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HOW TO PROTECT YOUR RENTAL BUSINESS – WRITTEN CONSENT RETENTION enants and Consumers periodically obtain and review their T credit and/or rent files, only to discover entities have accessed their information. They cannot remember who, for what reasons, or how these entities obtained access to their personal information, or even if consent was given at that time. In the scheme of things this process is very common, as many tenancy applicants do not read applications in enough detail to realize they have given consent for a credit and/or rental investigation to be conducted for Tenancy purposes using a Consumer Reporting Agency (Rent Check, Equifax, and TransUnion) The Tenant or Consumer who believes the Consumer Reporting Agency has conducted the search without permission contacts the agencies to investigate. In turn, when an investigation is performed on who did the search the agency tries to find existing proof of consent from the Housing Provider. If consent documentation is not available, the Housing Provider can be held liable as per PIPEDA. THE CASE OF NO PROOF AVAILABLE – REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
Mary (real name is changed to protect identity) is a landlord who had a couple that applied for tenancy and were declined. As stated by the male partner, because of serious problems with his credit file both applicants requested that only the female’s credit file should be accessed and that his file not be checked. The female partner gave consent verbally and in writing on the rental application. Mary then performed an investigation using Rent Check and obtained the landlord’s Tenancy Report, which consisted of Credit and Rental history information. As it turned out the female did not meet the Landlords requirements. Mary then reviewed and discussed the report with both parties, without asking permission from the female partner if she could discuss her personal information in front of the male partner. Mary then declined the couple for tenancy. The male partner challenged Mary in her decision, and became so aggressive in demanding the return of the rental application that Mary complied, without making a copy of the rental application showing that consent was given to conduct a Landlords report on the female. The male partner then complained to Rent Check about disclosure of personal information and how it should not have been discussed in his presence unless the other partner gave permission. He then stated that consent was not given to perform the credit investigation. In Mary’s situation, she has no proof of consent from the female partner for the credit investigation because she did not retain a copy of the rental application or another document that states written consent was given. In all cases, whether you approve or decline, retaining written proof for consent is mandatory and should be standard policy.
No! Show and discuss the report with each subject privately or, in a situation with a couple, get permission to discuss it with them together, but never hand over a copy or the original report. If the applicants wish to have a copy of the credit or rental file, provide the applicants with an adverse action letter that informs them of the agencies names, addresses, and phone numbers to be contacted to obtain a copy of their own personal report and correct any discrepancies. An adverse action letter can be obtained from the consumer reporting agency you used to obtain the credit report from, or a copy can be obtained from Rent Check. HOW LONG SHOULD THE RETENTION PERIOD BE FOR PROOF OF CONSENT?
It is recommended that a minimum retention period for applicants who have been declined be two (2) years after the application date and if approved a minimum of two (2) years after the date a resident vacates the premises. BEST PRACTICES
Many companies like to destroy paper they do not need, especially after its purpose has been met. This is a gray area as PIPEDA has not clarified how long to retain a consent document and simply states in its principle for retention, Principle 4.5, that personal information must be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes for which it was collected. It is recommended to treat a document containing the written consent of a tenancy applicant like precious metal since you are only as innocent as the proof makes you out to be. How can one explain that they once had consent but destroyed the document since they did not accept the subject as a tenant, and had no use for a declined rental application document? In some cases the subject may attempt to extort money on threat of a lawsuit and the landlord with no proof may have to pay something as per PIPEDA the threat of a $25,000 fine for individuals and $100,000 fine for corporations looms if proof is not available. To comply with the safeguards principle, Consumer Reporting Agencies have regular consent audits that periodically request a random number of end users to produce consent documents as proof that the end users had permissible purpose to access an individual’s personal information. The results of these audits are held private for owners to view only. In some cases a warning and correction notice is issued but disciplinary action is usually not the end result. However, retaining consent protects you from the complainant who may take action for your innocently missing a consent signature.
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION – CREDIT OR RENTAL FILE
As a Rental Agent or Landlord should I disclose and release a copy of the credit or rental file to the subject? FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: BRENDA J. MAXWELL | VICE PRESIDENT SALES RENT CHECK CREDIT BUREAU | "RENTAL HISTORY FOR HOUSING PROVIDERS" | BRENDA@RENTCHECK.CA
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