Timaru landlords’ ‘blacklist’ online

A woman was shocked to discover her decades-old criminal record had been published online, part of a blacklist of compromising information compiled by a property investor group and sold to landlords about prospective tenants.

Jessica Cross was one of hundreds of Timaru residents to have their sensitive information posted online, including a conviction for a minor offence she says she committed 15 years ago while still a teenager.

The South Canterbury Property Investors’ Association (SCPIA) president Kerry Beveridge said their database had been hacked and the list posted online and the list should only have been made available to members.

New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties (NZCCL) spokesman Thomas Beagle said it was their responsibility to keep the information private.

‘‘If they fail then being hacked doesn’t excuse them. They were still collecting it and sharing it irresponsibly.’’ Cross said the list had people’s first and last names, criminal convictions, information about monies owed to landlords, cleanliness that properties had been left in.

‘‘It is not fair. The part that I found on me had some charges that had since been dismissed and removed. They were there,’’ she said.

‘‘I’m lucky enough to be a home owner, I’m not a renter. But I don’t see how such a document can exist.’’

Cross discovered the list by chance after googling her name. Cross said she was further exasperated by the attitude of the members of the association.

‘‘I called them probably 20 times to get this off the internet, and it took me a long time to get through to somebody who will speak to me about it.

‘‘If I went to go and rent a property at the moment, there’s a possibility that I won’t be able to. That information will be passed on to a third party landlord.’’

Another ‘‘victim’’, who did not want to be named, said his crimes were committed as a youth in the early 1990s and his convictions are wiped out under the Clean Slate Bill. ‘‘I believe this is a privacy breach. I have not reoffended since and do not think it is fair this is dragged back up 25 years later.’’

Beveridge said he was was disappointed that the list had been distributed widely.

‘‘We are investigating how this happened.’’

New Zealand Property Investors Federation chief executive Andrew King said the group had taken legal advice and were within the law.

‘‘People added to the list are informed when contact details are known and the list should only be available to SCPIA members.’’ Civil liberties advocate Beagle said appeared the association had appeared to have breached the Privacy Act and encouraged anyone affected by the breach to lay a complaint.

‘‘The whole point of landlords collecting information is for the purposes of renting a property out to someone. It’s not information to collect and then go on and give to someone else.’’

Beagle encouraged people affected to take their case to the Privacy Commissioner, and said even if it did not constitute a privacy breach, the association was not acting ‘‘within the spirit’’ of the Act.

‘‘The information’s been given to landlords in confidence, and they’ve been giving it out. It seems to me like they’ve taken an overly generous interpretation of the way the law might apply to them.’’ Sam Williams, a spokesman for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, said they were concerned at the document becoming publicly available.

‘‘It is not fair. The part that I found on me had some charges that had since been dismissed and removed.’’ Jessica Cross