ICO registration mandatory for all businesses

Any business or sole trader who processes personal information must register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under the Data Protection Act 2018 and failure to register is a criminal offence.

The ICO is the UK’s independent body for upholding information rights and registering will only take 15 minutes. This will make sure you are GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant and avoid a fine ranging from £400 to £4,000.

Data protection fee

Registrants must pay an annual data protection fee ranging from £40 and £2,900. This will depend on the company’s size and turnover and most organisations will pay between £40 and £60.

Who needs to register with ICO?

In cases where more than one party is involved with handling data, the registration depends on whether an individual or organisation holds personal data. Private and commercial landlords are categorised as running a business whereby they receive and store personal data on existing, prospective and previous tenants and guarantors on an electronic device. Therefore, all private and commercial landlords must check with the ICO whether they need to register.

A self-assessment is available for anyone who isn’t sure whether they need to register and what fee will be required to pay.

View registration FAQs  →

Propertymark resources

Anyone who applies for Propertymark Membership must provide their ICO registration number with their application, which forms part of our membership requirements.

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12 Jul 2021
Fact sheet: General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

The General Data Protection Regulations (EU GDPR) were rolled out across the EU on 25 May 2018. The Regulations brought consistency in data handling to EU member states and granted individuals additional rights on when and how their personal data is used.

We provide several online training courses on protecting data and preventing a data breach. You can also watch a recording of our Complying with the UK Data Protection Act and GDPR webinar.