Sarina Gibbon: Auckland Property Investors Association General Manager on the privacy rights for tenants

Tenants and landlords might not always be on the same page when it comes to privacy rights. 

Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster's reminding tenants they legally don't have to disclose their personal information to find a flat.  

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

Auckland Property Investors Association's Sarina Gibbon told Francesca Rudkin the rules are pretty clear, but having separate documents for tenants and landlords could be part of the problem. 

She says the language and the approach are very different, which could end up setting very different expectations. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Privacy Commissioner is wanting the hunt to land a
flat should not come at the expense of privacy. He's
updated rental market guidelines around what information landlords can and
can't ask for. They can ask for names, proof of identity,
and legal residency status, but they can't ask for things
like bank statements, employment status, religious beliefs, or social media URLs.

(00:21):
Serena Gibbons is general manager of Auckland's Property Investor Association,
and she joins me, now, good morning, good morning, Chesska.
Thanks for having me this conversation. We've had this, haven't
we happened back in twenty twenty one? So are we
still seeing landlords asking for information they shouldn't.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
No, we're not seeing on a wholesale scale that landlord's
asking for information that they shouldn't be. And look at Francesca.
I think before anyone jumps on like a sealem which
hunts against landlords and property managers, I will say this.
I've read the Commissioner's press release and the language in
there is very speculative and sort of what psa warning

(01:01):
in nature. You know, he's using words like could, might
may you know, he's certainly not saying that there's a
horde of landlords out there collecting information they shouldn't. This
is simply a reminder to the industry that, given the
summer months and students are going back to school now
and looking for flats, that everyone in the rental sector

(01:21):
should be very aware of their rights and obligations.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Serena, is there room for misinterpretation within rental roles or
are they pretty clear?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
The rules are pretty clear. I think the one thing
I would say, because I've worked worthy Procy Commissioner's Office
in the past to create the last inspiration of the
guidance and the current one is in a big departure
from it, I would say, you know, with all due respects,
it would be helpful instead of producing two separate documents,

(01:52):
one targeting landlords and a separate one targeting tenants. If
you look at both documents side by side, the lad
language and the approach are very different, and that could
end up setting very different expectations for the two parties
engaging in residential tendency. So, really, you know, what might

(02:14):
have been more helpful is for there to be one
uniform document that both landlords and tenants can consult on
and get guidance on. One of the examples I can
give you is in the landlord document. The language is
very specific around the taking of photographs during property inspections
and it maps out in there are certain exceptions where

(02:37):
landlords certain exceptional instances where landlords can take images of
personal items, such as if they believe that these personal
items are pointed to a lawful act or breach of
the tendency agreement or tendency law, but none of that
is mentioned in the tenants guidance documents. Tens. The guidance
documents simply says that landlords and be too intrusive in

(03:01):
the way they take photographs during inspection. So I'm sure
you can see there. You know, with different languages, different guidances,
it lands everyone at a very different striking point and
when it comes to taking photographs, and that could create
some very complex disputes at the end of the line.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Thank you so much, Serena for talking us through that.
It was Serena Gibbons, general manager of Auckland's Property Investor Association.
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