Renters say they’re being ‘coerced’ onto third party apps to make payments
Third party rental apps are becoming increasingly common in tenancy applications and payments. Advocates are concerned by the fees that are often involved and the amount of data renters are forced to hand over.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Katie Jolly has been through the ringer.
00:05I've lost sleep. I've been curled up on the couch just absolutely wanting this to end.
00:11The Moreton Bay resident was told the only way she could pay her rent was via the ALO app, but she refused.
00:18We felt rather coerced into using a third party app that does commercialise data.
00:27We did some research into this last year, spoke to over a thousand people who rent or who had applied for a rental
00:33and we found that over 40% of them had felt pressured into using a third party rental app.
00:40The apps are typically marketed as a one stop shop for renters for things including applications, payments and property maintenance requests.
00:49Some have fees associated and require large amounts of personal information to be held online.
00:56People shouldn't have to pay money to pay their rent. Their rent is their rent, they shouldn't have to pay money on top of it.
01:01We'd like to see some much stronger protections around the types of data that they're allowed to collect and for how long they're allowed to hold it.
01:09In a statement, ALO says there is a fee-free option within the app and has comprehensive security and data protection protocols.
01:18For Ms Jolly, she's worried her objection will affect ongoing rental prospects.
01:23I'm freaked out about thinking about the future and having to apply when I know that such rent tech apps are becoming ubiquitous.
01:31The Residential Tenancies Authority says the use of third party platforms is increasing across Queensland.
01:38Recently legislated rental reforms will require tenants to be offered two ways to pay rent, including one that doesn't incur costs and is reasonably available.
01:48But it's unclear when those will come into effect.