04 October 2023
Your request
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information.
- Could you provide me with the number of properties which you have bought/rented for the purpose of social housing in the county of Kent?
- Can you provide me with the number of people you have housed in Kent from your borough?
- Can you please tell me the purchase price, date and address of each property you have bought/rented in Kent?
Our response
Lambeth Council does not own any properties / have not purchased any properties in Kent.
With regard to the number of people housed in Kent, Lambeth Council has 29 households in temporary accommodation in Kent. Placements in Temporary Accommodation are determined by our Housing Placements Policy
(https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-04/housing-placement-policy-feb-2022.pdf) and all placements are subject to a suitability assessment..
The purchase price/date of purchase is not applicable as Lambeth Council has not purchased any property in Kent.
I can confirm that we have reviewed your request for the addresses of the temporary accommodation in Kent, however we consider disclosure would breach the Data Protection Act 2018 and therefore engage Section 40(2): Personal Data to this request.
The definition of personal data is set out in provision 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 as follows:-
(2)“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual
(3)“Identifiable living individual” means a living individual who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to—
(a)an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data or an online identifier, or
(b)one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the individual.
We note this request asks for information which would allow an individual(s) to be identified.
I have considered whether it would be fair to disclose the information including whether disclosure would cause any unnecessary or unjustified damage or distress to the individual concerned; the individual’s reasonable expectations of what would happen to their information; and balancing the rights and freedoms of the data subject with legitimate interests.
In this case, I can confirm that it would not be fair to the individuals to disclose information about their addresses as it could cause distress to the individuals.
I do not consider that the individuals would expect the Council to disclose any information which may allow them to be identified. Although I acknowledge the legitimate interest in disclosing general information relating to Council owned and rented properties; I do not consider the legitimate interest overrides the rights and freedoms of the individual on this occasion.
In accordance with Section 17 FOIA this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this request.