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Rules & guidelines for credit searches

Introduction

The NRLA offer the ability to check on a prospective tenant's credit history through this service.

Terms & conditions for credit searches

Who we are

In these Terms, ‘Group’, ‘We’, ‘Us’ and ‘Our’ mean the National Residential Landlords Association group, a membership organisation which represents and supports private residential landlords in the UK. It comprises two companies: the National Residential Landlords Association which is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee; and its wholly owned subsidiary, LPTE Limited, a share company registered in England under number 12249799. The registered office for both companies is at Suite 323, Tootal Buildings, Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6EU. LPTE obtain the report you have requested on your behalf from a third-party provider, namely TransUnion ("the Provider").

The Contract

The Contract is between LPTE Limited and you. These Terms apply to the services which you access via the credit search section of the NRLA website and are the guidelines and rules applicable to the services provided to you. Our acceptance of your order creates a legally binding contract between us on the terms set out below.

The prices payable for the services that you order are set out on the NRLA website. We must receive payment of the whole of the price for the service supplied before your order can be accepted. NRLA may issue a free token - this will grant you permission to use the service but you will still need to accept these Terms.

Cancellation by LPTE

LPTE reserve the right to cancel your order if we encounter technical problems obtaining the information requested or in sending it to you, or for any other reason beyond our control, the information is not available.

If LPTE do cancel your order, we will notify you by email and will credit your account the sum deducted by us from your credit/debit card as soon as possible within 30 days of your order. LPTE will not be obliged to offer any additional compensation for losses or disappointment suffered.

Delivery of Report

LPTE will deliver the report to your ‘My NRLA’ screen on the website or to the email address supplied by you at the point of ordering, depending on the type of report you ordered. You may want to check your spam/junk box if you have not received the report when expected if it is to be emailed to you.

Delivery of the report will be made to you as soon as possible after your order is accepted and in any event within 10 days of the date of your order, subject to availability.

Terms of Service

NRLA's Membership Terms and NRLA Privacy Notice (available on our website) also apply to your order and this contract. If there is any inconsistency between the guidelines and the Membership Terms, then these Rules and Guidelines shall prevail. Whether or not you read the Membership Terms your order and this contract is subject to them.

Initial procedures, security measures and procedures

You must always ensure that you maintain technical and organisational security measures and procedures to:

  • ensure the security and confidentiality of any data provided to you
  • protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such data
  • protect against wrongful access to or use of such data
  • dispose of the data in a secure manner in accordance with best industry practice and in accordance with the Provider's security requirements as published from time to time and which form part of these guidelines and rules. Whether or not you read these security requirements you are bound by them.

Prior to you using the services you must complete any due diligence/implementation checklist required by the Provider and provide any additional information or documents required as well as co-operating and assisting us to verify your identity and your business as well as any other matters which may be required by the Provider. You warrant that any information or documentation supplied to us for these purposes is accurate and complete as well as meeting any minimum standards, stipulated by the Provider.

You must inform us promptly in writing if for any reason you are unable (or unlikely to be unable) to comply with any obligation as specified in the due diligence and implementation procedures or any other obligations imposed on you under this agreement in relation to the use of the services.

Data protection and personal data

Before using this service, you must first obtain the explicit consent of the person to whom your request for information relates prior to carrying out the search where that person has applied to rent a property. On request you must produce to LPTE satisfactory evidence that such consent has been obtained. Alternatively, you can use the NRLA Tenancy Application Form which incorporates the required consent.

You must at all times comply with all regulations and laws applicable to Data Protection and other applicable regulations and you must ensure that:

  • any use by you of data from the full electoral roll is for these purposes permitted under Regulation 114 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
  • you process personal data (as defined by Data Protection law) in accordance with data protection legislation and all applicable laws and requirements
  • any data which contains personal data (for the purposes of Data Protection law) must be destroyed when it is no longer necessary for you to retain it

We may request from you any information to order your compliance with the provisions of this clause and you must provide us with any such information on receipt of our written request and, in any event, within 7 days.

You must, at all times, implement and maintain information security standards in respect of any data.

You must comply with the NRLA's Data Protection requirements. Information to prospective tenants regarding credit checks. A copy of these should be handed/sent to the prospective tenant before undertaking any credit check.

Your Obligations

You must only use the information provided to you for the purposes of vetting and assessing whether the person to whom it relates is suitable to rent a property owned by you or managed or let by you on behalf of a landlord prior to any tenancy agreement being entered into.

You must obtain explicit consent that the search footprint which is retained will read as having been made by NRLA rather than you.

Any data provided to you must be kept confidential, however applicants have a statutory right to see all the details that a rating agency hold about them - see here for more information.

You must not, under any circumstances, sell, transfer, distribute or otherwise make any data provided to you available to any third party or use the data on behalf of any third party (except as expressly permitted in relation to an agent).

After the data has been used once in the vetting and assessment process it will not be accessed thereafter (other than for audit purposes).

You must not assign, transfer or otherwise make over this agreement without the prior written consent of the Provider.

You must not subcontract the performance of your obligations under these rules and guidelines or the terms of service (without the prior written consent of the Provider).

You must not do anything to render any data provided to you inaccurate or which in any way devalues the data or which places the NRLA or LPTE or the Provider in breach of their obligations under data protection legislation.

If required depending on the type of search result involved with it you must register with the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act.

Where the search result is provided in a read only format it must only be read by you on screen. It must not be copied in any way.

Enforcement

The Provider may enforce these rules and guidelines in accordance with the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

If you breach the Terms and Conditions then as provided by clauses 14 of the NRLA Membership Terms you will indemnify NRLA or LPTE as appropriate against all actions, proceedings, losses, damages, costs, claims and demands and liabilities (including legal expenses) ("claims") arising directly or indirectly out of or in connection with your use of this service. This extends to any claim made by the Provider or any person to whom any data relates or any person who has supplied such data. This also extends to any claims which a Provider may sustain or incur or which may be brought or established against any Provider by any third party including any breach of your obligations under Section 9 of this document.

Use by Agents

An Agent may use the service where acting on behalf of a landlord to let or manage a property where it is necessary to do so in order to vet or assess a prospective tenant who wishes to enter into a tenancy agreement with the landlord. An Agent only may do so strictly in accordance with these rules and guidelines and the NRLA's Terms of Service as well as provisions of this clause.

As required by licenses granted to the Provider as an Agent you must not under any circumstances pass over any information or data provided by you to the landlord or anyone acting on behalf of the landlord. Without prejudice to the generality hereof, you must not provide a copy whether in hard copy form or electronically (or in any other manner) to the landlord to anyone acting on behalf of a landlord.

You may only communicate to the landlord whether or not you consider that the information and data provided to you demonstrates that the prospective tenant is or is not suitable to take the tenancy. You may also devise your own scoring system (such as excellent, good, satisfactory or not satisfactory) to inform the landlord (or anyone acting on behalf of the landlord) of the outcome of the vetting and assessment of the information or data provided to you. Otherwise, no opinion or comment of any kind must be passed onto the landlord.

You must not read from any report supplied to you or in any other way communicate to the landlord the data or information received by you (whether in writing, electronically or orally).

Liability

By requesting this service, you acknowledge and agree as follows:

  • Any information or data comprised within this service is based on information provided to the Provider by third parties over whom they have no control and
  • Any data or information which is transferred over the internet may be subject to interference by third parties.

No warranty is given to you whether by the Provider or the NRLA or LPTE as to the accuracy of any data or information provided to you as a result of using this service.

The Provider, NRLA and LPTE make no representations to the suitability of the data information provided to you for any particular purpose. You are responsible solely for satisfying yourself that the information data is suitable for any use which you wish to put such information or data (to the extent that you are in any event allowed to use such information or data in accordance with these Terms and Conditions Guidelines and Rules).

You are recommended not to use the service as the sole basis for any business decision.

No Provider shall be liable to you for any direct consequential loss or damage arising out of or in connection with the use of this service or these rules and guidelines even if they have notice of the possibility of such loss.

No Provider shall be liable for any loss of business, loss of profits, loss of anticipated sales, loss of reputation, loss of goodwill or business instructions or increasing bad debt or any loss incurred by any third party arising out of or in connection with this service even if they had notification of any such loss.

Limitation of liability

Without prejudice to any other provision either of these Rules and Guidelines or the NRLA Terms of Service in the event of the LPTE incurring any liability including liability for any direct loss then such liability shall be limited to whichever is the greater of £50 or five times the fee payable by you on the occasion of the services used out of which any such liability may arise.

This limitation of liability shall not apply in the case of fraud on the part of the NRLA or LPTE; nor should it extend to any claim for damages for death or personal injury caused by the negligence of the NRLA or LPTE.