HIPAA Relevance: Landlords & Property Management

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a 1996 federal law that sets national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In other words, HIPAA protects personal health information (PHI) while allowing the flow of said data between patients and medical providers.

Due to the nature of the landlord-tenant relationship and the exchange of sensitive information, many landlords are unsure how, or if, HIPAA affects their rental property management business, particularly in relation to emotional support animals and tenant screening.

In this article, we’ll explain:

• What rights individuals have regarding HIPAA compliance.
• Who has to follow this law?
• Why so much confusion surrounds protected health information.

Your Rights Under HIPAA

HIPAA grants you the right to keep your health information private – but what does that mean? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights created a video to address this question:

As the narrator explains, HIPAA gives patients:

• Access to their medical records. Patients may not always be able to view or access their complete medical records. However, they have the right to request this information from their healthcare provider and care team.
• The ability to request corrections. If a patient identifies an error in their medical records, they can request an update to the records.
• The chance to amend their records. If a patient disagrees with the information in their medical record, they can submit a written statement of disagreement. The statement will then get stored with their record.
• Information on how their health information is used and shared. Providers are allowed to share patient information without obtaining consent first, such as when multiple doctors work together to diagnose a patient or report a flu outbreak. However, providers cannot disclose health information to outside entities, such as the patient’s employer or landlord, without the patient’s express permission.
• Accounting of disclosure access. Patients have the right to know the doctor or entity that accessed their medical records.
• Control over your contact with providers. Patients can dictate the method of communication they’re most comfortable with between themselves and providers.
• The ability to decline information sharing. Patients can request that their information not be shared with specific people or organizations.
• The right to file a complaint. If a patient believes their rights have been violated regarding the sharing or improper handling of medical records, filing a complaint is a legally protected option.

Who Has to Follow HIPAA?

Covered entities are required to comply with HIPAA, but what is a covered entity? According to the CDC, only the following groups must follow HIPAA compliance:

• “Every healthcare provider who electronically transmits health information in connection with certain transactions
• Health plans
• Healthcare clearinghouses
• Business associates that act on behalf of a covered entity, including claims processing, data analysis, utilization review, and billing.”

You’ll notice that we haven’t really discussed landlords or property managers much up until this point. That’s because:

Residential landlords are not considered covered entities under HIPAA, so it doesn’t apply to your rental property management business.

A landlord is a business that provides a service to its customers, the tenants. Landlords do not perform any function or activity on behalf of a medical or insurance provider that would concern a patient’s personal health information. This reality can be an area of confusion for some landlords, particularly if, upon entering the tenant’s unit, the landlord notices medical equipment or a prescription by casual observation.

The landlord is under no requirement to maintain HIPAA compliance or sensitivity around that information. It’s up to the tenant to take the proper precautions to secure and store any material that they wish to keep private.

However, there are legal expectations regarding how a landlord can use any medical information they learn about the tenant, which we’ll discuss in the next section.

Why are landlords and property managers confused about HIPAA?

Many landlords and property managers believe HIPAA applies to their business – but really, it’s the Fair Housing Act that covers if or how a landlord could consider medical information. Tenants can’t sue landlords under HIPAA, but you can face up to a $16,000 fine for your first fair housing violation.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords and other housing providers from discriminating against applicants and tenants based on their:

• Race.
• Color.
• National Origin.
• Religion.
• Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation).
• Familial Status.
• Disability.

So, can a landlord request medical information when considering an application? And are there landlord-tenant confidentiality laws that protect a tenant’s private information from third parties?

When screening tenants, landlords sometimes bring up HIPAA, especially those with tenants with emotional support animals. Many don’t understand what questions they can and can’t ask the tenant to justify an applicant’s emotional support animal housing letter.

Within the boundary of the Fair Housing Act, landlords and property managers are allowed to request verification of the applicant’s disability and related needs. They cannot ask for:

• The applicant’s specific medical diagnosis.
• Access to the applicant’s medical records.
• Access to, or communication with, the provider who verified the disability, except to authenticate the ESA letter and the provider’s signature.

If the applicant’s provider starts rattling off your prospective tenant’s diagnosis, they violate HIPAA, not you.

In Conclusion

To review, HIPAA is a law that protects sensitive medical information for all patients and enforces strict penalties for violations. And while it’s important to understand how the landlord-tenant relationship relates to the consideration and handling of medical details, landlords can be assured that HIPAA generally does not apply to housing decisions.

What does apply, however, is the Fair Housing Act, and denying an applicant based on a medical condition or the presence of an emotional support animal is against the law and could result in some serious fines. So, if you ensure that you only consider relevant applicant details and apply consistent consideration across the board, you’ll be all right.

Check out TurboTenant’s guide on the Fair Housing Act and watch this handy webinar to get all the facts.

Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and is published by TurboTenant. It is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Laws and regulations for landlords vary by state and locality and may change over time. Always consult a qualified attorney, accountant, or local housing authority before making decisions related to your rental property. The publisher and authors assume no responsibility for actions taken based on the information provided.