Keeping information received from tenants and prospective tenants confidential is one of your most important responsibilities as a property manager. Luckily, the VRLTA provides a pretty thorough list of situations where you can release information. Virginia Code section 55.1-1209 states that no owner or property manager can release information about a tenant or (importantly) a prospective tenant to a third party except in one of the following situations: 

1. The tenant or prospective tenant has given prior written consent;
2. The information is a matter of public record as defined in § 2.2-3701;
3. The information is a summary of the tenant’s rent payment record, including the amount of the tenant’s periodic rent payment;
4. The information is a copy of a material noncompliance notice that has not been remedied or a termination notice given to the tenant under § 55.1-1245 and the tenant did not remain in the premises after such notice was given;
5. The information is requested by a local, state, or federal law-enforcement or public safety official in the performance of his duties;
6. The information is requested pursuant to a subpoena in a civil case;
7. The information is requested by a local commissioner of the revenue in accordance with § 58.1-3901;
8. The information is requested by a contract purchaser of the landlord’s property, provided that the contract purchaser agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality of such information;
9. The information is requested by a lender of the landlord for financing or refinancing of the property;
10. The information is requested by the commanding officer, military housing officer, or military attorney of the tenant;
11. The third party is the landlord’s attorney or the landlord’s collection agency;
12. The information is otherwise provided in the case of an emergency;
13. The information is requested by the landlord to be provided to the managing agent or a successor to the managing agent; or
14. The information is requested by an employee or independent contractor of the United States to obtain census information pursuant to federal law.

The first situation takes precedence, because if a tenant has given prior written consent to release their information you will be covered. While you should probably keep this section bookmarked on your computer or printed out at your office for quick reference, we’ll draw your attention to a few items. First, if a police officer requests information from you as part of your official duties, you should turn that information over. For civil cases, though, an attorney asking for such information isn’t enough; there needs to be an actual subpoena issued to you for that information. You can also turn over information to the landlord’s collection agency if the tenant has unpaid debts. 

Because of the importance of confidentiality, you should always be certain before releasing any tenant information to a third party. If you have any additional questions, you can always contact us on the Legal Hotline.