GDPR for real estate sales

"As much as necessary, but as little as possible!" This is the principle of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). What does this actually mean for the sale of real estate? When a property is sold, data is also exchanged - from contact details to credit checks. Quality estate agents know what data may be collected and how it should be protected.

In principle, the GDPR states that everyone is in control of their own data. No one may collect another person's data without their consent. If a prospective or existing property buyer wants their data to be deleted, it must be deleted. In addition, everyone has the right to receive regular information about their stored personal data. This includes, among other things:

• The legal basis for data processing
• The duration of data storage
• The rights of the buyer with regard to their data

Consent to data collection

Quality brokers ask for data protection consent at an early stage, for example when interested parties request an exposé. This is because brokers need the email address of the prospective buyer. The data is also relevant for the preparation of the purchase contract. A purchase contract cannot be drawn up without data such as contact details, address and bank details. In addition, the Money Laundering Act also obliges estate agents to process the data of property seekers.

Securing data

Personal data must be treated confidentially. Documents must not be left lying around openly and data on the PC must be protected against unauthorized access. Likewise, the data must not be shared in conversations with private or business contacts.

Duty to delete

Data of interested parties who do not purchase the property must be deleted immediately. Regardless of whether the interested party decides against the purchase or the seller decides against the interested party. The buyer is also entitled to the deletion of their data once it has fulfilled its purpose, i.e. once the real estate transaction has been completed. However, in the case of data relating to the purchase contract that is important for taxation purposes, for example, the estate agent is obliged to retain this data for a limited period of time.

Quality estate agents take great care to safeguard customer data. They know what is important when it comes to data protection and how to implement it. They regularly seek advice from legal and IT experts on how best to protect data to ensure that every real estate transaction is legally compliant.

Are you looking for a real estate professional to take care of the legally compliant sale of your property? The team at the VON POLL IMMOBILIEN Bayreuth office with its real estate agents (IHK) and the office owner Mark Beyer, certified independent expert for real estate valuation (PersCert®), will be happy to advise you.

Further information can be found here:

https://dsgvo-gesetz.de/

https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Digitale-Welt/europaeische-datenschutzgrundverordnung.html

Legal notice: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice in individual cases. Please consult a lawyer and/or tax advisor to clarify the facts of your specific individual case.

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