Can a housing management body release personal information about a tenant to the tenants relatives?
• Tenant’s relatives are, in general, treated no differently than anyone else under the FOIP Act. • If no written FOIP request is made, section 40 governs what can be disclosed. For example, information can be released if the tenant consents, if the information is already public, or if it would not unreasonably invade anyone’s privacy. Also, section 40 allows disclosure so that a friend or relative can be contacted if the tenant is injured, ill or deceased. • If a FOIP request has been made, the exceptions under Part 1 of the FOIP Act must be considered in determining what records to release. Also consider who is making the FOIP request. Under section 84, others, for instance a guardian or trustee, may be authorized to act on behalf of the tenant. If this is the case, then information about the tenant would be released to the person acting on the tenant’s behalf. Otherwise, much of the information in the records would be withheld under section 17, if its disclosure would unreasonably i
