GDPR Training and ICO Registration

A brief Blog to remind landlords of the necessity to have complete understanding of their legal obligations when it comes to handling and holding any personal data for their tenancies.

We were pleased to host an online live training session with Jamie Arnall from Fosters Solicitors, who provided a detailed explanation of this topic through the following categories:

Core Data Protection concepts

• What is personal data?

• What is a data subject?

• What is 'processing'?

Do landlords need to register with the ICO?

• What is the ICO and what does it do?

• The Data Protection Fee and who must pay it

• Why landlords are legally required to register and pay the annual fee

• Fines and enforcement if you fail to register

Lawful basis for processing tenant data

• Why you need a lawful basis to process personal data

• Most common lawful bases for landlords

What is consent and why is it important?

• What is consent?

• Why certain methods such as silence or a pre-ticked box are not enough

• How consent should be presented and why it shouldn't be incorporated into T&Cs

• How consent can be withdrawn at any time

• Why keeping a record of consent is useful

Retention and minimisation

• Why you should only collect and keep the data you actually need

• The benefits of having a Data Retention Policy and why it is important to stick by it

• Why you should follow retention periods and securely delete when no longer needed

Security and working with third parties

• Why you must take appropriate measures to keep data secure

• How to consider the nature of the data and what's realistic

• Issues you may face if share with others

• Making sure there are safeguards in place and what they are

Responding to Subject Access Requests (SAR)

• Tenants requesting copies of their personal data and what form this can take

• How you must act and what you should do before providing any data

• Can you charge for complying with a request?

• Who is entitled to the data and what is included?

Data breaches

• What constitutes a breach?

• What to do once a breach has occurred and who to contact

Please review these categories and if there are any areas you are unsure of, the training video will aid your understanding.

If you were unable to attend the live session, please make it a priority to watch the training video. Many landlords have expressed ongoing confusion about this topic, and our goal is to ensure you feel confident, as it is essential for your compliance. The session was recorded and will be available for download on our Training Page very shortly and will also be emailed over to members separately.