“There’s enough there to have a closer look at the sector, it affects a lot of people up and down the country.”
Demand for rental accommodation meant more competition for properties, making applicants feel pressured to provide personal information that went beyond what was required by landlords, he said.
MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
Privacy Commissioner John Edwards is looking into the information that landlords are asking of applicants, and what they’re doing with it. Landlords could legitimately collect personal information to select a tenant, such as proof of identity or whether they had any pets, and to determine if they could pay the rent. However, other information about a tenant’s nationality, marital status, gender or banking history were almost never justified.