Nearly two-thirds of renters think third-party rental application platforms require too much private information from them but many still feel pressured to use them to find a home, a new report has found.
In a national survey of 1,020 renters on their use of rental technology, consumer advocacy organisation Choice found 60% of renters were uncomfortable with the amount and type of information they were asked for when applying for a rental using rent-tech platforms. Almost one-third (29%) said they had at least once chosen not to apply for a rental because they did not trust the tech company taking their application with their data, and 41% said they felt pressured to use it anyway.
The report, released on Tuesday, said renters were very concerned about data insecurity and invasive, automated decision-making technologies used in the rental application process. Among renters between 18 and 34 years old, 29% reported that their rental application had been scored against other prospective tenants to determine whether they would get a property.
“A sore lack of regulation in this market means these automated decision-making systems could increase barriers and discrimination for renters, potentially excluding some people from housing,” Kate Bower, a Choice consumer data advocate, said.
The Choice report follows a Guardian Australia investigation last year that revealed the potentially discriminatory use of applicants’ personal data by Australian rent-tech company Snug. The company’s rental application platform uses opaque algorithms to “score” renters against properties, which gave renters a higher score when they offered to pay more rent.
Privacy experts, academics and renters’ advocates expressed concern after analysis of Snug’s patent application suggested the company’s intention was to collect wide-ranging information from users, including friend lists, social media networks and ratings on third-party platforms such as Airbnb and Uber, and to develop a kind of rental credit system.
Snug denied that the “match score” function facilitated rental bidding and said its mission was to “make renting easier” thanks to a platform designed “to facilitate a better relationship between renters and agents”.
The company did not disclose which data points went into its match score, and its spokesperson said the company had “no foreseeable plans to implement further permissible data attributes contained conceptually in the patent application”. The company’s match score appears to no longer be visibly influenced by the amount of rent offered for a property.
Snug was also contracted late last year by the Victorian government’s social housing agency, Homes Victoria, to create a purpose-built platform to take applications for the government’s affordable housing program, with homes to be allocated by ballot.
The Choice survey found the most commonly used third-party platforms were 2Apply and Ignite (formerly 1Form), followed by rent.com.au and Snug.
Renters said they felt pressured to pay for a background check by many of these platforms in the hope their application would stand out in an increasingly overheated rental market, with 25% reporting they had forked out the money.
“Finding a home as a renter is already an incredibly difficult and draining experience,’ Bower said. “Our research found RentTech platforms are taking advantage of people’s basic need for a roof over their heads to collect excessive data and charge unfair fees.
“As the risk of data misuse and data breaches continues to grow, so too does the risk to consumers. The government needs to act quickly and strengthen Australia’s privacy laws to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and protect consumers effectively.”
Choice is calling for reforms to the Privacy Act that ensure renters are protected, a federal inquiry into automated decision-making technology, and state governments to modernise their tenancy laws to prevent harms related to emerging rental technologies.
