By Tom Mark

Landlords May Be Too Nosy

Mar 22, 2018 | 10:42 AM

An investigation by BC’s acting information and privacy commissioner has found that landlords in British Columbia generally collect too much personal information from prospective tenants.

Drew McArthur’s report says low vacancy rates may prompt landlords to believe they can collect whatever information they want from prospective tenants.

That included requiring applicants to provide months’ worth of detailed bank statements, or for consent to conduct a credit check.

“Rentals make up 30% of housing in B.C. Near-zero vacancy rates throughout the province have created a competitive market where landlords can ask prospective tenants for sensitive personal information as justification for seeking the ‘best’ tenant,” said McArthur. “Unfortunately, many applicants feel they have no choice but to provide this information to avoid missing out on a place to live.”

McArthur says other questions he’s found include information protected by the Human Rights Code, such as marital status.

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“In most instances, requiring this type of information would violate B.C. privacy laws.”

The report details when personal information is always, sometimes or never authorized by the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

The acting commissioner’s recommendations include that landlords:
* limit the amount of required personal information on tenant application forms;
* clearly state the specific purpose for the collection of personal information from prospective tenants;
* require a credit check only when a prospective tenant cannot provide sufficient references about previous tenancies or satisfactory employment and income verification; and
* never collect information from social media platforms or internet search engines.

The findings were published today in Investigation Report P18-01: Always, Sometimes, or Never? Personal Information and Tenant Screening.

The investigation examined the personal information collected by 13 landlords from prospective tenants during the tenancy application process.

Landlords and not-for-profit organizations in B.C. are subject to the Act which regulates how organizations collect, use and disclose personal information.

PIPA recognizes the legitimate need for organizations to collect, use and disclose personal information, and the right of individuals to protect it.

But PIPA limits the personal information that may be collected, used or disclosed to only what is reasonable to achieve the purpose.

Click here to read the full report.

by Tom Mark