The Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind, has been investigating rent tech for the past year.
Prospective tenants are currently being required to hand over large amounts of personal information, to secure rental housing. Last month a determination was made against the rent tech platform 2Apply. The Commissioner found that they collected excessive amounts of information and did so by unfair means.
The platform is required to cease asking for information on:
- applicants’ gender,
- dependents,
- student status,
- bankruptcy status,
- retirement status,
- previous living history,
- current or intended ownership of their principal place of residence or investment property,
- current applications for other properties,
- bond and rent assistance application status, and
- citizenship status and visa expiry.
The determination also finds that 2Apply should collect a lesser amount of personal information in relation to emergency contacts, vehicle details, identification documents, certain details in identification documents such as passports, number of names listed on Medicare Card and card colour, proof of income documents, and employment details, including occupation, start and end date, and employment status.
Under the Australian Privacy Act entities can only collect what is reasonably necessary for their functions and this must not be excessive. Information must also be collected lawfully and fairly.
Rental accommodation is not secure housing. Tenants are a vulnerable group at any time but particularly now during the housing crisis in Australia. This determination is an important step in protecting the rights to fair and lawful collection of information from vulnerable individuals.
Should you need to review your workflows to ensure you’re not collecting information you don’t need, or using a method which is not compliant, please let us know. We can assist.