Tenancy & Privacy Glossary

Tenancy record

Information relating to a rental relationship — e.g. a tenancy agreement, occupancy period, rent arrears or tenancy disputes. On WeCredit, published tenancy records are reviewed and have personal data masked before they are shown.

Public record

A record open to public inspection by law (e.g. bankruptcy, litigation, company registration). Being lawful to view does not make it lawful to republish verbatim; re-publication must respect privacy and the PDPO.

Bankruptcy record

Public information about an individual's or company's bankruptcy proceedings, often used to assess financial risk before a tenancy decision. Rely on the latest official record.

Data masking

Removing or obscuring identifying details — names, addresses, ID numbers — before display, keeping only necessary information such as a risk alert, to reduce privacy risk.

Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO, Cap. 486)

Hong Kong's principal law governing the collection, holding, use and disclosure of personal data, giving data subjects rights to access, correct and request deletion of their data.

Purpose limitation

Personal data may only be used for the purpose stated at collection, or a directly related purpose; other uses generally require the data subject's consent. A core PDPO principle.

Landlord

The party that owns a property and lets it out, responsible for providing premises in proper condition and complying with the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance.

Tenant

The party that rents a property under a tenancy agreement, responsible for paying rent on time and using the premises properly, and protected by relevant privacy and tenancy law.

Tenancy deposit

A security sum paid by the tenant at the start of a tenancy to secure performance of the agreement; deductions need reasonable justification and evidence, handled per the agreement and the law.

Lands Tribunal

The specialist tribunal that handles Hong Kong tenancy disputes such as repossession, rent arrears and rent determination. Follow the latest official guidance for procedure.

Due diligence

A reasonable check of a counterparty's identity, finances or records before entering a tenancy; the scope should be proportionate to the tenancy purpose and avoid excessive data collection.

Guarantor

A third party who undertakes to be responsible if the tenant fails to perform the tenancy (e.g. rent arrears); the extent of liability is set by the guarantee terms.