B.C. Landlords Collect Too Much Personal Information

VICTORIA – A report was released by the Province today saying that landlords throughout B.C. often collect too much personal information from potential tenants.

“Low vacancy rates may prompt landlords to believe they can collect whatever information they want from prospective tenants,” said Drew McArthur, acting information and privacy commissioner. “In some cases, landlords required applicants to provide months’ worth of detailed bank statements, or for consent to conduct a credit check, or for information protected by the Human Rights Code, such as marital status. In most instances, requiring this type of information would violate B.C. privacy laws.”

The recommendations for landlords include limiting the amount of required personal information on the tenant application forms and clearly identifying the specific purpose for getting that information from prospective tenants. It also requires a credit check only when a potential tenant can’t give proper references as well as never getting any information about the tenant off social media or search engines.

Landlords can refer to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s (OIPC) guide to know what personal information they can collect.