Local authorities, housing associations and private landlords all have a duty to protect your personal data. They must adhere to relevant data protection law. If your landlord fails to do so and your personal data is breached, you could be eligible to make a landlord data breach claim.
In this guide we will provide you with information on when and how you could make a data breach compensation claim. We will look at how data breaches could occur, what personal data could be impacted by a landlord data breach and when you may be eligible to claim compensation. Finally, we also look at the different forms of compensation that may be awarded and how a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could support your personal data breach claim.
To find out if you could be eligible to claim data breach compensation, contact our team today. Our friendly advisors can be reached via any of the following contact information:
- Call 0800 408 7825
- Use our live chat.
- Contact us online.
Browse Our Guide
- When Can You Make A Landlord Data Breach Claim?
- What Is A Landlord Data Breach?
- Potential Landlord Data Breach Compensation
- What Should You Do After A Data Breach?
- Make A No Win No Fee Landlord Data Breach Claim
- More Resources About Making A Data Breach Claim
When Can You Make A Landlord Data Breach Claim?
Any information that can identify you is classed as personal data. Your landlord may hold various personal data about you, such as your name, address, bank details and additional information connected to the tenancy agreement.
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) sit together as data protection laws, and set out the rules and regulations all data controllers and processors should adhere to to keep your personal data safe.
A data controller decides why and how your personal data is being processed. Your landlord may be classed as a data controller. Alternatively, a data processor processes personal data on behalf of the controller. For example, this may be an estate agency if your landlord used one when renting out their property to you.
A data breach may occur if your landlord fails to adhere to these rules and regulations. A data breach is classed as a security incident that leads to the unlawful or accidental loss, alteration, destruction, or unauthorised access to or disclosure of personal data.
In order for you to make a landlord data breach claim, you need to show that your case meets the following criteria:
- Your landlord failed to adhere to data protection laws and this resulted in a data breach. For example, they failed to update their cyber security systems.
- Your personal data was affected in this breach.
- You have been mentally or financially impacted by this personal data breach.
Contact our team to find out if you could be eligible to make a landlord data breach compensation claim.
What Is A Landlord Data Breach?
As outlined in the previous section, in order to make a data breach compensation claim, you must have suffered mental or financial harm due to a personal data breach that was caused by your landlord failing to adhere to data protection law.
Some examples of how a landlord data breach may occur include:
- Human error, such as your landlord sending a letter containing your personal data to the wrong postal address, such as another tenant of theirs. This causes you to experience emotional distress.
- Due to failing to check the auto-fill feature, your personal data was sent to the wrong email address due to you and another tenant of your landlord having similar names. Due to the wrong person having access to your personal data, this causes you to suffer with anxiety.
- Paperwork that contained your payment details for rent was lost or stolen. As a result, you suffered monetary losses due to your banking information being stolen.
These are just a few examples. To see whether you may be eligible to make a landlord data breach claim, you can contact our advisory team.
Potential Landlord Data Breach Compensation
If your data breach compensation claim is successful you could be awarded compensation for your non-material damage.
The psychological harm you have suffered due to a data breach is referred to as non-material damage. For example, you may suffer from stress or depression due to a data breach.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may be used by those in charge of valuing your claim for your non-material damage. to value the emotional harm you have suffered. This document sets out guideline compensation brackets for different mental harm which you could have suffered.
In the table below, we used some of the guidelines listed within the JCG, aside from the first entry. As each claim is unique, these figures should only be used as a guide. How much you could be awarded in compensation will depend on the factors of your case.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Injury With Significant Financial Losses | Severe | Up to £150,000+ |
| Psychiatric Harm | A - Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| B - Moderately Severe | £23,270 to £66,920 | |
| C - Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 | |
| D - Less Severe | £1,880 to £7,150 | |
| PTSD | A - Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| B - Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| C - Moderate | £9,980 to £28,250 | |
| D - Less Severe | £4,820 to £9,980 |
Material Damage In A Data Breach Claim
In addition to being awarded compensation for your non-material damage, you may also be awarded compensation for your material damage. Material damage refers to the financial harm you have expereinced due to the personal data breach.
For example, if you have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a personal data breach, you may have needed to take time off of work. Any earnings you have lost from this time off could be compensated for within your claim. However, you would need to prove this loss with documents such as your payslips.
To learn what other financial losses you may be able to pursue compensation for within your landlord data breach claim, you can contact our advisors.
What Should You Do After A Data Breach?
Following a breach of your personal data, you may have received a letter or email informing you of this breach. Organisations are required to inform you without undue delay if they believe your rights or freedom may be at risk due to your personal data being breached. This notice could then be used as evidence within your landlord data breach claim to prove what personal data of yours was compromised.
Examples of other steps you could take following a personal data breach to support your claim could include:
- Report the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – The ICO upholds information rights and enforces data protection laws within the UK. You can report a breach to the ICO within 3 months of your last meaningful communication with the organisation responsible for the breach. Following this report, the ICO may choose to investigate, and the findings of this investigation could be used to support your claim.
- Obtain proof of your mental harm – For example, this could be a diagnosis letter from your therapist or a copy of your medical records detailing the psychological injury you have suffered.
- Obtain proof of your financial losses – For example, this could include your bank statements, wage slips or credit card statements.
You can contact our advisory team for further advice on the steps that could be taken to support claims for personal data breaches.
Make A No Win No Fee Landlord Data Breach Claim
If you contact our friendly team of advisors about your landlord data breach claim, they may connect you with one of the solicitors on our panel. If one of them takes on your case, they could offer their services to you through a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Under a CFA, the solicitor usually will not ask you to make any upfront fees or ongoing payments towards their work on your case. Additionally, if your claim is not successful, they will not charge you for their services.
If you successfully claim compensation, you will be charged a success fee. This fee is deducted from your compensation. The amount which could be deducted (as a percentage) is limited by law.
If your personal data has been breached, you can contact our advisors to discuss your case, receive free advice and potentially be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor on our panel. Our team can be reached via any of the following methods:
- Call our team on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us online.
- Talk to us using our live chat.
More Resources About Making A Data Breach Claim
Additional data breach claims guides by us:
- This guide discusses some of the common causes of data breaches and when you may be able to make a claim.
- Learn whether you could claim for anxiety due to a data breach within this guide.
- If a lost or stolen device led to your personal data being breached, this guide discusses whether you could make a claim.
Further external resources:
- In this guide from Gov.UK you can find out how to make a complaint about a data breach.
- This guide from the National Cyber Security Centre provides guidance on data breaches for individuals and families.
- This resource from the ICO looks at how you could take your case to court.
Thank you for reading our guide to making a landlord data breach claim. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your particular case, you can contact our team.