Voluntary Landlord Registration Scheme

Summary

A request was made for a list of landlords registered on the Voluntary Landlord Registration Scheme with contact details, but the Department of Infrastructure refused to disclose the information.

Key Facts

• The Voluntary Landlord Registration Scheme has been closed to allow for the development of a new scheme aligned with the proposed Landlord Registration Bill.
• The Department of Infrastructure holds the requested information but refused to release it.
• The refusal was based on the classification of the data as personal information of the landlords.
• The applicant was informed of their right to request an internal review or appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Data Disclosed

• 1610713
• 2020-12-18
• 2021-01-29
• section 25
• Article 5
• Article 6
• 2018
• 2015

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, Article 5 (data protection principles)
• Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, Article 6 (conditions for lawful processing)

Original Request

Please can you provide a list of all of the landlords that are currently registered on the Voluntary Landlord Registration Scheme with contact details.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 1610713 29 January 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 18 December 2020 and which states (sic):

"Please can you provide a list of all of the landlords that are currently registered on the Voluntary Landlord Registration Scheme with contact details." The Voluntary Landlord Registration Scheme was recently closed in order to allow officers of the Department to develop a newer voluntary scheme which is aligned with the proposed Landlord Registration Bill. The government website states that “the Department will shortly be introducing an updated voluntary scheme and is therefore no longer accepting applications onto the voluntary register.” While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide any of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). This is because the information requested represents the personal data of the Landlords who registered on the original scheme. The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Department is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Department is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Department can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met. Please quote the reference number 1610713 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact us and we will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. We will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

FOI Response Team