united-kingdom gdpr rental-property
Is it okay for letting agency to deny me viewing for not telling them my employer name and how long I had been in a profession?
<p>Is it okay for a letting agency to ask me these questions ?</p>

<ol>
<li>What is the name of company I work for ?</li>
<li>The property I am renting at the present is through agency or a landlord?</li>
<li>How long I have been working as a software developer?</li>
</ol>

<p>They also asked me for how much I am earning and some other questions which I answered. When I further inquired they told me that until I answer these question they won't let me view the property and answers will be used for pre-screening.</p>

<p>Is it okay for letting agency to deny me viewing for not telling them my employer name and how long I had been in a profession ?</p>

<p>I know if I liked the property and for referencing they may need letter from my employer but I wasn't at this stage yet.</p>

<p>The other answers don't quite spell it out, so I will.</p>

<p>There is no law in the UK requiring landlords or their agents to show a property to all parties interested - refusal to show a property may however in some cases fall under discrimination laws, so that might be something you can pursue if you feel the refusal is due to your gender, race or sexual orientation.</p>

<p>While they may have to justify their data collection under the GDPR, that is entirely separate to their refusal to show the property to you.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/united-states" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;united-states&#39;" rel="tag">united-states</a></p>

<p>I don't know what the law is in the UK on this matter. In the US, an agency can and some will ask such questions, and use the answers to determine who to show the property to. Essentially, they don't want to bother showing it to people who are not going to qualify as tenants. Amount and stability of income are considered legitimate factors for a landlord or landlord's agent to use in deciding who to consider as a tenner. Source of income goes to stability. So does length of time in your current profession.</p>

<p>There are no grounds to argue "discrimination" in this case... be careful with that.
It is a private service being rendered by a private company and they may define their rules which can easily be supported by the argumentation of efficiency and cost (over non-effective work).</p>

<p>The grounds for such processing is Consent, for any Legitimate Interest argumentation would collide with your Legitimate Interest to your Privacy.</p>

<p>Make sure they explain WHY they need that specific Personal Data, if they do not explain, then you have grounds to present a complaint... if they do, you may either decide to provide the Data and get the service/ or denial of Service.</p>

<p>If they deny you the service, make sure to submit a request for Data Erasure, since there is no point in them maintaining your Personal Data... even if they agree to show you the house, once the process has ended, submit a request for Data Erasure... they no longer need your Data.</p>

<p>This is not "really" GDPR, yet you should not leave Data laying around...</p>
