Paying a data protection fee – real estate sector

If you do need to pay, the online form will ask for your sector. You can choose, but are not limited, to:

Land and Property Services, Property Management, Property Management
Land and Property Services, Property Management, HIP Providers (House Info Pack)
Land and Property Services, Estate Agency/ Letting Agency, Estate Agents
Land and Property Services, Estate Agency/ Letting Agency, Letting Agents
Land and Property Services, Housing Association, housing Association
General Business, Business Advice and Consultancy, Consultant
General Business, Supplier of Services, Other

Frequently asked questions

I have CCTV on my business premises for crime prevention reasons – do I need to pay a fee?

Yes. Images of people caught on camera is their personal data. If you record these images to prevent crime, and crime prevention is not the purpose of your business, then you need to pay.

I’m a landlord – do I need to pay?

If you are processing personal data for the purpose of producing tenancy agreements/contracts, performing credit checks via a credit reference agency on prospective tenants and obtaining references. This would require you to pay a data protection fee.

I’m a landlord but have a letting agent to fully manage my property – do I need to pay?

If you are using a letting agent who fully manages the letting of the property and you only receive a monthly statement and rent, this would fall under the accounts and records exemption. The accounts and records exemption is intended to cover any personal data processed in electronic format to provide invoicing and your own accounts.

However, if as a landlord you create a database of potential tenants, make any decision to which tenant can rent your property and/or you receive electronic copies of tenancy agreements then payment of fee is required.

I hold personal data about members for my: residents’ management company; property management company; flat management company or freehold management company. The information I process is for the purpose of maintaining the property and looking after the communal area - do I need to pay a fee?

If you are processing information such as:

Personal details on each resident
Financial payments e.g. how much each resident pays into the account
Maintenance requests
Decisions on what suppliers to use e.g. builder/gardener
How much to spend on each area of the property
Dispute resolution between residents
CCTV for crime prevention
Meeting notes

Yes, you are required to pay a fee. This processing is for the purpose of property management and you are unable to rely on an exemption.

I manage a commercial property – do I need to pay?

If you have CCTV for crime prevention then you would be required to pay a fee.

We are an estate agency – do we need to pay?

Yes, you are required to pay a fee.

We are a housing association – do we need to pay?

Yes, just like other types of rental and letting agents the data you are processing; such as rental agreements and payments and maintenance requests, would require a fee to be paid.

My organisation is a registered charity – do I need to pay?

This would depend on what personal data you were processing and why. A registered charity would only pay the lowest fee tier of £40. Our self-assessment tool will help you determine if you are required to pay a fee.

How do I know if my company can claim the not-for-profit exemption – we don’t make a profit?

To meet the criteria for the not-for-profit exemption the organisation must:

be established as a not-for-profit organisation, which may be stated in your constitution/articles
only process information necessary to establish or maintain membership or support
only process information necessary to provide or administer activities for people who are members of the organisation or have regular contact with it;
only hold information about individuals whose data you need to process for this exempt purpose
the personal data you process is restricted to personal information that is necessary for this exempt purpose
only keep the information while the individual is a member or supporter or as long as necessary for member/supporter administration

The organisation would not be exempt:

if you are responsible for CCTV
if you provide additional services outside of the organisations aims/objectives that can’t be covered by the other exemptions
if you trade and share in personal data

I only process personal information for personal, family or household affairs – do I need to pay?

This will only apply to you if you are not running a business (renting out a property is like running a small business).

Individuals are exempt from paying a fee if the only information they process is for personal, family or household affairs that have no connection to any commercial or professional activity.

‘Personal, family or household affairs’ includes recreational activities and the capturing of images that contain personal data, even if they captured in a public space.

Examples include holding a personal address list; social networking and online activity, including blogging (as long as this is done in a purely personal capacity and you do not use the blog to endorse or promote businesses, services or products); using CCTV to monitor property, even if capturing images beyond the boundaries of your property; and personal information held in connection with a hobby, even if this involves capturing personal data images in a public space.

My company is dormant – do I need to pay?

It depends. If your business is dormant and you are not processing personal data electronically, then you’re not required to pay the fee.

However, some businesses and professionals are required to retain some personal data after they cease trading or practicing, as required by industry guidelines. If this applies to you then you probably will need to pay.

Please visit data protection fee exemptions to check.

Do I have to pay if I have a website?

It depends on what’s on your website and what other personal data you hold.

If you use your website to promote another person's business activity, goods, or services, you will need to pay because you are advertising and marketing for others.

If you just have a website that advertises your own products or services, then you won’t need to pay because of your website. But you will need to use our self-assessment tool to see if there are any other activities you undertake that mean you do need to pay.

Do I have to pay because I take card payments?

You are not required to pay just because you take card payments. However, if you provide credit facilities and do credit checks on customers via a credit reference agency, or if you process personal data for any other non-exempt reason, then you do need to pay.

I do credit checks on my clients – do I need to pay?

Yes. When performing a credit check via a credit reference agency you will be sharing and obtaining sensitive data with third party agencies so you would need to pay the fee.

I have a dashcam on my business vehicle – do I need to pay the fee?

If you have a dashcam that you use for work purposes on a vehicle that you use for work – even if you own the vehicle - then you will need to pay a data protection fee. Again, images of people recorded on camera – even when in their cars - will be their personal data.

More information

There is more information about the data protection fee on our website.

There is also lots of information for sole traders and smaller businesses on our SME web hub, to help you understand data protection and how it can help you safely make the most out of the personal data you hold.