Thousands of tenants could claim up to £15,000 following the leak of personal details – including addresses, contact details, gender, and sexual orientation.

The blunder was made by Watford Community Housing when it sent out an email on March 23 to all tenants to inform them of changes to services during the coronavirus outbreak.

But attached to the email was a spreadsheet that contained personal information of the housing association's 3,545 tenants.

The information included full names, gender, addresses, mobile numbers, email addresses, ethnic origins, religion, and sexual orientation.

Now Fletchers Data Claims which has been representing many tenants affected by the leak is urging for further tenants who were affected to come forward.

Under data protection law, Watford Community Housing are required to keep customer data secure, and anyone affected by the breach who feels distressed could claim compensation.

Fletchers Data Claims say most victims could claim a minimum settlement between £1,000 to £5,000, while others seriously affected by the breach could earn up to £15,000.

One tenant, Sasha, previously told the Observer that the leaked information put many vulnerable tenants in “life changing and life-threatening situations”.

Read more: Personal information of more than 3,500 tenants leaked by housing association

Kevin Carter, another tenant, is one of the members who sought help through the data claims group.

He said: “There was so much personal information on that file. My home address, My phone number. And there are elderly people on this estate, really vulnerable people who are worried about strangers getting hold of their information.

“The main thing for me is my address being leaked. That’s a real worry – you don’t want people knowing your business, do you? Knowing where you live?”

Diane McKay, a data breach administrator working on the Watford Community Housing Group action said: “When a breach of personal data such as this occurs, the consequences are incredibly significant and personal for the individuals involved.

“Innocent people are forced into a situation where they are unsure who has their most private information and must carry out extensive administration work to claw back some of their privacy.”

The email intended to inform residents of updates on the housing trust's website regarding questions during the outbreak and the closure of its offices on Clarendon Road.

Customers were also asked to provide up-to-date contact details for the database in case the association needed to contact customers during this time.

It is believed that all of the email addresses listed in the spreadsheet received the same leaked document.

Watford Community Housing confirmed that the incident has been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Regulator of Social Housing.

Following the news of the breach Tina Barnard, the chief executive of Watford Community Housing, said: “We apologise unreservedly for this breach and share our customers’ concerns.

“We take our responsibilities with customer information extremely seriously and this was the result of human error.

“In line with our commitment to being transparent, we have moved quickly to inform the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and we will work closely with the Information Commissioner as required.

"We will also carry out a full review of our processes to ensure this could not happen again.

“We are taking a variety of steps to assess the potential impact on those affected by the breach, including identifying any safeguarding concerns, and we are contacting our customers to provide information, guidance and support.

“Anyone with concerns should email CustomerRelationsTeam@wcht.org.uk and we will contact them.”

The housing association later issued an apology to everyone through email, requesting that the email is deleted.

It explained that the information held - including sexuality - is collected from customers with permission to "tailor" services and comply with "regulatory duties around tenant involvement and empowerment".

Anyone who was affected by the breach and wishes to address their situation is asked to contact Fletchers Data Claim here.