The renter’s advocacy union Renters United has alleged that Illion Tenancy’s new feature may be in breach of the Privacy Act. The new feature notifies landlords when a tenant has had a background check.
Illion Tenancy, formerly known as TINZ and cheekily referred to by some as the “tenant blacklist”, is marketed towards landlords and property managers. The database has profiles of every registered tenant, including personal information and past recorded actions such as Tenancy Tribunal orders.
Renters United’s complaint centres on the idea that information acquired from a background check may be held for far longer than you might reasonably expect and used for purposes other than the reason it was collected for in the first place.
The news comes in the wake of a similar database being found in breach of the Privacy Act. What Does My Landlord Own? (WDMLO) allowed users to access a merged dataset of publicly-available information to see which properties are listed under their landlord’s name. Following complaints, the Privacy Commissioner found the website in breach of the Act and it was promptly shut down. Critic reported on this in July, issue 14.
Third-year Finn said that he thought it would be “incredibly unfair if the same doesn't happen to Illion Tenancy.” Meanwhile, third-year Jamie said that we should get a database for landlords; “if there's no equivalent for tenants then that’s one hell of a double standard.”
You can use the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's AboutMe tool to formally request Illion to reveal what information they have on you. Critic Te Ārohi tested it and can confirm that it’s easy; simply put in your details and the Privacy Commission will email Illion on your behalf. You’ll get your response in a day or so.
The personal information held on you would typically include details like your address, date of birth, contact details, or driver’s licence numbers. Renters United advises that in a request you should ask them if anyone has access to, or could access, your personal information, and ask why and for how long they intend to hold it.
Illion Tenancy is undergoing an annual review by the Privacy Commission to assess compliance with the Credit Reporting Privacy Rules, so the Privacy Commissioner was unable to comment at this time.