Bad Tenant List (LTB)

Property management company agrees to scrap bad tenant list, 2016 CanLII 30544 (PCC)

24. Our preliminary analysis first looked at whether a reasonable person would consider the purpose for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information in connection with the "bad tenant" list as being appropriate in the circumstances, pursuant to subsection 5(3).

27. Landlords can conduct limited credit or reference checks with the consent of the prospective tenant for these purposes, or can interview prospective tenants and evaluate their responses. A credit check can flag missteps in the tenant's credit history, which may include missed or late payments, judgments, bankruptcy or past due rent. This information can be helpful in evaluating a tenant as to how they have been able to manage their financial responsibilities and can also reveal facts about the applicant that may have been omitted from the rental agreement, such as previous addresses.

30. After a careful analysis of the above noted provisions, it was our conclusion that the Respondent's "bad tenant" list included what would be considered "credit information" and "personal information" under the province's credit reporting legislation and that the Respondent's disclosure of that information to landlords would therefore require the Respondent to be licensed as a credit reporting agency under that Act.

31. Although the provincial credit reporting legislation permits the use of credit report information for the purpose of entering into, or renewal of, a tenancy agreement; it also places limits on the type of information that can be reported and mandates that credit reporting agencies must reasonably ensure the information they report on is accurate and fair and that they have obtained the consent of, or provided notice to, individuals when using their information.

32. Absent any evidence that the Respondent is operating as a licensed credit reporting agency in the province and given that the Respondent appears to be in contravention of the provincial credit reporting legislation, we are of the preliminary view that the Respondent's purposes for collecting, using or disclosing tenants' personal information in the circumstances (i.e., to create a "bad tenant" list) are not objectively appropriate under subsection 5(3).

Third-party landlord organization collected, used and disclosed tenants’ personal information without their consent, 2009 CanLII 84471 (PCC)

The organization offered various services to landlords, in exchange for membership fees. The services included conducting tenant background checks, and tracing and tracking tenants. Also, on its web site, the organization compiled and managed two lists of tenants’ personal information: the “bad” tenant list and delinquent tenant list. This information was available to members.

Findings

Issued December 11, 2009

Application: Principle 4.3 states that the knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate. Paragraph 7(3)(b) states that an organization may disclose personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual only if the disclosure is for the purpose of collecting a debt owed by the individual to the organization. Principle 4.5 states that personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes. Principle 4.7 states that personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Principle 4.7.3(c) states that the methods of protection should include technological measures, for example, the use of passwords and encryption.

TSL-04311-19 (Re), 2019 CanLII 87609 (ON LTB)

24. The Tenant stated that the Landlord had recently contacted the individuals who the Tenant had used as references in his original tenancy application with the Landlord in 2017. The Tenant advised that on April 3, 2019, his references were contacted by the Landlord and they were informed that the Tenant was in arrears of rent and the amount of arrears owing. The Landlord confirmed that he had contacted the Tenant’s references as he felt that as references, they should assist him in convincing the Tenant to pay the rent owing.

25. The Landlord should not have disclosed information about the Tenant’s rental account to third parties. The Tenant’s payment history was personal information and pursuant to subsection 5(3) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c. 5, should only be disclosed for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

26. The Landlord breached the Tenant’s privacy rights by sharing information about his payment history with third parties and he ought to have known that this was unreasonable as the Tenant’s references would not have a right to know of the Tenant’s debts or credit history. We find that the privacy breach interfered with the Tenant’s reasonable enjoyment.

Conclusion and Remedy

27. The Tenant is entitled to an abatement of rent for the harassment and also for substantial interference. Based on the nature of these problems and the impact on the Tenant, we find that an appropriate amount for the harassing emails would be $250.00 and an appropriate amount for the substantial interference would be $500.00.

TNT-93514-17 (Re), 2018 CanLII 42879 (ON LTB)

32. The Tenants allege that the Landlord substantially interfered with their reasonable enjoyment, and harassed them, by repeatedly telling people that the Tenants owed money and would be evicted.

33. B.B. testified to the following incidents:

a. in July 2016 and May 2017, the Landlord served notices to terminate the tenancy for rent arrears;

b. in July 2016, the Landlord told the Tenants’ roommate that they owed rent and would be evicted;

c. in July or August, 2016, the Landlord told the Tenants’ daughter that the Tenants owed rent;

d. in May, 2017, an employee of the Landlord told a guest of the Tenants that they owed rent and would be evicted; and

e. also in May, 2017, the Landlord told one of his maintenance contractors that the Tenants owed rent.

34. Service of a notice of termination is the proper way for the Landlord to inform the Tenants that he believes they are in arrears. It is not interference or harassment.

35. It was improper for the Landlord to tell third parties about the Tenants’ rental account. The Tenants’ payment history was personal information which, pursuant to subsection 5(3) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5, should only be disclosed for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances. The Landlord should not have disclosed the information to persons who had no business knowing about the Tenants’ finances.

36. The disclosures substantially interfered with the Tenants’ reasonable enjoyment by breaching their privacy. I do not find the disclosures to have formed a pattern sufficient to constitute harassment.

37. B.B. testified that in 2016, the Tenants’ roommate moved out because the Landlord told him that they owed rent. I do not find that outcome to flow from the Landlord’s conduct; the roommate was free to move out whenever he chose. The only real impact the Landlord’s conduct had on the Tenants was that it annoyed them. A rent abatement of $150.00 will be awarded to compensate them for the annoyance. The Landlord will also be ordered to cease the offending conduct.

TST-05853-10 (Re), 2010 CanLII 79738 (ON LTB)

17. That being said, it was clearly inappropriate for the Landlord to give out the Tenants’ names and telephone number to the neighbour’s mother and urge her to call them. In the hearing before me the Landlord stated that people give out his number all the time and he gets calls from strangers. As I explained the nature of the relationship between the Tenants and the Landlord is a business relationship. When a business has to collect personal information from its clients in the course of doing business, it is a reasonable expectation of the clients that the business will not pass that information around without their consent. When we use our credit cards in stores we expect the store not to give our credit card data to strangers. We expect the airline company not to tell tour providers our addresses; and we expect our dry cleaner not to sell data about the kinds of clothes we wear. That is why the federal government has passed the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act [‘PIPEDA’] which basically says that information collected in the context of a business relationship cannot be disclosed to a third party without consent.

18. As a result, I find that by urging the neighbour’s mother to call the Tenants and by giving her the Tenants’ personal information so she could do so the Landlord substantially interfered with the Tenants’ reasonable enjoyment and breached section 22 of the Act.

19. This application is also based on section 23 of the Act which says: “A landlord shall not harass, obstruct, coerce, threaten or interfere with a tenant.” I am of the view that “harassment” refers to any situation where a reasonable landlord ought to know that his or her actions would be unwelcome by any reasonable tenant. It seems to me that the Landlord here should have been aware of the fact that having the neighbour’s mother call the Tenants up to defend her daughter’s behaviour and to tell them there was no legal cause to evict her would not be a welcome experience for the Tenants. As a result, I am satisfied that by instructing the neighbour’s mother to call the Tenants the Landlord also breached section 23 of the Act.