Michael Webster: Privacy Commissioner on the potential for landlords to collect more personal data than needed

A reminder landlords aren't privy to the personal information of their tenants.  

Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says many renters feel the need during the busy rental season to disclose more about themselves to secure a flat.  

He says it can be tempting for landlords to collect this information when considering applications. 

Webster says there's also been issues in the past of landlords black-listing tenants and sharing their information when they've had issues. 

But he told Mike Hosking there are processes to protect landlord's property through bond arrangements in rental agreements and the Tenancy Tribunal. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Privacy Commissioner got some advice for landlords. Concerns have been
raised around tenants, especially students, being asked for personal information
that hasn't legally required. The Privacy Commissioner as Michael Webster,
who's with us, Michael, morning to you, good Michael. We're
dealing with at the vulnerable end of the market, people
like students, people in a rush and a hurry, things
like that.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
That's right, that's right. And we know that most landlords
and most tenants are decent people and just want to
do the right thing to develop a good relationship. They
both want something from the other. But we do know
that while the majority of landlords care about tenants privacy,
there can be a lot of factors to weigh up
when you're considering what can be an avalanche of applications

(00:41):
coming in, and it can be tempting for landlords to
over collect personal information, to ask too much from application
from tenants potential tenants.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
So what are the practical outworkings? Though, if you're full
of you you know, and go I know my rights
and I you can't ask me that, then guess that's
what you're not going to get the flat? Are you
rightly your role there, that's your artworking.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
So I guess there's a couple of things there. First
is that there are particular sets of information that landlords
can ask for, and tends need to understand that as well.
At each stage of the tendency. If you're looking at
a property, landlords often collect name and contact details. If
you're applying for the property, landlords might ask for things
like proof of identity, questions about pet ownership, smoking, that

(01:30):
sort of thing. If you're shortlisted or offered the tendency,
the landlord can then ask for information to carry out
credit or criminal record checks and the evidence of ability
to pay the rent. It's just asking for the right
information at the right stage.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Is it better, generally in your experience, that a rental
agent they behave themselves because they're part of an industry,
as opposed to just an individual landlord who may or
may not know what they're doing.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, what
we're wanting here is good privacy, calling good business. Get
the relationships right with the possible tenants from the very beginning,
and hopefully you'll have a long term relationship where your
property is keyed for and you get the income coming
in that you want.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Having said that, is this actually a problem? Because I
read your press release in the early hours of this morning,
there's not a single example given. It's just to generalize.
I woke up and here's a problem we might or
might not have. Is it an issue?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
We have had some problems in the past, So what
we've done here is simply update our guidance because we
are heading into a time of peak rental season activity.
We've had problems in the past with landlords setting up, say,
blacklists of tenants, and including information on those blacklists that
they shouldn't include. That might be inaccurate, it might be wrong,

(02:45):
that might be in breach of other pieces of legislation,
even suppression orders.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
What happens when tenants leave your property and the garage
remotes missing. Who pays for that? So at the end
of the day asking.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Order rental agreements at the end of the day, there
are the bond arrangements that are looked after in a
much better way now than they used to be. And
I think your station reported the other day, Mike, for example,
some tenants were using a house as a mess lab
and at the end of the day, the owners of

(03:21):
that House took those people through the tendency tribunal and
got substantial damages. So there are processes to protect landlords
property through that their bond process through the tendency tribunal.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Good only Michael appreciate it very much. Michael Webster, Privacy Commissioner,
just from miss and Garagter mights. That's all. May or
may not have something to do with me. For more
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