By Steve Roulstone

I have been amazed to see a report lately that very few Letting Agencies and indeed Estate Agencies are registered with the Data Protection Act. As a member of an organisation that has included registration as part of its new Franchisee set up system, I am amazed to find out that this is the case.

Implications.

So how does that affect you if you are a Landlord in such circumstances? Well hopefully not at all, although situations could arise, such as passing information on when an agent is appointed incorrectly, but this is the business of your agent to ensure that they are registered as a handler of personal information on their clients, both Landlord and Tenant. Of course registration alone does not stop anybody from being prosecuted!

Nobody told me!

It is how Agents could have managed NOT to know that they should be registered that amazes me! There have been scams where claims have been made to be the Data protection agency writing and asking for fees from all manner of organisations (although I now wonder if they only wrote to Companies that were registered!) as well of information direct from the agency and Government bodies that regularly arrives on my desk. How do Companies avoid all of this? Unless of course ignorance has been by design!

No action taken?

Perhaps it is because I am a sceptic and of course have witnessed and seen for myself that it is only the open and honest amongst us that join in by registering in the first place, but is this another case of no action being taken to ascertain who has not registered? Because the Data Protection Act was introduced in 1998 and the sceptic in me has to consider the implications of action only just being taken to pursue those who have failed to register!

Recent legislation promises.

I have recently reported through these pages, in a blog about legislation on the 8th of February, where the Government stated that sufficient legislation existed for the Councils to take action against rogue Landlords. The problem being they are too understaffed to do so, as I have been advised myself by representatives from my own Council, so is this the evidence of how long an act has to be time served before action is finally taken, thirteen years!!

Conclusion.

So sceptic that I am, I trust I am incorrect in my assumption, time will tell! But as a Landlord, this is just one more job than I am surprised most be carried out when checking the professionalism of your chosen agent (No apologies for the use of the prof word again!) when surely a simple registration which would have to include such requirements would clarify the issue for all concerned, or is that just me going on again!

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