Rent Officer Handbook: general matters related to all Rent Officer work

• From: Valuation Office Agency
• Published: 22 February 2017
• Updated: 4 April 2018, see all updates

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1. Contents
2. Other: data information

Other: data information

Other Rent Officer related matters - data and information.

Update log

A list of changes made to Rent Officer Handbook pages.

Date of Change	Page Name	Description of changes
30 April 2018	Subsidies and Premiums	Updated Page
3 April 2018	Redaction - when to redact	new page
21 March 2018	Case Notes in VICTER	new page
7 March 2018	File naming for VICTER attachments	new page
7 March 2018	Equality Act – making our service as accessible as possible	page updated
15 February 2018	Lettings information - data security	new page
7 February 2018	Students – Halls of Residence	Page Updated
24 November 2017	Quality Assurance - Minimum Data Standards	Page Updated
24 November 2017	Scarcity	Page Updated
3 November 2017	Services – Excluded Items	Page Updated
3 November 2017	Services – Included Items	Page Updated
3 November 2017	Natural Justice	Page Updated
3 November 2017	Closed markets	Page Updated
7 September 2017	Consultations	Page Updated
22 March 2017	Guidance	Page Updated
20 March 2017	Lettings Information – 12 month renewals	New page
15 March 2017	Housing benefit – Size Criteria	Page Updated
15 March 2017	Housing benefit – Carers and Size Criteria	Page Updated
15 March 2017	Equality Act	Page Updated
15 March 2017	LHA Capped Rates	Page Updated
1 March 2017	LHA General Information	Page Updated
20 January 2017	Caravans excluding Site Rents	Page Updated
12 January 2017	Equality Act – making our service as accessible as possible	New page
6 January 2017	Lettings Information Collection – Students	Updated
16 December 2016	Lettings Information – Moorings	Updated
16 December 2016	Information Retention	Updated
16 December 2016	Redeterminations	Updated
16 December 2016	Redeterminations – Inspections	Updated
16 December 2016	Redeterminations – Consulting Officer	Updated
16 December 2016	Redeterminations – Representations	Updated
31 October 2016	Housing Benefit – Exceptionally High Rent Page	Updated
4 October 2016	Fair Rent- Inspection Policy	Removed
4 October 2016	Fair Rent- Guidance on Inspections	New page
7 September 2016	Fair Rent - Non Contractual Services	Updated page
7 September 2016	Fair Rent - Inspection Critera	Updated page
10 August 2016	Lettings Information – Data Sources	New page
10 August 2016	Lettings Information – Market Intelligence	New page
10 August 2016	Lettings Information – Minimum Data Standards	New page
10 August 2016	Lettings Information – Quality of LI	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information - VIS	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Subsidies and Premiums	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Ineligible Services	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Dates	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Number of Bedrooms	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Students	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Sites and Moorings	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Internet	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Housing Benefit Data	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Housing Association Data	New page
29 July 2016	Lettings Information – Board	New page
8th April 2016	Services – Variation Clause	Page updated
1 March 2016	Water Rates or Water Charges	Page updated
29 February 2016	LRRs	Page updated
4 Feb 2016	Services – Changes to Services	New page
14 January 2016	Shared Ownership	Page updated
13 January 2016	Rent Register Searches	Page updated
7 January 2016	Using Data for LRR / LHA	Page removed
16 September 2015	LHA General Information	Updated page
16 September 2015	LHA Capped Rates	Updated page
16 July 2015	Lettings Information - Monthly QA	New page
14 July 2015	Lettings Information - Tenancy Start Date	Updated page
14 July 2015	Lettings Information - Recording on Victer	Updated page
6 July 2015	Exemptions from Maximum Fair Rent	New page
26 June 2015	Information Retention	Page updated
10-June-2015	Consultations procedures and practice	Page updated
5-June-2015	LHA Exemptions	Page updated
8-May-2015	Late Objections	Page updated
8-May-2015	Lettings Research Role	Page removed
3-Apr-2015	Tenancy start dates	Updated page
2-Feb-2015	FR Withdrawals	Updated page
26-Jan-2015	Local Housing Allowances – General Information	Updated page
26-Jan-2015	Local Housing Allowances – Capped Rates	Updated page
26-Jan-2015	Tenant representatives	New page
26-Jan-2015	Board evidence – Category 1A Lettings Information	Updated page
15/12/2014	Errors, Substitutes and amended determinations	Amended page
12/12/2014	Break in Claim	Deleted
5-Dec-2014	Student Lettings	New page
5-Dec-2014	Rent Register Searches	Updated page
25-Nov-2014	Notices of Increase	Updated page
25-Nov-2014	LRR Determinations	Updated page
14-Oct-2014	Consultations – Procedure and Practice	Updated page
15-Aug-2014	Mooring Charges	Updated page
05-Jun-2014	Grants	Updated page
14-May-2014	Board evidence v1 2010	Page removed – updated version already published
02-May-2014	Objection Checklist	Page updated and form moved to “Forms and Letters” section
02-May-2014	Measuring Standard	Updated page
26-Mar-2014	Supported Accommodation	Amended page
21-Mar-2014	Services- Management Charges	New page
06-Mar-2014	Victer Repair Notation	Updated page
28-Feb-2014	Size Criteria	Updated page – new order
20-Feb-2014	Student Lettings	Page removed
20-Feb2014	Maximum Fair Rent	Updated page
07-Feb-2014	Valuing shared rooms	New page
07-Feb-2014	Judicial Review Guidance	New page
19-Dec-2013	LHA – General Information	Updated page – new order
19-Dec-2013	LHA – Capped Rates	Updated page – new order
19-Dec-2013	Size and Rent (HB)	Updated page – new order
5-Nov-2013	Joint Applications (FR)	Updated page
5-Nov-2013	LHA Capped Rates	Updated page
5-Nov-2013	LHA General Info	Updated page
5-Nov-2013	Objections (FR)	Updated page
5-Nov-2013	Objections Checklist	Updated page
11-Sep-13	FR late Objections	Updated page
10-Sep-13	Time targets (Fair Rent)	Page removed
10-Sep-13	Judicial Review	Page removed
15-Jul-13	Amount to Register as Rent – Section 71	New page
15-Jul-13	Schedule 11 - Procedures	New page
2-Jul-13	Services and Maximum Fair Rent	New page
2-Jul-13	Council Tax and Fair Rent	New page
1-Jul-13	Size Criteria	Updated page
1-Jul-13	Size and Rent	Updated page
12-Jun-13	Succession	Updated page - expanded explanation with examples
21-May-13	Late Objections	Updated page
28-Mar-13	Lettings Information from Housing Associations	New page
28-Mar-13	Lettings Information Recording on VICTER	Updated page
28-Mar-13	Joint Applications for Registration of Rent	New page
25-Mar-13	Redaction of Lettings Information	Updated page
06-Mar-13	Information Retention	Updated policy
27-Feb-13	Jurisdictional Hearings	New page
27-Feb-13	Housing Benefit Data – Lettings Information supported by Housing Benefit claims	Updated page
27-Feb-13	Grant Aided Works	Updated page
15-Jan-13	Caravan Definition	Updated page
15-Jan13	FOI & DPA Protocols	Updated page
15-Jan13	Data Protection Act	Updated page
14-Dec-12	Maximum Fair Rent	Updated page to include worked example
26-Nov-12	Moorings	Updated page to take account of new data recording methods
23-Oct-12	Telephone Preference Service	New page added
23-Oct-12	Shared Ownership	Updated page
23-Oct-12	Rearranging Consultations	Updated page
23-Oct-12	Quality Assurance	Updated page
23-Oct-12	Ineligible Services	New page related to recording lettings information
23-Oct-12	Consultations – Procedures and Practice	New page added
23-Oct-12	Inspection Criteria – Fair Rent	Amended criteria
23-Oct-12	Handbook	Updated page
23-Oct-12	Guidance	Updated page
23-Oct-12	Lettings Information - Introduction	Updated page
19-Oct-12	LHA – general information	Updated page
19-Oct-12	LHA – capped rates	Updated page
19-Oct-12	LHA – four bed cap	Updated page
19-Oct-12	LHA – exemptions	Updated page
19-Oct-12	LHA – redeterminations	Updated page
12-Oct-12	Errors, Substitutes and Amended Determinations	Redrafted page for improved detail and completeness
09-Jul-12	Re-arranging consultations	New page
30-Jun-12	Services – Depreciation Table	Updated page
11-Jun-12	Site Rents (Caravan Sites)	Amended re mains connections
11-Jun-12	Caravans exclusive of site rents	Updated re above
11-Jun-12	Extrapolation	Updated and re-formatted
11-Jun-12	Checklist – old and new cases (FR)	New page
11-Jun-12	Mooring charges	Further clarified following peer review
11-Jun-12	Supported Accommodation	Amended re net v gross rents
11-Jun-12	Support services/charges	Amended re above
28-May-12	Local Reference Rent	Amended re BRMA(LRR)
11-May-12	BRMA	Updated page (April changes)
11-May-12	BRMA (LRR)	Updated page (April changes)
11-Apr-12	LHA Capped Rates	Updated page (April changes)
11-Apr-12	LHA General Information	Updated page (April changes)
11-Apr-12	LHA / LRR Differences	Updated page (April changes)
11-Apr-12	Services – Pooling Services	New page
13-Mar-12	Caravan Site fees	Updated re size notional
13-Mar-12	Size Notional	Updated re sites / moorings
08-Mar-12	HB Valuation Practice	Updated VOA to RO
08-Mar-12	Crown Tenancies	New page
07-Feb-12	Cancelling Registered Rents	Updated page to reflect new procedure
07-Feb-12	Caravans exclusive of site rents	Updated page
07-Feb-12	Category 1a Board	New page
23-Jan-12	Referral – Accepting at Face Value	New page
16-Jan-12	Determinations for Housing Benefit	Updated to reflect above SRR changes
16-Jan-12	Shared Ownership	Updated in relation to repairing obligations and valuation
12-Jan-12	Single Room Rent	Updated to reflect January 2012 change to age limit (u25 to u35)
12-Jan-12	Mooring Charges	Clarified guidance
12-Jan-12	Full Repairing Leases; valuation approach	New page
11-Jan-12	Caravan Definition	New page
06-Dec-11	Ineligible Services	Wording clarification
06-Dec-11	Redeterminations	Updated page
06-Dec-11	Redeterminations – Consulting Officer	Updated page
06-Dec-11	Redeterminations – Inspection Criteria	Updated page
06-Dec-11	Redeterminations - Representations	Updated page
23-Nov-11	RR3 – Further Information Required	New page
21-Nov-11	Correspondence and FOI/DPA protocols for rent officer teams	New page
08-Nov-11	Contractual Rent Increases	New page on the exception to the 52 week referral embargo
08-Nov-11	Change of Circumstances – Housing Benefit	Updated to refer to the above New page
08-Nov-11	Fifty two week rule	Updated to refer to the above New page
08-Nov-11	Succession	Improved with more detail
07-Nov-11	Redaction of Lettings Information	Clarified to reflect updated VOA policy
07-Nov-11	Houseboats exclusive of Mooring Charges	New page giving guidance on valuation approach
04-Oct-11	Services – Definitions and Rent Register Notation	Modified version of Services – Introduction page
04-Oct-11	Supported Accommodation	Revised wording with examples
03-Oct-11	Consultations	Updated and reference to pro-forma added
21-Sep-11	Lettings Information – LRR and LHA Differences	Updated guidance to include 30th percentiles
16-Aug-11	Delayed referrals	Clarification that service has been withdrawn
16-Aug-11	Fifty Two Week Rule	Updated guidance
14-Jul-11	Services – Variation Clause	RO discretion clarified
14-Jul-11	Services – Variable Services	RO discretion clarified and register notation guidance simplified
04-Jul-11	Non resident carers under the size criteria	New page
04-Jul-11	Size criteria	Updated to reflect April changes
30-Jun-11	Inspection criteria – HB	Update to refer to New page
30-Jun-11	Inspection criteria – FR	Update to refer to New page
30-Jun-11	Inspections – Reasons on VICTER	New page – guidance on use of VICTER drop-down reasons for inspections
30-Jun-11	Lettings Information – tenancy start dates	New page
30-Jun-11	Relevant time – for HB referrals	New page
30-Jun-11	Ground rents – FR applications	New page
20-May-11	Agricultural tenancy	Updated to show interim rents where no RV exists
20-May-11	Repair Liability – Register Annotation - VICTER	New page
14-Apr-11	Lettings Information – subsidies and premiums	New page
31-Mar-11	LHA – 30th Percentile	New page
30-Mar-11	LHA 5+ Bedrooms	Page deleted
30-Mar-11	LHA 4+ Bedrooms	New page
30-Mar-11	LHA General Information	Updated to reflect April changes
30-Mar-11	Size Criteria	Updated to reflect April changes
28-Mar-11	Mooring Charges	Updated LRR setting guidance
28-Mar-11	Caravan Site Fees	Updated LRR setting guidance
25-Mar-11	FR Withdrawals	New page
18-Mar-11	Lettings Information – Number of bedrooms	New page
15-Mar-11	Rent Register Searches	New page with guidance and reference to standard letters to customers asking for the rent register to be searched
15-Mar-11	Scarcity	Clarification of rent officer requirements when determining substantial scarcity (over 10%)
15-Mar-11	Inspection Criteria – Fair Rent	Updated minimum frequency
15-Mar-11	Inspections – Measuring Standard	Updated page
15-Mar-11	Inspections Practice – Fair Rent	Updated minimum frequency
08-Mar-11	Services – Variable Services	Clarifying and updating guidance
08-Mar-11	Informal Advice	Clarification of guidance on providing Equivalent Fair Rents for Almshouses
21-Feb-11	Exemptions from Referrals	Clarification of existing guidance
12-Jan-11	Lettings Information Converting supporting to transactional	New page
23-Dec-10	Inspections Criteria – HB	Clarifying frequency of inspections for HMOs and board
23-Dec-10	Redaction of Lettings Information	New page – treating LI for data protection purposes
23-Dec-10	Judicial Reviews	Removal of LI redaction content
23-Dec-10	Caravans exclusive of site fees	New page – valuation where caravan rented separately from site fee
23-Dec-10	Caravan Site Fees	Amended to take account of above New page
16-Dec-10	Agricultural Tenancy	Clarified wording
16-Nov-10	Consultations	Improved guidance on re-arranged consultations
16-Nov-10	Lettings Information – board, etc	Improved guidance on what may constitute a letting as a home
05-Oct-10	Time targets - FR	Correcting minor error
28-Sep-10	Potentially Violent People	Updated guidance on PVPs and file markers to enhance staff health and safety
02-Aug-10	Exemptions from Referrals	Enhanced guidance replacing old ‘excluded tenancies’ page
26-Jul-10	Objections	Updated page v1 2010
26-Jul-10	Objections - Late	Updated page V1 2010
23-Jul-10	Controlled Tenancies and Phasing	New page – identifying controlled tenancies and their effects
02-Jul-10	Caravan Site Rents	Clarified LRR etc guidance
02-Jul-10	Mooring Charges	Clarified LRR etc guidance
10-Jun-10	Broad Rental Market Areas	Updated to reflect revised performance targets
10-Jun-10	Fraudulent Claims	Updated to reflect developments in liaison with Local Authorities
17-May-10	Repair Liability	Improved information added
17-May-10	Judicial Reviews	Updated, and superseded content removed
05-May-10	Local Reference Rent Determinations	Updated to include approach endorsed by Heffernan judgment
05-May-10	Lettings Information – Student Lettings etc	New handbook page added
05-May-10	Lettings Information – Ineligible Services	New handbook page added
05-May-10	Repair Liability	New handbook page added
31-Mar-10	Lettings Information - Sources	Removal of TRS references
25-Mar-10	Delayed referrals	Updated approach, no longer providing backdated determinations, with immediate effect
25-Mar-10	Fifty two week rule	Removal of reference to delayed referrals and clarification of size notionals under change of circumstances referrals
25-Mar-10	Shared ownership	Clarifying the approach to management and insurance using VICTER
25-Mar-10	Long Tenancies	New handbook page added
02-Mar-10	Size notional determinations	Added instructions on how to record notional determinations on VICTER system
02-Mar-10	LHA – general information	Corrected definition of one room shared category of LHA
02-Mar-10	Services – value to tenant	Enhanced information regarding management and profit in relation to registration of rents including services
02-Mar-10	Water rates and water charges	New handbook page added
27-Jan-10	Inspection Criteria pages (both FR and HB)	Updated inspection criteria effective from 1st February 2010
22-Jan-10	Rent Officer Handbook (complete)	Entire publication launched on the VOA Website
02-Oct-15	Potentially Violent People	Updated page
31-Oct-16	Housing Benefit – Exceptionally High Rent	Updated page
31-Oct-16	Housing Benefit – Redeterminations	Updated page

Data Protection Act - access to file information

(v2.1 2012)

The operation of the Data Protection Act in relation to requests for Rent Officer file information.

Background

We have a policy of being open and accountable in our dealings with the public. We aim to make information freely available where we can.

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) regulates the processing of personal data. It gives various rights to individuals including the right to access information (subject to certain exemptions) held on file about them. This guidance only covers the DPA. Access to a third party’s personal data is exempt information under s30 of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). Requests for a data subject’s own data made under FoIA is also exempt under s40 but we are then required to treat the request as a ’subject access request’ made under DPA. The DPA also places obligations on those who control data. The first data protection principle requires that processing must be fair and lawful and that sensitive personal data can only be processed if the conditions contained in Schedule 3 of the DPA 1998 are met. The third data protection principle requires that personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed. This means that our organisation as a data controller has to exercise care when recording information.

General principles

You must exercise caution in recording data on file and seek guidance from the lead officer in Housing Allowances for Data Protection issues (Stephanie Mindel) before recording on file any personal data in respect of an individual consisting of information as to:

• their racial or ethnic origin
• their political opinions
• their religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature
• membership of a Trade Union
• their physical or mental health or condition
• their sexual life
• the commission or alleged commission of any offence
• proceedings for any offence committed or alleged to have been committed by them, the disposal of such proceedings or the sentence of any court in such proceedings

You must also seek guidance from the Guidance helpdesk before recording on file, or placing any marker on a file, indicating that a person is potentially violent.

You must not accept or consider any information which is or which may be, libellous (i.e. information which is false and derogatory without lawful justification made in a permanent form). If a letter is received, for example in a rent registration case, containing such information, the sender should be notified that correspondence is copied to the other party to the application, inviting them to resubmit the representations without the defamatory statements. If they refuse or do not answer, we may consider redacting the correspondence before copying it to the other party. If you are not sure whether the information is or may be libellous then please seek guidance from “RO.guidance”. Sample letters to be used in Fair Rent cases are available from the operational forms section on the intranet site.

There is some information that we will not release to individuals. The information held on files which individuals must not be allowed access to are:

• documents which have been produced by a court or have been placed in the custody of the court or tribunal relating to proceedings (contact the Data Protection Officer if you need advice on individual items)
• documents which are created by or given to a person conducting an inquiry (eg internal emails relating to any proceedings or internal investigation)
• documents relating to ministerial correspondence or communications
• personal information relating to anyone other than the individual e.g. certain letters from a third party, details of previous tenants, specific market evidence which may identify individual properties. Please note landlords must not be allowed access to Housing Benefit files or information about specific claims. Determinations and redeterminations relate to specific housing benefit claims by tenants in the private sector and are confidential
• commercially sensitive information eg specific information about lettings information or agents’ portfolios

If an identical or similar request by the same individual has already been complied with, then you do not need to comply with a request unless a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the previous request and the making of the current request. You can contact the Data Protection Officer for guidance as to what constitutes a reasonable interval on individual cases.

Individuals rights of access

The Act gives an individual the right to request a copy of the personal data on him or her held by a data controller. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) as an executive agency of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), comes under HMRC for the implementation of the DPA.

The legal term for a request for personal information is a ‘Subject Access Request’ (SAR). All such requests must be made in writing (this can include emails), but they do not have to mention DPA.

Procedures for accessing personal data

If someone asks to see the information we hold on their file you must ask them to put their request in writing. The request must include:

• the name of the applicant
• the address for correspondence with the applicant
• accurate details of the address of the property to which the information relates.
• details of what information they wish to view - this is because they only have the right to see things they have requested. Give examples of what they may request
• the signature of the applicant.

If the applicant is unable to provide details of what information they wish to view you should help them with their request and explain the sort of thing they may want to see, eg the original HB referral form / RR1, the HB or Fair Rent worksheets or copies of the decision sent back to HB.

In the case of a telephone request ask the inquirer to put their request in writing. Explain how to do this and what the request should contain.

Any SAR request received must be forwarded to the Customer Services Manager, Emma Harrison at the NSO, who will log the request on the Customer Contact Record (CCR) and acknowledge as appropriate. The NSO will then respond (if they have the information) or pass to the relevant person to respond eg team managers, guidance or BIS. We need to keep a record of all SARs and clear record of what has been provided in case of further queries or requests and to enable us to produce accurate statistics for HMRC.

For each SAR we must have a clear record of, the date the SAR was received; a record (notes) of any searches to establish what is held, date response issued and what information has been provided.

It is important that any information provided relates only to that person or property and you should be fully satisfied that the request is made by the Data Subject or have written verifiable consent of the Subject eg a letter of authority enclosed with a solicitors letter. Any information on the file relating to another person or property should be fully removed/redacted. Likewise if lettings information is being provided the addresses must first be fully redacted in accordance with VOA policy. See RO Handbook – Redaction of Lettings Information.

Time limit

We have up to 40 days from the date the request is received by the Department together with enough details to allow us to locate the information and satisfy ourselves about the identity of the person making the request to reply. We do not charge for this service.

Related pages

• FOI and DPA protocols
• Information requests under FOI
• Redaction of lettings information

Correspondence and FOI/DPA protocols for rent officer teams

(v1 2012)

Procedures to follow when requests are received under the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act.

All correspondence should go via the NSO, this page provides further information on how to deal with correspondence if received locally or if you are writing a response.

General correspondence

Any general correspondence must be forwarded to the NSO. Letters are logged, scanned and attached to the relevant V4 case by NSO. A copy is sent to the relevant RO to respond if necessary and copied to the VTM. If no action is required the RO should add a case note to clarify that no further action is necessary.

Other correspondence

Any ‘other’ correspondence received should be sent straight to the Customer Service Manager (Emma Harrison) immediately to ensure correct logging and targets are met. ‘Other’ correspondence would be:

• Complaints
• MP letters
• Councillor letters
• Requests for information
• Any other letter that doesn’t fall under general correspondence.

The Customer Service Manager (CSM) will then allocate to the appropriate person to provide a response.

Freedom of Information / Data Protection Act

The procedure for dealing with requests under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act is as follows:

1. Written request (eg letter, e-mail, fax) received by local team or sent directly to NSO

2. If received by the local team the request must be forwarded to Customer Services Manager for Housing Allowances, Emma Harrison

3. The NSO will contact the appropriate person to respond to the request ie the local team or a senior manager and forward a copy of the request to the guidance helpdesk

4. The guidance team will assist with the reply or agree the reply where necessary

5. NSO will complete necessary statistical returns etc to Customer Services Team who liaise direct with HMRC

6. Reply issued by local team or whoever responsible, and copy of final response copied to NSO for stats and recording purposes. A final copy is also sent to guidance

In order to follow this protocol, local teams must be able to recognise requests made under FOI, which is straightforward if FOI is quoted, but requests to be treated as requests made under FOI do not need to mention FOI, so the best procedure is, if in doubt, contact guidance for help.

Related pages

• DPA and access to information held on office files
• Information requests under FOI
• Redaction of lettings information

Information requests under FOI

(v2.1 2009)

Rent Officers dealing with requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Background

Requests for information take many forms and are nothing new to rent officers. Our policy is increasingly to be open and to respond to requests quickly and in any event within statutory time limits.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI' or the Act’) extended `open government’ requirements on departments and agencies, including ours. The Act provides that all information held by us must be disclosed to members of the public unless that information is subject to certain exemptions (eg personal data or data published elsewhere). It applies to all information originated by us or received from other sources and applies to all written information requests, even if they do not mention the Act.

Environmental Information Regulations also provide specifically for members of the public to have access about environmental information.

Making material available on the internet

As a result of FOI a greater amount of information and documents generated by us have to be published on the VOA internet site and we are working to ensure that as much information as possible about how we operate appears there.

Exempt information

There are 2 types of exemptions under the Act:

(i) information which is absolutely exempt from release

(ii) information which is subject to the `public interest’ test

The first category includes records of court proceedings. In addition, most personal data is absolutely exempt under FOI. For other types of information we must decide whether the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

Advice should be sought from the Guidance Unit in applying the public interest test or on the exemptions in general if there is any uncertainty about whether any exemption might apply.

‘Absolute’ exemptions

• Information which is accessible by other means, such as information which is already public (eg legislation or information already available on our web site and or in our publications)
• Personal information about living individuals (unless those living individuals have consented to disclosure) (N.B. people may make requests for personal information held about themselves under the Data Protection Act)
• Information supplied by or relating to the security services
• Court or tribunal records or information filed during court proceedings
• Information subject to Parliamentary privilege, and information held by either House of Parliament
• Information prejudicial to the conduct of the business of either House of Parliament
• Information provided voluntarily in confidence (eg lettings information)
• Information subject to statutory bars to disclosure

‘Qualified’ exemptions (subject to a `Public Interest’ test)

• Information intended for future publication
• Information prejudicial to national security
• Information prejudicial to international relations and national interests
• Information prejudicial to legal and criminal proceedings
• Information prejudicial to the prevention or detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders
• Information prejudicial to internal relations within the UK
• Information relating to the formulation of government policy
• Information which if released would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs
• Communications with the Royal Family or information about Honours
• Environmental Information (must be disclosed under the Environmental Information Regulations)
• Information that carries legal professional privilege
• Commercial confidential information and information prejudicial to a company or organisation’s commercial interests

Personal data

Documents which contain personal information relating to a third party must not be made available on request or published if disclosure of the information would contravene the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Obviously the third party may have already given consent to the release of their personal data which would make disclosure acceptable. If, for example, a landlord requested information about a Housing Benefit claim, they are not entitled to the information without evidence that the claimant consents. We may sometimes have to release personal data because we have another statutory obligation to do so (eg the Fair Rent Register) and this is not a breach of the DPA. Individuals may want to have access to data held by us about themselves. In such cases, refer to separate guidance on requests made for personal information under the DPA.

Dealing with information requests

Requests for information under FOI have to be in permanent (i.e. written form) which includes e-mail, but they need not mention the Act. The assumption should be all our documents and internal operational policies should be made available to the public on request unless there are grounds for exemption under the Act. The Act sets out the exemptions, under which we must refuse or can decide not to release information following a request from a member of the public.

Hard copies of documents (that do not contain personal information about the applicant or about someone else) can be released if:

• they are posted on the internet in any event
• they are not protectively marked in line with the Agency’s security policy
• they do not fall within the exemptions listed above

If staff are in doubt about how the exemptions should be interpreted, they should seek the advice of the Guidance Unit.

Charging and vexatious requests

It is not our policy to charge for information or documents we provide, other than the statutory £1 charge for certified copies of a rent register entry. However we should be helpful and provide single hard copies of material readily available on our website. It is reasonable and acceptable to refuse to provide information that is readily available elsewhere eg copies of legislation.

Vexatious and costly requests can be refused under FOI and we can decide to charge to supply information depending on the amount of time and resources involved. If you think these circumstances might apply, you should seek the advice of the Guidance Unit before refusing to provide information for these reasons.

Time limits for replying

Staff should try to ensure that requests are responded to as soon as possible and within our customer service target times. In any event, the Information Commissioner expects such enquiries to be dealt with within a strict outside time limit of 20 days (in very exceptional circumstances extensions may be allowable to allow for research and collation or extended consideration of the public interest test).

Monitoring and notification of requests received

In the event of any requests from members of the public that specifically cite FOI the Guidance Unit should be notified by e-mail with details of the request. Guidance can then give support and advice on the response and specifically whether to release the information requested or what exemptions might apply. Guidance will also need a copy of the final (ie dated) response so they can keep a record of the number of requests received, how long we took to respond and what exemptions we have used. This information is required as such requests are monitored across Government on a quarterly basis.

Requests for internal review of refusal to provide information

The Information Commissioner has a duty to consider complaints from members of the public who consider that we or another public authority has failed to comply with FOI. Usually the Information Commissioner will not investigate such a complaint until it has been investigated internally by us by way of Internal Review of the way in which the request was dealt with. Responses to information requests that refuse or withhold all or part of the information requested should contain a standard paragraph giving information on the right to an Internal review. This paragraph can be obtained from Guidance and the wording must not be amended.

Requests for Internal Review of the way in which we have handled requests for information under the Act or the Environmental Information Regulations should be undertaken by another member of staff senior to the person who responded to the original request. Any requests for Internal Review must be referred to Guidance for advice on how to proceed.

Environmental information

The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), first introduced in 1992, provide specifically for members of the public to have access about environmental information. New EIR introduced under Section 74 (3) of the Act has further enforced these rights.

The definition of “environmental information” is very wide. It includes “the state of any water or air….any soil or any…other land”. It also includes “any activities or measures (including activities giving rise to noise or any other nuisance)” which adversely affect water, air, soil and land and any environmental management programmes the public body might adopt.

Unlike other requests under FOI, requests for environmental information do not have to be in writing. The exemptions allowing refusal to respond to such requests are narrower than for FOI.

If you receive a request for information from a member of the public about environmental matters (eg pollution or car usage by our staff), you should first seek advice from the Guidance Unit.

Related pages

• FOI and DPA protocols
• FOI
• DPA
• FOI and DPA

Information retention

(v1.2 2013)

Rent Officer practice in relation to retention of paper records.

1. Introduction

This Information Retention guidance covers rent officers’ operational casework files and other information obtained as part of rent officer (RO) functions. It is designed to provide a consistent and cost and space efficient filing system.

Personnel, management, administration and other VOA files are not covered by this guidance.

2. Overview

It is a key principle behind our filing policy that as much filing as is possible should be electronic. There are situations where there is no alternative to paper records (for instance: where there are paper applications). The aim is to keep as much information as possible on the relevant VICTER electronic case file record and to remove as many unnecessary hardcopy records as possible.

Guidance on the retention of paper documents once they have been scanned and attached electronically to file records in the VICTER system is included below.

There must be a continual review to remove papers and files from manual filing systems when the timescales below have elapsed.

3. Housing Benefit files

Paper HB referral forms are stored in date order of receipt in the Customer Service Centre and would not normally be needed once the details have been input onto VICTER. Rent officers should take the referral details as transcribed onto VICTER as an accurate reflection of the paper referral. Referral forms over 3 months old should be removed and securely disposed of.

Complex referrals such as those relating to supported accommodation, including schedules of services etc., should be scanned and attached to the VICTER case, and the papers securely disposed of after 3 months.

There should be no other papers retained for HB cases. Any inspection sheets or notes taken during the course of the case should be entered onto VICTER at the appropriate screen. ‘Case notes’ on VICTER should be used to note anything relevant that may not be recorded elsewhere.

Correspondence including representations received for redetermination cases may be scanned and attached to the relevant case on VICTER. The paper documents may then be securely disposed of after 3 months.

Any hardcopy paperwork that is kept longer than this should be reported to the Agency’s Data Protection Officer (to be contacted through the RO guidance helpdesk) with details of why further retention is necessary.

4. Fair rent files

Any paper files where there has been no activity (i.e. an application for registration of fair rent) for at least 5 years should be removed and destroyed. The only records retained for such cases are those on VICTER.

Paper applications including RR1s, service schedules and any correspondence received or sent are scanned and attached to the VICTER case record. The attachments are retained on VICTER so the paper applications may be securely disposed of after 3 months.

The following documents may be scanned to the most recent VICTER case:

• any tenancy agreement;
• any furniture inventory;
• the most recent plan of the property, (and if necessary a plan of the property as let if the tenant has carried out substantial improvements/changes during the course of the tenancy);
• any other information that is specifically referred to on the current rent register;
• consultation notes
• items of relevant correspondence
• this list may not be exhaustive – if in doubt please seek guidance.

Once scanned and retained electronically, paper copies should be securely disposed of.

Any paperwork kept for more than 5 years should be reported to the Data Protection Officer as above.

5. Rent registers

The only paper copy rent register is the archive. Some current rent register sheets produced before VICTER (prior to 2003) and not subsequently re-registered are archived and stored for possible future reference. Any other paper copies including registrations made between now and 2003 should be destroyed.

There may still be occasions where a new application is received where the most recent registration was made prior to the introduction of VICTER. In such cases the details of the current registration will need to be taken from the archived public register; the parties may also provide details that enable the rent officer to find the current registration in the archived public register.

6. Non-statutory advice

Any hardcopy paperwork or files for non-statutory advice (dealt with in the “informal advice” function in VICTER) should not be kept for longer than 3 months after the case has been closed. This refers to the applications for Equivalent Fair Rent for Almshouses. Any cases where retention of paperwork for more than 3 months is being considered should be cleared with management in consultation with the guidance unit. The information for future reference is retained electronically on the VICTER record, and any necessary invoicing information will be retained by the finance department.

7. Lettings information paperwork and VIS records

Rent officers obtain hardcopy paperwork about lettings information. This could either be produced by third parties, such as agents’ lettings lists or rent rolls, or produced by us, pro-formas for instance. Any relevant information on such paperwork should be transcribed onto VIS within 5 weeks of collection, so it can be accessed for our valuation and determination roles.

The original hardcopy paperwork should be labelled with the collector’s name and the dates of collection and entry onto VIS. In addition the contacts name should be recorded as well as appropriate notes about the property and rent achieved. It should then be filed and retained for 30 months.

This fulfils the audit requirement to be able to check the data used to compile the lists of rents used for the compilation of the Local Housing Allowance rates, which may be applied to current claims for HB or Universal Credit. It also fulfils the requirements of the Office of National Statistics as they use the data to help calculate the Consumer Prices Index.

8. Disposal of paperwork

Any hardcopy paperwork being disposed of must be placed in the secure recycling receptacles in VOA offices. Under no circumstances should any paperwork from any rent officer files be disposed of by any other method or at any other site without clearance from line management.

This includes disposal of paperwork by all staff in all circumstances, including home workers.

Redaction of lettings information

(v1 2013)

Rent Officer practice in relation to omitting certain information before sharing lettings data with third parties.

It is important we are consistent in providing information to members of the public. Lettings information cannot be given out to members of the public in the format in which it is stored on VIS. Full addresses are capable of being personal data and the process of making the data ‘confidential’ can be time consuming. Postcodes can be unique and are capable of being personal data. Obviously, we must not breach our Data Protection or commercial confidentiality responsibilities.

Explaining our determinations

For the above reasons, lettings information lists (intended for individual members of the public to support our decision-making) must be requested from VICTER in ‘confidential’ format (which automatically removes some columns) and must then be made completely ‘anonymous’ (‘redacted’) by removing any of the following that remain:

• landlords/agents and other source details
• all road names
• the last half of the postcode of properties (ie to leave SK10 instead of SK10 1XY)

The Guidance team usually recommends that a maximum of the following columns of information are provided when lettings information is sent to a claimant or their representative:

• Market rent
• Ineligible services
• Net ret
• Period (Cal month etc)
• Trans’ (Y or N)
• Date of entry
• address (as redacted)
• postcode (as redacted)
• property type
• dwelling type
• sole LR
• sole BR
• sole rooms

The redaction of other columns allows the LI to fit neatly on a page. We must also provide similar lists from which we have extrapolated or interpolated where appropriate.

For some enquiries, instead of providing LI lists, it may be sufficient to tell enquirers the number of pieces of transactional evidence used in reaching decisions. We normally only provide LI when specifically asked for it. If appropriate, we can give additional information such as explaining the spread of the evidence within the BRMA. We should also explain the significance of transactional evidence compared with ‘supporting’ or non-transactional evidence, if this is appropriate for the list provided.

To help explain a decision, rent officers could in certain circumstances send claimants (or solicitors or their representatives) a graph showing the spread of transactional and supporting evidence used, or a GIS map showing the spread of lettings information or evidence across the locality or BRMA. However, as above, the provision of such graphical information in response to enquiries must be cleared first with the Guidance Unit in the interests of quality assurance and ensuring consistency in the responses that we give.

In isolation, providing lettings information without contextual explanations can be misleading. Rent officers and their managers should be able to demonstrate that they have gathered a full picture of the rental market in reaching their decisions. It may be appropriate to give details of data that has been extrapolated or interpolated from, in accordance with rent officers’ guidelines, or to explain how socio-economic information or HB referral data has been taken into account in order to add to this full picture of the rental market. Rent officers should explain that lettings information is used to guide expert decision-makers but, ultimately, determinations are a matter of professional judgement. Again, such explanations should be cleared by the Guidance Unit prior to despatch.

Lists of rents

Requests for the data used to compile Local Housing Allowances, the lists of rents, should, for consistency, all be referred to the LHA helpdesk for the information to be provided centrally.

Many requests for our data are received electronically, by email, and increasingly this is the preferred method of providing information in response. Great care should be taken if any redacted data is being provided electronically, because even if a spreadsheet is redacted and converted to a PDF document, it may be possible for that document to be reconverted by the recipient and the redacted data revealed. The recommended VOA policy on this is for the redacted document to be printed, scanned, and then emailed as a PDF. An alternative for those with limited or no access to a scanner or a printer is to create a new document or spreadsheet and copy the redacted information into it, column by column or field by field. The crucial element to our policy is never to send redacted documents containing background data electronically outside of the organisation.

Comparables and representations

When dealing with registration of rent casework, landlords and tenants and their representatives may submit lettings information in support of their requested rent. It is vital to ensure we comply with data protection provisions to ensure that such representations are redacted similarly to data from VIS used to explain our decisions, by removing any information which may lead to the identification of a specific address or a living individual. House numbers, road names and the second half of the post codes must be carefully blanked out. Only then can the representations be safely copied to the other party to the application for rent registration. They must be copied to the other party to serve the interests of natural justice, to allow the opportunity of counter representations.

Related pages

• Judicial reviews
• Explaining FR valuations
• Freedom of Information Act – dealing with information requests
• Data Protection Act
• FOI/DPA protocols

Lettings information – data security

V1 2018

Rent Officers collect lettings information either in hard copy or alternatively by electronic transfer. Due to the sensitivity of this information, it is necessary to keep these records in a secure manner at all times.

Data Entry

Once material has been obtained, it should be transferred on to VIS as soon as possible so that the information becomes available to support our valuations.

Rent Officers must enter data on to VIS within 5 weeks of receipt, or should be diarised for entry at the tenancy commencement date if that is later. Exceptions as always should be reported to line management.

A hard copy cover sheet should be attached to the data entered, identifying the source, date of entry and filing date. This data should be stored in a secure cabinet in a VOA office within 6 weeks of collection.

Data that is received electronically (such as email or software reports) must be printed off, entered on VIS and stored like other hard copy data. Once the data has been entered on VIS, and the hard copy filed, the electronic file must be deleted.

Hard copy data when filed, should be placed in bundles with the correct number of papers in each bundle recorded on the cover sheet. Details of the lettings collected and filed from the data source should be recorded.

Quality Assurance

Team Managers are responsible for conducting a quarterly quality assurance review of the evidence entered on VIS. If no hard copy can be found for a piece of lettings information entered, this is escalated as a potential security breach. Guidance can be found for the correct process to follow on the Intranet.

Retention

Hard copy paperwork should be labelled with the collector’s name, date of collection, entry on to VIS and the rent achieved. Once filed, the information should be retained for 30 months. Once 30 months has expired, the LI data has to be removed and disposed of securely. This is done by placing the data in the secure recycling receptacles positioned in VOA offices. In no circumstances should data be disposed of in any other way.

Removing records from secure storage

If records from a secure filing system are taken from an office for whatever reason, the movement and likely time of return must be recorded. Hard copy lettings records should not be removed without G7 approval. Local offices must implement a system of logging records in and out so that they can be tracked. It must also include the Grade 7 approval if this was necessary. When the record is returned the actual return date should be added. Hard copy records should only be removed when absolutely necessary and returned promptly.

The record should be reviewed by line managers regularly and if there are records still outstanding, these should be investigated and if there are any missing they must be reported as a potential security incident within 2 working days.

If any hard copy information can’t be found and it is suspected that it may be lost, it must be reported to line managers immediately and a security incident recorded within 2 working days.

Collecting Data

When officers are collecting lettings information from landlords’ agents or landlords’ themselves, they have to minimise the potential risks of data loss. Data must be stored in a secure bag and the data from different sources should be kept separate. We must be careful not to allow anybody to view data that we have not collected from them. Data suppliers must trust us to look after their data carefully and securely.

Related pages

• All pages on Lettings Information

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