Landlords need more education not more legislation – A Message From LandlordBC’s CEO, David Hutniak
The province’s Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner has begun an investigation into collection, use or disclosure of personal information of prospective tenants. LandlordBC denounces any and all contravention of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) by landlords. To do so is inconsistent with the best practices of our industry. Landlords who contravene the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) not only risk harming tenants, they risk harming the broader rental housing industry and the many professional and responsible landlords in the province who are focused on providing safe, secure, sustainable rental housing to British Columbian. It is for this reason that LandlordBC has formally offered its support to the Commissioner’s Office to ensure that tenant privacy is respected and that landlords (and tenants) have the necessary knowledge in regard to their rights and responsibilities as they pertain to PIPA and the RTA.
As the professional association representing the rental housing industry in BC, we invest significant resources in educating our members about their rights and responsibilities as they pertain to both PIPA and the RTA through robust programming and support. We have extended this education to the broader rental housing industry (ie: non-members) through an education platform called the Landlord Registry. The Landlord Registry™ not only provides landlords with critical knowledge to protect themselves, it also provides tenants with a first of its kind “due diligence” tool so that they can rent with increased confidence knowing that their prospective landlords is credible. It is our view that the new BC NDP government should make the Landlord Registry™ MANDATORY for every landlord in the province.
We look forward to collaborating with the Commissioner’s Office. What landlords need is more education not more legislation as it pertains to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information of prospective tenants.