Privacy Laws
The Canadian government and many provinces have passed laws relating to the protection of personal information given to public bodies and private organizations. Not all these laws apply to the activity of renting property privately — so it is important to be aware of what law applies and what the law requires a person who is given the personal information to do.
Alberta Privacy Laws
In Alberta there are a number of laws dealing with the protection of personal information: The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the Health Information Act (HIA).
The only one that applies to the information that you obtain from your tenants is the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to information that is in the possession of public bodies such as government departments and organizations. The Health Information Act relates to health information collected by bodies such as the Minister of Health and Wellness, regional health authorities, provincial health boards, pharmacies and pharmacists and health care providers under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan. The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) sets out rules as to how private sector organizations manage personal information. The Act includes the activities of corporations and individuals carrying on a commercial business, both of which categories would include the business of leasing out property.
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta
Federal Privacy Laws
The Canadian government has passed two laws relating to the protection of personal information. They are the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
The Privacy Act applies to personal information held by federal government departments and agencies. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) establishes rules for private sector organizations in the management of personal information. Now that Alberta has passed its own Personal Information Protection Act which has the same effect as PIPEDA, the Alberta law is what is used in this province.
However, PIPEDA still applies to private sector organizations when carrying out commercial activities involving personal information that crosses Alberta’s borders. For example, if a landlord does a credit check on a tenant and discloses an individual’s personal information to the credit reporting agency in Ontario, the disclosure of the personal information to the Ontario organization makes the transaction subject to PIPEDA.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
February 2006