A rental platform has been found to have over-collected renter data through coercive design tactics that exploited power imbalances in the housing market, according to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Rental application platform 2Apply, operated by InspectRealEstate (IRE), was found to have over-collected renter data using unfair, coercive design practices by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The findings followed a year-long investigation into IRE, which agreed, without admitting wrongdoing, to change how it collects personal information.
The regulator found that IRE was collecting unnecessary personal details from renters, including gender, student status, citizenship and visa information, and past rental history, with the platform now ordered to stop.
In addition to over-collecting personal data, OAIC found that the 2Apply platform breached privacy principles by engaging in unfair means, given renters’ limited choice and the strong power imbalance with agents, managers and landlords.
In a landmark ruling, the watchdog considered the 2Apply form’s design and presentation, which influenced user decisions, applying the concept of online choice architecture to assess how digital interfaces can shape behaviour.
The commissioner found the 2Apply form used manipulative design tactics such as confirmshaming, biased framing and bundled consent.
The practices were deemed to unfairly pressure users into agreeing to data collection decisions that may not reflect their true preferences.
The ruling on IRE comes after new research raised concerns that rental platforms may be exposing millions of tenants’ personal documents online, highlighting serious privacy and security risks and prompting calls for stronger regulation of rental technology.
According to OAIC privacy commissioner Carly Kind, the case also underscored the major power imbalance in the rental market, intensified by the housing crisis and cost-of-living pressures, leaving renters especially vulnerable to unfair data collection practices.
“Renters often lack real choice when making rental applications. Either they hand over personal and private information, including ID documents and payslips, or risk housing precarity or even loss,” Kind said.
“This not only places them at risk that their applications will not be considered fairly and equitably, but that their personal information may be compromised in a data breach or cyber attack.”
Although the ruling applies only to IRE, Kind urged other RentTech providers and real estate bodies to align their practices with the findings and review how they collect personal information.
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