New Federal Privacy Legislation
Impact on Property Management Industry

By Tonya Moreton, Executive Director

As you may be aware, the federal government has passed new privacy legislation (Bill C-54) that will have implications for the manner in which property owners/managers collect, store and dispose of personal information of tenants and applicants.

The Act applies to all personal information, regardless of the form in which it was collected, used or disclosed, with few exceptions. The Act already applies to federally regulated companies, such as banks, telephone and cable companies. As well as companies who "trade" personal information inter-provincially or internationally. As of January 1, 2004, the Act will apply to all personal information collected, used or disclosed in the course of all commercial activity.

While the deadline is still more than two years away, it would be prudent to set up systems for your company’s compliance at the earliest possible date, to protect yourself and your employees from potential claims of misuse of personal information and possible liability.

Bill C-54 set our ten principles which must be adhered to, to achieve compliance:

  1. ACCOUNTABILITY - an organization is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate an individual (s), who is accountable for the organization’s compliance with the following principles.
  2. IDENTIFYING PURPOSES - the purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified by the organization at or before the time it is collected.
  3. CONSENT - the knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information (except when inappropriate).
  4. LIMITING COLLECTION - the collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization and shall be gained by fair and lawful means.
  5. LIMITING USE, DISCLOSURE & RETENTION - 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) and it shall be retained only as long as is necessary for fulfillment of those purposes.
  6. ACCURACY - personal information shall be as accurate, complete and current as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
  7. SAFEGUARDS - personal information shall be protected by security safeguards relative to the sensitivity of the information.
  8. OPENNESS - an organization shall make readily available to individuals, specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
  9. INDIVIDUAL ACCESS - upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his/her personal information and shall be given access to same. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
  10. CHALLENGING COMPLIANCE - an individual shall be able to challenge compliance with the above principles to the designated individual (s) for the organization’s compliance.

Organizations should revise their tenancy agreements and applications or purchase standard PPMA forms, to ensure compliance with the new legislation. For more detailed information about Bill C-54, visit the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website at: www.privcom.gc.ca

Return to PPMA Committees