Saskatchewan Privacy Laws

[addbo]

Good day all,I read another article recently in Canadian Real Estate Magazine on something like a checklist to manage your property managers. One of the suggestions was to always get a copy of the lease so you can double check the terms and to verify the rent that the tenant has signed up for. The history of that story was that when the owner decided to take the property management on themself the tenant paid them more per month than the property management company had said was in their lease... (guessing they pocketed the difference)

I requested a copy of the lease from my property manager and was told they don`t share this information because of the privacy act. Just wondering if anyone knows of anything in the saskatchewan laws that actually says this or would this just be a very cautious assumption on the property managers part?

Thanks in advance!

 

[addbo]

Just did a bit of googling

http://www.oipc.sk.ca/

http://www.oipc.sk.ca/Presentations/Workpl...ivacyReport.pdf

And a brief skimming seems to suggest that FOIP and LA FOIP are in relation to access of government and crown corporations records and does not directly apply to business. Anyone more familiar with this stuff?

 

[REINteam]

Not sure about SK, but I`ve never had a problem getting a copy of a lease for MY property...I do own it after all. If their issue is personal info like a SSN then have them block it out on the copy they make. I know who lives in my property and I keep a copy of the lease they sign.

 

[addbo]

QUOTE (REINteam @ Aug 23 2010, 05:13 PM) Not sure about SK, but I`ve never had a problem getting a copy of a lease for MY property...I do own it after all. If their issue is personal info like a SSN then have them block it out on the copy they make. I know who lives in my property and I keep a copy of the lease they sign.


I was thinking the same thing as it is MY property that the lease is contracting out and so I have a very specific interest in the contract (as in it applies to me)... I should have a right to know what terms and conditions my property is being leased at. Of course I`m not a lawyer so I`m not sure how I convince the property manager of this...

 

[Berubeland]

The privacy act? The contract is between you and the tenant. Why would the privacy act apply to one of the parties to the contract?

Too suspicious for words.

 

[addbo]

QUOTE (Berubeland @ Aug 24 2010, 09:22 PM) The privacy act? The contract is between you and the tenant. Why would the privacy act apply to one of the parties to the contract?

Too suspicious for words.

I actually looked back at my back issues of CRE Magazine and found the article in April 2010 titled "Managing your property manager". The quote of relevance was "Get copies of everything". The author states she gets copies of signed leases, rent cheques, rent receipts and before and after photos of any maintenance work done.

I also took this to our access to information and privacy coordinator at work (I work for a health authority) and discussed this with them and she basically said the same thing you guys did. My property...the contract is legally between me and the lessee... the PM is just acting as my agent on my behalf.

From my own understanding of the privacy acts of FOIP and LA FOIP it seems to mainly apply to government bodies and crown corporations so they don`t willy nilly share data to others and even between departments without proper checks and balances in place.

Weird thing is... this company has over 600+ tenants and no one has ever asked for a copy of the lease. Am I the only one that does this kind of stuff? Am I being too cautious? Am I being a PITA (Pain in the ass) client?

 

[Berubeland]

The property management clients I have automatically get copies of everything. What if they want to fire me someday or I get hit by a bus....

For my out of town clients I scan and send everything. If I buy something for the property I scan a copy of the receipt. Quotes the same.

Why you would even have to ask for such information is beyond me. You are not being a PITA. It`s your property! They should be sending you this stuff automatically IMHO as well as monthly reports (even if they say nothing happened)