Access to Information Orders
Decision Information
In Order PO-2109, I reviewed a decision issued by the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (the Tribunal) in response to a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for the production of a weekly list consisting of “… all names, addresses, hearing dates and the location of the hearing of tenants whose landlords, in the future, file an application to evict with the Tribunal.”
During the course of that appeal, it was brought to my attention that the Tribunal had a practice of disclosing “custom reports” to commercial clients outside of the Act. The reports were frequently disclosed under terms outlined in Memoranda of Understanding between the Tribunal and the individual requesters but were also disclosed in response to individual requests for select information contained in various application files. These reports were provided to a number of requesters on a regular basis.
The reports that I reviewed during the course of that previous appeal appeared to contain the personal information of individuals (names, addresses, dates and locations of eviction proceedings) other than the requesters. After conducting an inquiry, I found that the information at issue qualified as “personal information” as that term is defined in section 2(1) of the Act, and that none of the exceptions to the mandatory section 21 exemption dealing with this type of information were present. Therefore, I required the Tribunal to withhold access. As a postscript to Order PO-2109, I stated that agreements of that nature “cannot take precedence over the Act in circumstances where the personal information at issue qualifies under the mandatory section 21 exemption claim.” I urged the Tribunal to review its policy of providing personal information of tenants and to take whatever steps were required to ensure that any such disclosure is made in accordance with the Act.
In response to Order PO-2109, the Tribunal rescinded its outstanding Memoranda of Understanding for “custom reports” and denied subsequent requests under the Act for information contained in Tribunal application files.
Decision Content
BACKGROUND
In Order PO-2109, I reviewed a decision issued by the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (the Tribunal) in response to a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for the production of a weekly list consisting of “… all names, addresses, hearing dates and the location of the hearing of tenants whose landlords, in the future, file an application to evict with the Tribunal.”
During the course of that appeal, it was brought to my attention that the Tribunal had a practice of disclosing “custom reports” to commercial clients outside of the Act. The reports were frequently disclosed under terms outlined in Memoranda of Understanding between the Tribunal and the individual requesters but were also disclosed in response to individual requests for select information contained in various application files. These reports were provided to a number of requesters on a regular basis.
The reports that I reviewed during the course of that previous appeal appeared to contain the personal information of individuals (names, addresses, dates and locations of eviction proceedings) other than the requesters. After conducting an inquiry, I found that the information at issue qualified as “personal information” as that term is defined in section 2(1) of the Act, and that none of the exceptions to the mandatory section 21 exemption dealing with this type of information were present. Therefore, I required the Tribunal to withhold access. As a postscript to Order PO-2109, I stated that agreements of that nature “cannot take precedence over the Act in circumstances where the personal information at issue qualifies under the mandatory section 21 exemption claim.” I urged the Tribunal to review its policy of providing personal information of tenants and to take whatever steps were required to ensure that any such disclosure is made in accordance with the Act.
In response to Order PO-2109, the Tribunal rescinded its outstanding Memoranda of Understanding for “custom reports” and denied subsequent requests under the Act for information contained in Tribunal application files.
NATURE OF THE APPEAL:
The Tribunal received a request under the Act for a report listing information about the current open Above Guideline Rent Increase applications (AGI application) submitted to the Tribunal for residential complexes with 50 or more units located in the Greater Toronto Area. Specifically, the request was for:
- the address(es) of buildings included in the complex
- number of units in the residential complex
- the date of application
- the date of hearing (if scheduled)
- the file number of the application
The Tribunal identified the responsive records and denied access to all of the information in accordance with section 21 of the Act (invasion of privacy). In its decision letter the Tribunal stated:
In light of the IPC decision [Order PO-2109], I believe the information you are requesting is personal under [the Act]. The information still includes the address of the building, which allows you to contact tenants at their homes, even without their names (for example, by addressing a letter to “occupant”). Given that this contact would be initiated based on your knowledge that they are a respondent to a Tribunal application, I believe contacting them in that manner would constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy pursuant to section 21 of [the Act].
The requester, now the appellant, appealed the Tribunal’s decision.
Mediation was not successful, and the appeal was transferred to the adjudication stage.
I initiated my inquiry by sending a Notice of Inquiry to the appellant setting out the issues and seeking representations. The appellant responded with representations. I then asked for and received documentation from the Tribunal on the processes and practices relating to the collection, use and disclosure of file related information.
RECORDS:
The record at issue in this appeal is a report compiled from information contained on the AGI applications for residential complexes with 50 or more units located in the Greater Toronto Area. I have reviewed a sample of an AGI report previously provided by the Tribunal to the appellant in response to a similar request. The sample report contains all of the information at issue in this appeal. The Tribunal has also provided me with a sample AGI application file. While the AGI application forms contain the names of tenants that are parties to the applications, as well as detailed information surrounding the applications themselves, the information requested by the appellant here is limited to the following:
• the address(es) of buildings included in the complex
• number of units in the residential complex
• the date of application
• the date of hearing (if scheduled)
• the file number of the application
As the appellant makes clear, he does not want access to names, telephone numbers, amounts of rent paid or owed, or any other specific details about the application.
DISCUSSION:
PERSONAL INFORMATION
General principles
The section 21 personal privacy exemption applies only to information that qualifies as “personal information” as defined in section 2(1) of the Act. “Personal Information” is defined, in part, as follows:
“personal information” means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including,
…
(c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,
(d) the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual,
…
(h) the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual;