Data breaches may have a detrimental impact on your mental health and may also cause you to suffer financially. Therefore, all landlords must ensure the personal data of their tenants is safe by adhering to data protection laws and regulations. If they fail to do so, breaching your personal data and causing you harm, you may be able to pursue a landlord data breach claim with our specialist and experienced panel of solicitors.
Key Takeaways
- Landlords must ensure the safety of their tenants’ personal data by adhering to data protection laws
- Personal data may be breached if landlords send data to the wrong postal or email address, for example
- After receiving a notification of a data breach from your landlord, you could report this to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
- If a landlord data breach caused you to suffer psychological harm and incur financial losses, you may be eligible for data breach compensation.
- At Data Breach Claims, we have an excellent panel of solicitors who offer their legal services on a No Win No Fee basis to support you through your claim.
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If your landlord was responsible for breaching your data, contact our advisors today to find out if you are eligible to claim compensation.
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Our team of specialist advisors are ready to assist you with your data breach claim
Jump To A Section
- What Is A Landlord Data Breach?
- Are You Eligible To Pursue A Landlord Data Breach Claim?
- How Might A Landlord Data Breach Occur?
- Compensation You Could Receive From A Landlord Data Breach Claim
- What Could You Do After A Personal Data Breach?
- Make A Landlord Data Breach Claim Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Data Breach Claims
What Is A Landlord Data Breach?
A landlord data breach is a security incident where your landlord did not abide by data protection laws, causing your personal data to be breached. Landlords, housing associations and local authorities typically hold your personal data to manage your tenancy and fulfil their legal obligations. This may include your:
- Name and date of birth
- Postal address
- Identification certificates, such as your passport
- Contact details such as your phone number
- Bank or credit card details
However, when processing and storing your data, they must do so in line with data protection laws. Namely, the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR), which set out how organisations should keep the personal data of UK residents safe and protected.
When renting a property, both data controllers and data processors may have access to your data. For example:
- Your landlord may act as a data controller and decide how and why your data is being processed, or
- A data processor, such as an estate agency, may manage your data on behalf of your landlord
However, both are required to follow to data protection laws to prevent breaching the personal data they are holding.
If you have any questions about landlord data breaches, do not hesitate to contact our advisors.
Are You Eligible To Pursue A Landlord Data Breach Claim?
You could be eligible to pursue a landlord data breach claim, provided you suffered harm that is financial or psychological due to your personal data being breached, as your landlord didn’t follow data protection laws. Essentially, the eligibility criteria is as follows:
- Your landlord did not follow data protection laws
- Subsequently, your personal data was breached
- This caused you psychological harm and financial losses
When landlords fail to abide by data breach laws, this may result in the unlawful or accidental destruction, loss or access to your personal data. Subsequently, this may have a psychological and financial impact on you, for which you may be eligible for compensation.
Contact our advisors today to find out if you can pursue a data breach claim against your landlord with our excellent panel of solicitors.
How Might A Landlord Data Breach Occur?
A landlord data breach could occur due to human error (e.g. verbally disclosing your data) or due to a cyber incident. Below, we provide some more in-depth examples:
- Your landlord may send an email containing your details to the wrong recipient or a letter to the incorrect address.
- Fails to have adequate and up-to-date cyber data security measures in place. This may result in personal data being breached through a wider cyber attack.
- Incorrectly disposes your data. For example, rather than destroying documents containing your information, they leave them in an exposed bin within an office building where someone could take them.
If your landlord has compromised your personal data, you can contact our advisors to see if you could be eligible for compensation.
Compensation You Could Receive From A Landlord Data Breach Claim
You could receive compensation for any psychological and financial harm you have suffered in a landlord data breach claim.
Compensation for non-material damage (the psychological harm you suffered) can be calculated by legal professionals using the Judicial College compensation Guidelines (JCG) alongside any medical evidence, such as psychiatric reports.
The JCG contains compensation guidelines for a range of injuries. The table below provides examples from the JCG of compensation brackets for psychological harm. However, they are suggestive and not guaranteed. Please also note, that the first entry has not come from the JCG.
| Psychological Harm | Compensation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Harm and Significant Financial Losses | Up to £250,000 plus | Such award is considered if the claimant experiences severe psychological harm as well as financial losses such as lost earnings, therapy fees and relocation costs. |
| Severe Psychiatric Damage | £66,920 to £141,240 | Factors considered within these brackets include the injured person’s ability to cope with life, work and relationships, their prognosis, future vulnerability, medical attention and whether treatment is successful. |
| Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage | £23,270 to £66,920 | Factors considered within these brackets are the same as those listed above. However, the prognosis is more optimistic. |
| Moderate Psychiatric Damage | £7,150 to £23,270 | Factors considered within these brackets are the same as those listed at the top of this table. However, again, the prognosis is more optimistic than above. |
| Less Severe Psychiatric Damage | £1,880 to £7,150 | The award within such brackets depends on the period of the person’s mental disability and whether this affected their ability to sleep and complete activities. |
| Severe PTSD | £73,050 to £122,850 | This may be considered if the person suffers permanently from PTSD and they are unable to work or function as they would before the trauma. |
| Moderately Severe PTSD | £28,250 to £73,050 | Such brackets are considered if there is a better prognosis than above if professional help is sought. However, they may still be greatly affected by their symptoms. Most awards are given between £35,100 and £45,300. |
| Moderate PTSD | £9,980 to £28,250 | Such brackets are considered if the person makes a large recovery without any grossly disabling continuing effects. |
| Less Severe PTSD | £4,820 to £9,980 | Such brackets are considered if the person makes a full recovery within 1 to 2 years and only experiences minor continuing symptoms. |
Can A Landlord Data Breach Claim Cover Material Losses?
Yes, a landlord data breach claim can also cover any material losses you suffered due to your personal data being breached.
Examples of material damage (financial losses you suffered) you could receive compensation for include:
- Lost earnings if you took time off work due to your psychological injuries
- Lost work benefits such as pension contributions and bonuses
- Medical costs, including payments for therapy and prescriptions
- Travel costs for getting to and from appointments
- Costs towards security plans and data protection
You may be required to provide evidence of your financial losses, such as payslips and receipts, so it is important to keep a record of these.
Contact our advisors today for a more detailed understanding of how much compensation you may be awarded for a successful data breach claim.
We Can Help With Your Claim
Our team of specialist advisors are ready to assist you with your data breach claim
What Could You Do After A Personal Data Breach?
After a personal data breach, you could report the breach, gather evidence to support a claim, and seek out legal advice. Below, we set out in more detail the various steps you could take
- Identify the type of data that was involved in the breach
- You should find out what data was breached, when this breach took place, and how the breach occurred
- Gather supporting evidence
- This could include a notification letter or email informing you of the breach, medical records detailing your psychological harm, and bank statements demonstrating your financial losses
- Contact your landlord or letting agency regarding the data breach
- You could ask them to clarify what data was compromised, how this occurred, and what steps they are taking to prevent a similar breach from occurring again
- Report the data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
- The ICO is the independent authority that upholds data protection laws. If they investigate the breach after you report, their findings could be used as evidence. However, you must make this report within 3 months of the landlord’s last meaningful reply regarding the data breach
- Ensure you are within the time limit for claiming
- You generally have up to 6 years to claim for a personal data breach
- Seek legal advice
- If you contact our advisors, they can assess the eligibility of your claim. They could also connect you with a solicitor from our panel who could offer you legal advice and support throughout the claiming process
If you have suffered from a data breach, get in touch with our advisors regarding the next steps you should take.
Make A Landlord Data Breach Claim Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
By pursuing a claim with our experienced panel of solicitors at Data Breach Claims, you may receive legal support on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
You may benefit from this as you will not be required to pay upfront or ongoing costs for their work. You also will not need to pay them for their completed work should the claim not be a success. Your solicitor will take a small success fee from your compensation (which is a legally capped percentage) if your claim is successful.
There are also additional benefits to claiming with our panel of data breach solicitors, as they can offer the following services:
- Supporting you through the data breach claims process
- Utilising their legal skills to try and reach a successful outcome
- Working tirelessly to get you the highest compensation figure
- Helping you gather evidence to support your case
- Advising you on mental health services that are available
At Data Breach Claims, we genuinely care about helping you get back on track with your life after suffering from a data breach. Therefore, our panel of solicitors will go above and beyond to support you throughout your claim.
Contact Our Team Of Advisors
Please contact our advisors to learn more about data breach claims or to start yours today. You may do this by:
- Giving them a call on 020 8050 6279 to go over the details of your data breach
- Messaging them on our live chat for quick and direct answers to your questions
- Contacting us online
Learn More About Data Breach Claims
To learn more about data breach claims, read the useful guides linked below.
- Answers to our frequently asked questions on data breach claims
- Here you can learn how to report a GDPR data breach
- Read our data breach case studies
References:
- Access mental health services, NHS.UK
- Learn how to report your landlord, GOV.UK
- Here is guidance for data breaches, National Cyber Security Centre
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on making a landlord data breach claim with our panel of solicitors.