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Original poster

Neighbour thinks I am renting property to an ‘ex-offender’

53 replies

Eastie77 · 26/02/2021 20:41

I own a flat in a low rise building which I am currently renting to a young couple. Attempted to sell but buyer fell through and as we have moved to another property I have temporarily let it out.

The company that manage the building recently enlisted a firm to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment. On one page of the report entitled ‘Occupancy’ there is a list of different types of occupants (Elderly, Wheelchair Users etc) with Yes/No to indicate categories of people living in the block. Under the category Ex-Offenders there is a ‘Yes’.

One of my former neighbours has sent me an an angry e-mail stating that he is assuming that one of my tenants is the ex-offender as he knows most of the other people in the building and it is extremely disappointing that I’ve put everyone’s safety at risk.

So firstly: how on earth would the company who carried out the assessment know if someone in the building has a criminal record??
I'm wondering if it is even legal to publish this kind of irrelevant information in a report like this or if it could be a typo/error.

I have no idea if either of my tenants have a criminal record (I used a letting agency to find them) but if the ex-offender exists he/she could be anyone in the building, including one of the long established leaseholders my neighbour ‘knows’ and I have pointed this out to him. He has sent an unpleasant rambling response just repeating comments about the fact I've introduced criminality into the building.

Does anyone know if the fire assessment company could have discovered this kind of information...?

OP posts:
Sanchez79 · 26/02/2021 20:52

What an arsehole your neighbour is!

MyCatLovesFish · 26/02/2021 20:54

Even ex offenders need somewhere to live. I can't see this information is in any way relevant to a fire assessment and I am surprised the fire assessment company believe they have access to this information. Could it be a typo?

MrsTerryPratchett · 26/02/2021 21:00

Homelessness is a risk factor for recidivism so maybe your neighbour just loves reoffending.

Twat.

ThreeFeetTall · 26/02/2021 21:24

It's either a typo or a breach of GDPR by the fire risk assessment company. I'd ask them what it meant

danni0509 · 26/02/2021 21:29

As long as they are paying the rent and causing no issues to you then I don’t see the problem.

The neighbour sounds a nightmare.

SendMeHome · 26/02/2021 21:31

It's either a typo or a breach of GDPR by the fire risk assessment company. I'd ask them what it meant

This. I cannot imagine why an ex offender would be notifiable to a fire safety company... wheelchair users etc make sense, from a risk perspective, but ex offender doesn’t!

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 26/02/2021 21:40

Unless they're an arsonist, maybe?
Joking aside, your neighbours have no right to assume it's your tenant who is an ex offender - it could be anyone. Harassing you about it is also not on.
That said, if there was an ex offender living in my building I'd like to know more about it and that they are safe to be around. I think your agency ought to run it past you first if they are letting your property to someone who has a conviction, since it is potentially having repercussions for you

Original poster
Eastie77 · 26/02/2021 23:25

It's definitely a data breach, I just don't understand how the fire company could have obtained this information in the first place.

Mrshunt I don't think the letting agency would be able to tell me that about a potential tenant.

OP posts:
Sanchez79 · 27/02/2021 17:33

MrsHunt why would a letting company know if a tennat had a criminal record? They don't do DBS checks on renters, nor should they! Also chances are, you do have an ex offender in your street, it's not exactly rare.

whatsthestory123 · 27/02/2021 17:45

god by the sound of your neighbour i wouldnt want him living near me lol

utter idiot

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 27/02/2021 17:45

I assumed that applications for housing are like job applications and you might have to declare something which might be relevant. The letting agency acts on behalf of the OP so would they not be responsible for finding out if they were putting her property in the hands of someone who might cause damage? I don't know but I just thought asking about convictions was standard

Lunariagal · 27/02/2021 19:01

According to the charity unlocked.org, 45% of men and 25% of women have a criminal record. Lots of people (probably like your neighbour) think that this is something that they have to wear on a sign around their necks for all to see. In the vast majority of cases, it is quite simply no one else's business but their own.

MrsTerryPratchett · 27/02/2021 19:22

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously

I assumed that applications for housing are like job applications and you might have to declare something which might be relevant. The letting agency acts on behalf of the OP so would they not be responsible for finding out if they were putting her property in the hands of someone who might cause damage? I don't know but I just thought asking about convictions was standard
This is the problem: Offenders have to live somewhere. Most offences are nothing to do with how someone will be as a tenant. And the danger to society of every offender being homeless is immense. Unless you are suggesting government housing for all ex-offenders. In which case everyone would say, "why do offenders get rewarded with Council housing?"

The sentence is the punishment. Not lifelong homelessness.

TheDoctorDances · 27/02/2021 19:23

I used to work in immigration and had a fella declared a crime he had been to prison for ... in 1968. Some things stay on your record forever but it could literally be anything.

CleanQueen123 · 27/02/2021 19:44

@MrsTerryPratchett I couldn't agree more. Well said!

DropDTuning · 27/02/2021 19:46

@Lunariagal

According to the charity unlocked.org, 45% of men and 25% of women have a criminal record.

I don't believe this for a moment. It's ridiculous.

Could you provide a citation please?

mumwon · 27/02/2021 19:56

so if you are an ex offender you can't get a mortgage?
I am really puzzled why they would put this information out there?

whatsthestory123 · 27/02/2021 20:01

[quote DropDTuning]@Lunariagal

According to the charity unlocked.org, 45% of men and 25% of women have a criminal record.

I don't believe this for a moment. It's ridiculous.

Could you provide a citation please?[/quote]
why do you think its ridiculous ??

MagdasMadHouse · 27/02/2021 20:12

How many occupants are there? About 1 in every 10 women and over a third of men have a criminal record, so depending on the occupancy in the building if there is only one ex offender there then it's pretty good!

I don't think the fire company should be publishing that though, seems like a breach of GDPR, a typo or something. Because it could cause a witch hunt (sounds like it is). Most ex offenders are pretty normal law abiding people for most of their lives indistinguishable from anyone else. They may not be teachers or doctors or whatever, but they will be serving you food, bagging your groceries, cutting your keys and hair, serving you at the drive thru, or at the pub, fixing your washing machine, cleaning your oven or your carpets, tiling your roof, fixing your boiler, treating you at the spa, teaching your gym class etc etc

whatsthestory123 · 27/02/2021 20:27

im an ex offender but im lucky i own my own house,but i bet your neighbour would have a problem with that to Grin

Lunariagal · 27/02/2021 20:39

@dropdtuning

www.unlock.org.uk/policy-issues/key-facts/

Whilst I cannot quickly find the precise stats I quoted I have previously seen them on that site.

Original poster
Eastie77 · 27/02/2021 21:03

Lunariagal I really cannot believe 45% of men (where, in the UK?) have a criminal record. There are no stats or any facts on the site you list that suggest anything remotely close to that number.

Nosy neighbour says he wrote to the building managers and they told him they can't comment on the report but don't think there were any typos Confused.

There are only 10 flats in the building so yes, a witch-hunt is highly likely.

OP posts:
SuperCaliFragalistic · 27/02/2021 21:13

There are ex offenders on every street in the country. Usually any sort of housing association or council property would require info about unspent convictions and a letting agency is probably within their right to ask. But it's got fuck all to do with anyone else. Your neighbours need to get a hobby and stop fretting about what the other people in the building may or may not have done in the past. Write back and tell them to mind their own bloody business.

DonLewis · 27/02/2021 21:20

45% of men and 25% of women seems very high. Would a caution count for these ststs? You don't mean that many have been to prison?

DropDTuning · 27/02/2021 21:42

@whatsthestory123

I think it's ridiculous because I do not believe that a quarter of women and nearly half of men in the UK have a criminal record.

I think it is a ludicrous and incorrect statement.

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