REALTORS® are subject to the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act ("PIPA"). While the Board does not directly enforce PIPA, you should be aware that breaches of PIPA could result in a complaint (for example, by a member of the public) to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C. ("OI PC") and could result in an Order being made (and publicized) against you and/or the your brokerage.
You need to be aware of PIPA considerations when deciding what information to post on their public websites.
For example, some REALTORS® have posted strata corporation minutes on their website which include personal information about individuals living in the strata complex. Similarly, some REALTORS® have posted on their public website rent roll information regarding a residential building for sale from which an identifiable tenant's rent payment could be derived.
While you may have the building owner's permission to make the rent roll information public, this does not address tenants' rights under PIPA if some of the information being published is about identifiable tenants (i.e. their monthly rental payment). It must be remembered that "personal information" is broadly defined in PIPA as "information about an identifiable individual".
REALTORS® are sometimes concerned that they are obliged to publicly disclose certain information in light of disclosure requirements set out in the Real Estate Development Marketing Act ("REDMA") and related Regulations. While REDMA (and any other applicable legislation) must be complied with, this legislation does not require publication on a public website (rather, it requires that the seller provide a copy of a disclosure statement to a prospective purchaser).
The challenge for REALTORS® is to find an efficient and effective way of fulfilling their obligations and carrying out effective marketing while still complying with PIPA.
One option for consideration is to set up a private portal on your website which can only be accessed by persons who have been authorized to do so and who have been given a password (these mechanisms are sometimes referred to as "electronic data rooms"). Another option to consider is posting information on your website in a de-identified manner (for example, instead of listing rent payments by suite number, make more generic statements such as: "the building contains 20 units renting at $1,200 per month, 10 units renting at $1,500 per month", etc.).
Members who have questions regarding the effect of PIPA on their specific marketing practices should contact their own privacy counsel to ensure they are compliant.
Originally published in RealtorLink, October 18, 2013.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
