data includes names, contact details, dates or birth and national insurance numbers.
What does a landlord need to do?
- All landlords and agents need to register with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). You need to register annually, it only costs £35 - 40 per year for private landlords (prices may vary for larger organisations).
- Appoint a data protection officer. If you are an individual landlord, this will be you, if you have any partners or employees decide who if the most appropriate person.
- Create a privacy notice. This will need to be provided to applicants and tenant when you ask them to share personal information with you.
- Understand what data you hold and where it is kept. This is likely to be any property applications from potential tenants, details about current tenants and details of previous tenants.
What is I don’t comply with these standards?
Failure to register can lead to a fine. The maximum penalty is a £4,350 fine, but registration is easy so its best not to take the risk.
This is only a very quick overview of what you need to know around GDPR. If you want to know more about GDPR and ICO check out our landlord events or contact us at privaterentedservice@newcastle.gov.uk.