New online option for renters
Some concerns over centralized application process, including tenant blacklist: advocate
Renters and landlords in P.E.I. have a new way to connect, but it could raise privacy concerns for tenants.
In January, the Residential Rental Association of P.E.I. set up an application on its website where renters can reach more than 50 landlords in their association.
The organization included the new webpage in its latest newsletter, but advertisement has not fully begun, said June Ellis, the association's executive director, in an April 8 Saltwire interview.
The goal is to streamline the process, which can otherwise require renters to send dozens of applications to different owners, she said.
“The application is quite simple. It’s just a basic webform that the renter would fill out, and it just asks for the basic information, most of which is not mandatory.”
Success will depend on availability, she said.
People are constantly moving between homes and entering or leaving the province, so it is difficult to estimate the number of units available in the association’s network of members, Ellis said.
“That can change day by day, really, especially the first of each month. People are moving, people are getting new units built, so it’s nothing we can really pin down – what’s available.”
But the combined units are in the thousands, Ellis said, noting the application is for the entire Island.
These units include smaller, independent landlords and larger companies.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Ryan Macrae, organizer with P.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing, argues the new application could be dangerous for renters.
Renters won’t know who is actually receiving their information, and landlords could
use it against certain tenants, he said.
“If they’re doing the model that they’re doing, are they trying to create a list of tenants? Like, we know that the blacklisting of tenants has been a big issue across this country, and this could be a potential tool to support that happening.”
He worries landlords could flag a tenant as problematic, inform their peers in the association and prevent that tenant from renting.
Another concern could be renters who have had a negative experience with a given landlord, who could then receive the renter’s information or location through the process, he said.
“In this case, we don’t actually know who the members of their association are, since that information is not public.
So, prospective tenants have no idea where this information is going to.”
Macrae ultimately questioned the project’s motivation, arguing the association does not have the best interests of renters in mind.
The organization recently called for an amendment to the Residential Tenancy Act that would remove vacancy control, he said.
FOLLOWUP
Ellis spoke about this during the initial interview. A March 1 post on the association’s website also calls on government to tie rent to the lease instead of the unit.
This would allow landlords to raise the rent beyond what is currently allowed when a tenant moves out, though the proposal says it should be relative to similar units in the area.
After hearing Macrae’s privacy concerns, Saltwire emailed a “webmaster” address on the site to ask how the organization would protect privacy, how long and where it will be kept and whether applicants could restrict information from a given landlord.
An April 14 response from a volunteer board member said the system will keep applications in a database for 30 days before automatically deleting them.
There is no publicly available list of landlords in the association, and any application will reach everyone in the network and the executive director, they said.
“Applications submitted online would be reviewed by June and would then be sent to our members. Our members list is not public. So, renters can expect that it would go to landlords on P.E.I. that are part of our association and no one else, but they don't know who's in the association.”
In response to questions about a renter wishing to protect their information from certain landlords, the webmaster said the association had not thought of this but would consider it now.
“This may be a simple solution like adding a question in the rental application asking if there's any landlords that they'd like to not share their information with.”
Saltwire also emailed the information and privacy commissioner to ask about privacy concerns.
Kimberley Johnston, case management officer, said P.E.I.’S Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act doesn’t apply to private organizations.
“It is possible that they might be covered under the federal privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).”