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).