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In short:
Advocates claim renters are increasingly finding themselves at the mercy of third-party apps, some of which store private information and charge fees.
Renters say they're receiving pushback from agents about using a different payment method.
What's next?
Queensland's Residential Tenancies Authority is aware of the rise in third-party platform use and said new legislation will help tenants.
Renters are being "held over a barrel" by third party apps that charge fees to make payments and ask for sensitive personal data, advocacy groups say.
Rent-tech apps like Ailo are increasingly being used for rental applications, payments, and property maintenance requests.
Moreton Bay renter Katy Jolly was told she had to start using an app to pay her rent.
"We felt rather coerced into using a third-party app that does commercialise data, and that does have a rating system where tenants can be rated," she said.
"A whole bunch of things that we felt were inappropriate, where our existing payment method was working just fine for us."
The app would also charge a fee every time she made a payment.
Queensland's new rental laws will require agents to give tenants a fee-free way to pay but these will only "take effect on a day to be advised", the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) said.
Ms Jolly said she received pushback from her agent, when she asked to use a different payment method that didn't force her to share sensitive information, or be charged a fee.
"It's not only about housing, it's about increasing my fraud risk, which is a double whammy," she said.
Eventually, her agency relented. But Ms Jolly worries it'll affect her when she next looks for a rental.
"I'm freaked out, thinking about the future and having to apply when I know that such rent tech apps are becoming ubiquitous in the real estate industry," she said.
Renters 'held over a barrel'
Kate Bower from consumer advocacy group Choice said renters were feeling like they had no other option.
"We spoke to over 1,000 people who rent or who had applied for a rental, and we found that over 40 per cent of them had felt pressured into using a third-party rental app for their application," she said.
"A further 60 per cent of people felt that they were giving over too much information in that process.
"This is an essential service, so they really feel held over a barrel, that they don't have any choice but to use the type of applications suggested by the agent."
Ms Bower said the apps also removed the discretion real estate agents have with extenuating circumstances, instead charging the tenant late fees.
Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr said there's no reason why this should happen.
"You'd think that charging a fee to somebody for not having their rent available on the given day is not really in the interest of the landlord, because if the tenant hasn't had the rent there already, they might struggle even more if they pay a fee on top of it," she said.
Ms Bower also said there were serious privacy issues associated with how much personal information the apps were requiring.
"We'd like to see some much stronger protections around the types of data allowed to be collected and for how long it can be held," she said.
"Once an application's been processed and either accepted or denied, there isn't a good reason to keep those that have been denied in the system for any period of time."
In a statement, an Alio spokesperson said its app had a fee-free option to make payments, and that users' data was secure.
"Ailo is regulated by the Australian Securities Investments Commission and is monitored and regularly audited on compliance to strict standards of operation, including information security," it said.
Illusion of a helping hand
Rent-tech also offered extras like background checks — for a fee.
Ms Jolly said she was so desperate for a rental she paid to have one done.
"We wouldn't have a place to live if I had valued my personal data and my data security as highly as I would like to," she said.
But Ms Bower said these services, often labelled as a verification check, were exploitative.
"These are framed in a way that makes it sound like you'll get to the top of the queue, when in fact, that is not true," she said.
"We think this is just profiteering and really trying to target people who are already in a stressful situation, looking for somewhere to live in a very competitive and tough rental market."
Ms Carr said some tenants were unable to contact their real estate agents directly.
"Some agencies will say 'we won't talk to you in any other way except through the app'," she said.
Reforms to address rent-tech
In a statement, Queensland's Residential Tenancies Authority said it was aware the use of third-party platforms was increasing.
The spokesperson said recently-passed legislation — which is yet to have a roll-out date —would give tenants more options.
"It will be a requirement for tenants to be offered two ways to pay rent, including a way that does not incur more than usual bank costs and is reasonably available to a tenant," they said.
"This is to ensure tenants are provided with rental payment options that help to minimise costs."