Updating post from Reddit.
I’ve had a tenancy for three years which recently ended. There was some water damage due to a leak in the boiler which I’m claiming repairs on Landlord’s insurance.
The insurance company have sent inspectors round, I’ve got a contractor, everything is approved, all good.
The final hurdle is the insurance company requires details about the tenants which only the letting agent have. Now, the agent is refusing to share the information with the insurance company for GDPR reasons.
The letting agent has said the only way forwards is them getting written consent from the tenants to share their information with the insurance company. Since I’ve raised deposit disputes I’m not hopeful this will play out in my favour.
Has anyone experienced this before? Does anyone have any advice on how to move forwards?
The letting agent is an agent of *you*. Any details they hold are yours to share as you see fit. Obviously if you share them in illegal ways you might be opening yourself up to prosecution under the GDPR.
This sounds like a standard case of "I'm lazy and/or incompetent so I'm refusing and blaming GDPR".
When I asked for the details myself, they touted GDPR as the reason they couldn’t give them to me. Fair enough, I personally don’t have a use for them. But the insurance company does.
OP fyi you should also be registered with the ICO since you are/will hold personal details. Its not much to do. Also you can hit them back with it since you are acting legally.
I gave the ICO a call to get their take on it. They said given the scenario I described, there’s nothing in GDPR that says they can’t share the information as it sounds like a reasonable request for the data. I’m waiting on the agent to call me back and I’ll see where that gets me.
As an aside, the ICO were incredibly friendly and helpful.
Your contract with the letting agent should have some details on who the data controller is. Given they are acting on your behalf, that should be you.
You do have use for them, to give the insurance company. The seccond thing you need to do is end the relationship with this incompetent letting agency.
Their is nothing in GDPR to stop the agent giving you the details, or you giving them to the insurance company. However you in theory should have a data protection licence to process the data.
It sounds to me the agent is incompetent, lazy or both.
Sounds like insurance tactics to me anything not to pay out!!
Do you not have a copy of the tenancy agreement? this usually has some form of contact information on it.
I do, but the insurance company requires details of the background checks then letting agent ran. Proof they collected ID and references
Likely your agent doesn’t have these details on file or they didn’t run the checks.
You are entitled to a copy of these or lodge a complaint with the agents ombudsman.
Thanks for the advice, I didn’t realise the property ombudsman was even a thing. I gave them a call and they advised I have to go through the entire formal 8 week complaints process with my agent before they’ll take a look at it.
Hopefully it won’t come to that, but good to know they’re there.
Last time I had a problem with an agent taking the mick I made a complaint and stated I'd take it to their ombudsman if they didn't respond within the required (2 week?) period. They caved instantly after that.
WTF? I made a claim against my insurer on a damaged floor caused by a leak while the place was tenanted. They asked for nothing except for a quote from a builder to fix.
Have you tried escalating with the insurer? Do your policy T&Cs require this?
The onus should be on them to provide a reason that they need this information and it should, IMO, be stated explicitly in the policy T&Cs.
Not yet, I’m going to see if I can further persuade the letting agent to release the information now I’ve spoken to the ICO.
The insurer just said “we told you you’d need to provide these details upon raising a claim, so you have to provide them.”
Is there a realistic chance the insurance company believes the damage was done by the tenant and wants to sue them to recoup their losses?
I don’t believe so, I’ve never blamed the tenants. It was a faulty valve on the tank. They say this is just a blanket policy for any pay outs
I'd just give the tenants name at the property address and call it a day.
Surely you can request a copy of the tenancy agreement from the agency. I have a copy of the agreement on my two rentals and contact details are usually outlined in that.
If they refuse to give it to you then do a gdpr claim and any document with your name on will have to be given including the rental agreement which will contain hopefully all their details.
Unfortunately, the insurance company want more than just the agreement. They want information on the background checks run at the start of the tenancy. ID, references etc.
Your insurance company is dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. If you can’t provide proof of a legitimate tenancy and that you complied with their terms and conditions. It may give them an out to refuse your claim. Hopefully they are just being thorough, chase your agent and threaten action against them should this hold up or put your claim in jeopardy.
Why does the insurance company need the tenant's details? Are they proposing to pursue them for the damage after they've compensated you and been somehow subrogated?
If that's the case, that would mean you as a landlord have a claim against the tenants for the damage to the boiler other than the fact that they were the tenants at the time, which would mean proof of deliberate and intentional damage.
I don’t believe this to be the case. I’ve never blamed the tenants, and was clear it was just a faulty valve on the water tank. I think this is just a blanket policy they have before they make any payouts.
Maybe they need evidence that the boiler was actually in use (i.e. the home was occupied) and didn't deteriorate through lack of use? I can't really think of any reason why they'll need this information, but I'm not in insurance, and will assume they'll have one.
However, in this case, your agent may be right then, whether they know it or not. Data protection, however maligned it may be, exists for this reasons like this. However, as the landlord, I'd say you do have grounds to know who lives in your house even if you had an agent, so you can ask for this information from the agents (are you registered as a data controller?). But before you pass it on, the insurers must have a need to know the tenants' personal data (who the tenants were) for the purposes of handling this claim.
You could ask your insurers why they need the information (was this mentioned in the policy?) and if they do have a valid reason to know it for the purpose of the claim handling and aren't just reading from some long-unreviewed playbook, then you'll have a case for demanding it from your agents.
My tenancy agreement is signed by myself and landlord which includes both our details. The agent gave us both a copy. You should have that?