The Renter Algorithm: The invisible system judging tenants

The Privacy Commissioner has put the RentTech industry on notice over 'unfair and excessive personal information collection'. If you've rented a home recently, you've probably used one of the online platforms that promise to make applying easier. Submit all your personal details in one place, and they'll share it with the relevant real estate agents. But somewhere along the way, the intention changed. It became less about proof you have a job, can pay the rent, and won't trash the house, and more about your 'risk profile'. These platforms are collecting up to 50 points of personal data, which some agencies are using AI to sort through.  So, do these tools - used this way - serve renters, or exacerbate an existing power imbalance? And how might we use them better? GUESTS: Samantha Floreani, PhD candidate at Monash University with the ADM+S Centre. Her research — The Machine-Readable Renter — examines the role of digital technologies in Australia’s private rental sector, and its ...