Estate agents have been warned: the Information Commissioner's Office is looking to check you out. The ICO – the regulator in charge of enforcing data protection law in the UK – has warned estate agents that they must notify the fact that they are data controllers with the ICO, and they must comply with the Data Protection Act. The regulator is concerned by the lack of compliance amongst the industry. It sounded a conciliatory note by saying that it wanted to work with agents to ensure that they meet the legal requirements, but at the same time it issued a stern warning to comply with the Act or face regulatory action.

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