May a landlord demand my pay slip or bank statements?
Income check is legitimate (GDPR Art. 6 basis: contract). BUT: only relevant fields, limited retention, data minimisation. BSN and passport photo MUST be redacted.
Landlords want to know if you can pay rent — legitimate interest via "contract performance" (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)). BUT: the AP has published clear guidelines on what is allowed and not. What is ALLOWED? (1) Recent pay slip (last 1-3 months) — name, employer, gross salary, net payout. On slips: redact BSN, passport photo serial number, bank IBAN. (2) Employment contract — name, employer, contract type (permanent/temporary), start date, salary. Redact other clauses. (3) Employer's statement — only ask if no recent slip available. What is NOT allowed? (a) Full bank statements ("I want to see what you spend") — data minimisation violation. (b) BSN for "fraud check" — prohibited (Dutch BSN Act Art. 10). (c) Full passport copy without redaction. (d) Marital status, children, medical data, religion — discriminatory. (e) Remaining loan balance, partner data without reason. Retention: candidates NOT selected — max 4 weeks (NVP). Accepted tenant — duration of rental contract + 2 years for administrative purposes. Letting agents + housing corporations follow separate sector codes (NVM, Aedes) on top of GDPR. On violation: complaint to agent → ACM (consumer aspect) + AP (GDPR aspect) → BHV procedure. On discrimination suspicion: NL Institute for Human Rights.
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