Q. I have been contacted by a utility company for a bill which was left unpaid by my former tenants. They are asking for payment but it is not my debt. What should I do? Will I be in breach of data protection rules if I provide their forwarding address?

A. You cannot be held responsible for a debt for an account which was in someone else’s name. So, I suggest you tell them this and say that the account is due from your former tenants and not from you.  

With regards to your former tenants’ details, it is always best to make it clear in your tenancy agreement that you will be passing tenants details to unpaid creditors on request. So, check your tenancy agreement to see if it states this, or similar wording.

However, even if this wording is not in your tenancy agreement, the Data Protection legislation was not passed to make it easier for people to avoid paying their debts! So, you should be safe providing your former tenants details so long as you are sure it is a genuine debt that is payable by them.  

For example, I doubt you will be penalized if your former tenants complain about this to the Information Commissioner’s Office (which is the organisation that enforces the Data Protection rules).

Q. I told my student tenants that they must switch off all heating and lights when they were away over the Christmas period. I then noticed that they had left a light on so I used my keys to go in and switch it off.  However, when I told them about it this my tenants got very angry and said I had no right to do this. Surely, I have the right to go into my own property?