Your home’s sale price is private information
October 14, 2011
Mark Weisleder
A few years ago, the federal Privacy Commissioner ruled a home’s sale price
is personal information and cannot be advertised or disclosed without the
permission of the buyer and the seller.
This is what privacy legislation is all about — protecting your personal
information. The lesson is that if you do not want to see your home’s sale price
advertised after closing, then don’t agree to it.
In another case decided in 2006, an insurance company arranged for
photographs to be taken of an apartment unit, without the tenant’s permission.
The purpose was to get examples of the state of repairs of the interior of the
apartments to assist in figuring out the building’s value. However, the pictures
included some of the apartment’s contents.
The Privacy Commissioner’s office found that while the purpose might have
been to show the condition of the unit, it also revealed information about the
tenant, including their standard of living, whether they could afford expensive
media equipment, whether they loved music or art or cooking. This was found
to be personal information and thus permission should have been requested.
What this means is that before a buyer or agent takes photographs of anything
inside a seller’s home, even during an open house or home inspection, they
should ask for permission.
In another case decided in 2008, a consumer asked their bank for a copy of
the appraisal report the bank had done on their home. An appraisal contains
information about other comparable property sales in your area that help the
appraiser calculate the value of your property. The bank refused, claiming this
was confidential commercial information and not personal information.
The Privacy Commissioner’s office decided that, while the consumer was entitled to the appraisal value of their own home, they were not entitled to the
name or contact information of the appraiser, or anything related to comparable property sales, as this was the personal information of third parties.
The issue of privacy arises in the ongoing lawsuit between the Competition Bureau and the Toronto Real Estate Board, something I’ve written about in the
past few months.
The Competition Commissioner wants Canadians to be able to go online and access the selling price of any home in Canada. The potential abuses are
huge, starting with thieves who want to learn about potential victims and their lifestyle. Since buyers and sellers didn’t provide this permission, in my
opinion, it violates privacy legislation.
It seems to me the Privacy Commissioner should be involved in these proceedings and I encourage all Canadians to complain to the Privacy
Commissioner’s office in Ottawa and to federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis. To register a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner’s office, you can
download a form from their website, www.priv.gc.ca, sign it and then send it in. You can email Paradis’ office at minister.industry@icigc.ca.
Also read:
How private is your home’s selling price?
Mark Weisleder is a lawyer, author and speaker to the real estate industry. Contact Mark at mark@markweisleder.com