Information about MPs who rent properties

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request, but it is subject to a Refusal Notice under sections 21, 38 and 40.

Section 21 – information accessible to applicant by other means

The names of MPs who claim for rental accommodation can be found on IPSA’s website. On our page of Annual budgets, costs and claims. You can download individual .csv files for each year. You need those listed under Other financial data. When you open the file scroll along until you see Accommodation budget. This column shows whether an MP was renting accommodation or using the budget for hotels.

A complete list showing MPs, names of payees and whether the payee is an MP or not is exempt under sections 38 and 40. Payees may be companies acting on behalf of a landlord, a landlord themselves (whether a company or an individual) or another 3rd party.

Section 38(1)(b) – health and safety

This exemption applies where the disclosure of information would or would be likely to endanger the safety of any individual. IPSA relies on this exemption to withhold the names of all the payees. IPSA maintains that disclosure of this would or would be likely to put at risk the safety of MPs, their staff and connected parties. While the address of constituency offices are generally available in the public domain, the details of rental accommodation are not; in both cases the names of those receiving rent may only be available through investigation.

IPSA understands how the disclosure of the complete list would enable the public to understand more about the decisions MPs make about renting property and to whom the money is paid. In considering disclosure we also have to consider our duty of care to MPs, their staff and connected parties, including any dependents, and any consequences which may arise from our response. In the last six months there has been an increase in media reporting on the threats made to MPs and their staff. Not all reports relate to physical attacks on MPs and their staff, but the fear which can be felt from receiving a threat can be equally as damaging both mentally and physically.

MPs and their staff have difficult jobs and IPSA is aware that the decision to disclose could make it more difficult for them to fulfil these. This would have a knock-on effect on those whom the MPs and their staff try to help. IPSA therefore maintains that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Sections 40(2) and 40(3A)(a) – personal data

This exemption applies to information which IPSA considers to be personal data within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (UK GDPR) which states:

"personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly

IPSA considered that the following are personal data within this definition: the names of individual payees, i.e. those who rent property themselves and do not use an agent or other third party. We then considered whether disclosure of this personal data would breach any of the Principles relating to the processing of personal data in the UK GDPR.

The relevant principle falls at Article 5(1)(a):

Personal data shall be:

a. Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject

As IPSA was unable to find a lawful basis on which it could rely, within Article 6 of the UK GDPR, it therefore finds that the information is exempt under section 40.

We can provide some basic information.

This table shows some overall information, from the time your request was received.