GDPR – what’s it all about and how does it affect Landlords?
There has been plenty of confusion about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) before and after GDPR came into force on 25th May 2018. Europe now has some of the world’s strongest data protection rules. GDPR modernises laws that are made to protect personal information of individuals.
Before GDPR began, in the 1990s the previous data protection rules across Europe were first created. These rules did struggle to keep pace with rapid technological changes. GDPR alters how businesses and public sector organisations handle the information of their customers (in this case, tenants). It also boosts the rights of individuals and gives them more control over their information.
All Landlords (or businesses) must have a Data policy, see ‘GDPR and Data Protection for Landlords’ below. Landlords must ensure third parties they deal with [estate agents etc.] also have a policy which is usually found on their website.
Subjects (tenants) whom data is collected from (or on) should be given a ‘GDPR Privacy Notice’ (see below).