RealPage software is used to set rental prices on 4.5 million housing units in the U.S. A series of lawsuits allege that a group of landlords are sharing sensitive data with RealPage, which then artificially inflates rents. The complaints surface as housing supply in the U.S. lags behind demand. Some of the defendant landlords report high occupancy within their buildings, alongside strong jobs growth in their operating regions and slow home construction.
Rental housing
Are Landlords Colluding On Rent?
for CNBCRentTech platforms accused of 'data gouging' and 'exploiting' housing crisis
in SBS NewsAccording to Choice, third-party platforms such as Ignite, 2Apply and Snug regularly require users to hand over excessive amounts of personal data including bank statements, references from five jobs and photos of children.
Samantha Floreani, program lead at charity Digital Rights Watch, said: "The sheer volume and type of personal information that renters are being compelled to provide creates unreasonable privacy and digital security risks.
"It's often very unclear who gets access to this information, and how long it will be kept for."