These are valid requests
A tenant can ask a solicitor to make a subject access request for them. The request is still the tenant's, and it is still valid if the reason is a disrepair claim. Wanting information for litigation does not make a request manifestly unfounded, and the volume of requests coming from one firm is not grounds to refuse any single one of them.
What you can and should do is check each one properly.
Checking authority
- Look for a signed form of authority from the tenant, naming the firm.
- Check the firm and the solicitor on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register.
- Check the signature and details match your tenancy records.
- If something does not match, contact the tenant directly through the details you hold, not those in the letter.
If you reasonably need more to confirm authority, ask promptly. The clock starts when you receive what you asked for. Do not ask for more than you need; asking every firm for certified passports is likely to be disproportionate.
Two processes, two timetables
In England, the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims expects the tenant's letter of claim to ask for documents relevant to the disrepair, such as the tenancy file, records of reported defects and inspection reports. The landlord should normally respond within 20 working days. Wales has its own protocol for housing disrepair cases.
The subject access request runs separately, on its own one-month timetable, and covers all the tenant's personal data, not only documents relevant to the claim. You may receive both at once. Keep them on separate records but answer them from the same search, so the two disclosures are consistent. A document that appears in one and not the other will be noticed.
What to search
- Repairs history: job tickets, completion notes, missed appointments and no-access records.
- Inspections, surveys, damp and mould assessments and photographs.
- Contact centre notes and call recordings where the tenant reported problems.
- Emails and Teams messages between housing, repairs and contractor staff about the property.
- Contractor portals, if contractors hold records on your behalf.
- Complaint files, including any Housing Ombudsman correspondence.
Record what you searched and how. If the claim is issued, your search record helps show the response was complete.
Handling volume
Some providers receive many requests from the same firms, often on the same template. Practical steps:
- Log every request on one register, with the firm named, so you can see the pattern and plan capacity.
- Standardise your authority check and your covering letter.
- Build a standard search for disrepair requests, and add to it per case.
- Tell your disrepair and legal teams when a SAR arrives, so the protocol response and the SAR stay aligned.
If you hold a very large amount of information and the request is unclear, you can ask the firm to clarify what their client wants, which stops the clock. A template asking for "all data" is not unclear just because it is broad.
Questions
Can we send the response to the tenant instead of the solicitor?
If the tenant has authorised the firm to receive it, send it to the firm, securely. If you have doubts about the authority, contact the tenant first.
Does a SAR count as pre-action disclosure?
No. They are separate regimes with different scope and deadlines. Responding to one does not discharge the other, though the same documents will often appear in both.
Do we have to disclose operatives' names?
Usually yes. Names of staff and contractors acting in a work role are generally reasonable to disclose, unless there is a specific risk. Record any exception.
Sources
- Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England)
- Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Disrepair Cases (Wales)
- ICO: A guide to subject access
- ICO: When can we consider a SAR to be manifestly unfounded or excessive?
This summarises the law and regulator guidance as at 16 October 2026. Take legal advice on a specific request. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.