How To Claim For A Data Breach Of Rent Statements

If a data breach of your rent statements has harmed you, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

Data breach of rent statements

Data breach of rent statements claims guide

Rent statements can contain personal data, special category data and financial information. Legislation such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) require organisations to protect this information when they collect and process it. As a result, any housing association, local council, or private landlord must comply with this legislation when handling your rent statements.

This legislation also outlines the criteria that personal data breach claims must meet in order to be eligible for compensation. We will discuss this further on in this article, as well as what personal data is and how settlements are calculated.

To learn more about how to claim for a rental data breach claim, get in touch with us now:

Select A Section

  1. What Is A Data Breach Of Rent Statements?
  2. What Errors Could Cause A Data Breach Of Rent Statements?
  3. Steps A Landlord Could Take After A Data Breach
  4. How A Data Breach Could Impact Tenants
  5. How Much Could You Claim For A Data Breach Of Rent Statements?
  6. No Win No Fee Claims For A Data Breach Of Rent Statements

What Is A Data Breach Of Rent Statements?

A personal data breach is a security incident affecting any information that could be used to identify you and its integrity, availability, or confidentiality.

For example, personal data could include your full name, your email address, your national insurance number, or your phone number. Your rent statements may also include special category data, which is information that needs extra protection because of its sensitive nature. Health data is one example of special category data, along with information concerning your sexual orientation or religious beliefs.

Data controllers and data processors must comply with the UK GDPR and DPA when they collect and process your personal data. Data controllers decide how to use your data and why they need it, whereas data processors process this data by following the controller’s instructions.

According to the UK GDPR, in order to form a valid claim, the breach must occur because of failings on the part of the data processor or data controller. You must also suffer harm because of the breach.

To learn more about how to claim for a personal data breach of your rent statements, get in touch with our advisors today.

What Errors Could Cause A Data Breach Of Rent Statements?

A data breach of rent statements can happen for a number of reasons, ranging from human error to cyberattacks. Some examples of a data breach of your rent statements could occur include:

  • Unredacted documents: If your landlord fails to redact personal data from your documents before sharing them, this could be a personal data breach.
  • Misdelivery: A personal data breach could occur if your landlord sends your rent statements to the wrong postal address or the wrong email address.
  • Cyberattacks: Your landlord or any organisation that holds your rent statements must ensure they have adequate cybersecurity systems in place.  If they fail to do so, and this allows cybercriminals to access your personal data, you may be able to claim compensation

Rental Information Data Breach Statistics

The Information Commissioner’s Office is a public body that enforces the UK’s data protection legislation. If a data breach occurs and the incident jeopardises the data subject’s rights and freedoms, the organisation responsible must report the data breach to the ICO.

Data security incident trends from the ICO compiled from these reports can help you understand how many breaches happen in the land or property services sector. So far in 2022, 194 incidents have been reported, in comparison to 466 incidents reported in 2021.

If you have suffered harm as a result of a data breach of your rent statements, get in touch with our advisors today.

Steps You Could Take After A Data Breach

You may be wondering what steps you could take following a data breach of your rent statements. If your landlord has experienced a data breach that could compromise your freedoms or your rights, they must report the incident to the ICO. They must also alert you as soon as possible.

You can make a complaint to the organisation responsible for the breach, and they may respond with more information. For example, they may elaborate on what data was involved in the breach or how the breach occurred.

However, if they do not present a satisfactory response within three months, you can make a complaint to the ICO. The ICO has the power to investigate breaches and can levy fines against organisations found to be in breach of data protection law.

To learn more about making a claim for a personal data breach, get in touch with our advisors today.

How A Data Breach Could Impact Tenants

A data breach of rent statements can be an emotionally distressing experience. As such, you could experience stress after a data breach. Similarly, data breach victims may develop mental health injuries such as depression or an anxiety disorder.

A personal data breach can also cause financial harm. For example, if your credit card details or bank account details are compromised, this could allow criminals to withdraw money from your account. Similarly, this could also lead to debt accrued in your name or fraudulent purchases made on your credit card.

To learn more about the impacts a personal data breach could have, read on. Or, contact our advisors to start your claim.

How Much Could You Claim For A Data Breach Of Rent Statements?

If your claim is successful, you can receive up to two heads of compensation. The financial impacts of the breach are covered by material damage. For example, if money is stolen from your accounts or if you suffer damage to your credit score, these would be covered by material damage.

Non-material damage is the head of compensation that aims to address the psychological injuries you may suffer as a result of the breach. For example, if you were to suffer from stress, depression, or anxiety after a data breach, these would be addressed by non-material damage.

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Injures Compensation And Severity Notes
Mental Injuries Severe – £54,830 to £115,730 Claimants experience a severe degree of disability which impacts how well they can cope with relationships and life in general.
Mental Injuries Moderately Severe – £19,070 to £54,830 Claimants experience significant problems similar to the above. Their prognosis is more optimistic.
Mental Injuries Moderate – £5,860 to £19,070 Claimants have issues when trying to cope with everyday life. Their mental health could improve with treatment.
Mental Injuries Less Severe – £1,540 to £5,860 Claimants experience a period of disability that impacts their sleep and other day-to-day activities.
PTSD Severe – £59,860 to £100,670 The person may experience permanent symptoms and injuries. They are not able to function at the level they did before the trauma.
PTSD Moderately Severe – £23,150 to £59,860 Whilst the claimant could recover to some degree, they could be left with significant disabilities over the foreseeable future.
PTSD Moderate – £8,180 to £23,150 Whilst recovery has largely occurred, the affected party will be left with some (not grossly disabling) symptoms.
PTSD Less Severe – £3,950 to £8,180 The person should make a virtually full recovery, though they could be left with some minor symptoms after the 1-2 year recovery period.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a document that helps solicitors and other legal professionals value compensation claims. It helps by providing guideline settlement amounts for various physical and psychiatric illnesses and injuries. The table above showcases some of these figures in regard to non-material damage awards.

However, please note that these amounts are guidelines only and are not guarantees of what you could receive. To learn more about compensation in claims for a personal data breach, get in touch with our team today.

No Win No Fee Claims For A Data Breach Of Rent Statements

If you have suffered harm following a breach of your rent statement, you may be interested in seeking legal representation. Our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors offer their advice and representation under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Hiring a solicitor under a CFA typically means that you will not have to pay them any upfront or ongoing costs or fees.

The only fee your solicitor will request comes only if your claim succeeds. This success fee is taken as a percentage of your compensation with a legal cap. If your claim doesn’t succeed, you don’t pay this fee.

To find out how a solicitor from our panel could help you, get in touch with our team. They can offer free legal advice, and they can tell you if your claim is valid. To get in touch:

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Thank you for reading our guide. If you want to know more about claiming compensation for a data breach of rent statements, get in touch with our team.

Writer AL

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