Registration guidance for private landlords

Summary

This ODPA guidance explains when private landlords in Guernsey must register as a data controller under the Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2017. It clarifies that landlords who hold any personal data about tenants (such as names on a lease) are 'processing' personal data and must register annually, unless narrow exemptions apply.

• Who must register: Landlords established in the Bailiwick who process personal data about tenants (e.g. via a lease naming tenants, or any facts/opinions held about them) must register as a controller with the ODPA.
• Exemptions: Landlords with no documented knowledge of tenants' personal data, or who rent only to commercial/corporate entities, are not required to register.
• Use of property agents: Landlords remain the legal 'controller' even if a property agent handles day-to-day management; the agent acts as 'processor' and a Controller/Processor agreement should be in place.
• Overseas landlords: A landlord based outside the Bailiwick who uses a Bailiwick-based property agent is still treated as established in the Bailiwick and must register, and must also designate a 'Section 38 representative' in their annual registration.
• Tenants: Tenants are data subjects, not controllers or processors, and do not need to register; their private, domestic use of data is exempt.

The guidance is informational but restates existing statutory registration duties rather than creating new ones; landlords should review their circumstances whenever their record-keeping about tenants changes.

Key obligations

• Landlords established in the Bailiwick who process personal data about tenants must maintain an annual registration as a controller with the ODPA.
• Landlords using a property agent must retain a Controller/Processor agreement, as the landlord (not the agent) remains the legal controller.
• Landlords based outside the Bailiwick who use a Bailiwick-based property agent must designate a Section 38 representative as part of their annual registration.

Applies to

private landlords, property agents (as processors)

Deadlines

• annual: Landlords who process tenants' personal data must maintain and renew their registration with the ODPA on an annual basis.