Real estate agents using artificial intelligence and apps to digitally eliminate rental flaws, such as mould, or add non-existent features, like fake natural sunlight, have been put on notice that they will need to disclose they have done so to attract prospective tenants, under a new tenancy law in NSW.
In a crackdown that also protects tenants’ personal information, the state’s rental agents and landlords hoarding personal data will face curbs on what personal information they can and cannot collect and distribute, aiming to draw a line under an unregulated shadow credit market.
The move comes after several major corporate data breaches and a broader push to limit the forcible harvesting and remarketing of personal information for profit and leverage.
The main policy concern is that real estate and rental agents are becoming honeypots for hackers, with few effective safeguards against compromise.
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The reform is structural rather than tactical: eliminate the bait, thus starve the predator.
At play are millions of bank accounts and credit card numbers that, together, form a huge hacking bounty.
“The Residential Tenancies (Protection of Personal Information) Amendment Bill 2025 will stop the unnecessary collection of extra personal information and help reduce the risk of identity theft and data breaches for both tenants, property technology platforms and agents, establishing a more consistent and efficient process for all parties,” said NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong.
“Around a third of people in NSW rent their homes, and it’s estimated around 187,000 pieces of identification information are collected from renters in NSW every week,” Chanthivong said in a statement.
One of the big movers in the legislation introduced, still yet to be passed, are “penalties of up to $11,000 for individuals and $49,500 for corporations for agents and landlords who don’t adhere to the privacy rules.
“The penalties for non-disclosure of misleading altered photographs will be $5,500 for individuals and $22,000 for businesses.”
The key points of the new laws, as pushed by Chanthivong, include:
- A standard rental application form to make it clear what information can and can’t be collected.
- Requiring disclosure of altered photographs in rental advertisements that could mislead renters, such as using artificially generated furniture that shows a double bed in a bedroom that is only large enough to fit a single, or digitally modifying photos to obscure property damage.
- Making sure renters know there is an embedded utility network at an advertised rental property, so they are upfront about any cost implications.
- Clear privacy rules for all landlords, agents, and rental platforms that handle personal information.
“These reforms will stop unnecessary data collection, limit the risk of data breaches, and give everyone greater confidence in how privacy is safeguarded throughout the rental process.”
“Renters are entitled to dignity and privacy when living in a rental property — and this extends to their personal information too,” Chanthivong said.
NSW rental commissioner Trina Jones said that cyber breaches and data theft “are a major privacy risk to individuals and to the businesses that collect and hold that information”.
And a major fraud risk.
“By setting clear rules for how renter data is handled, the protection of personal information bill doesn’t just protect tenants, it reduces legal and reputational risk for landlords and agents too,” Jones said.
“This legislation will see sensible limits on what information can be collected in a rental application, creating a fairer and more consistent process, and giving rental applicants more control over their personal data.”
It won’t fix supply. But not being carded by spivs after an application to find a home really ought to be a thing.
This article was first published by The Mandarin.
