Over the last two decades, keyless “smart access” technologies that use fobs, pin codes, smartphone apps — and most alarmingly, biometric recognition technology — have become widely adopted, transforming the way tenants access their homes and live their lives. For those whose buildings have gone keyless, many, if not most, would be surprised to find that every time they tap into their apartment or building with a fob, a piece of reference data is created and tracked by their landlord or property manager.
As unsettling as this is, we have not found a single law on the books anywhere in the country that protects tenant data, and for the moment at least, landlords can do whatever they want with it. It’s the wild west, and few have even noticed the problem.
Consider a tenant who wakes up every morning to walk the dog or to go to the gym: The fob system records the time the tenant comes back to the apartment and the entrance used. The same happens when that tenant returns from work or goes out with friends for dinner. This data gives landlords the ability to paint a picture of when a tenant is home, who the tenant shares access with and how often, and when the tenant’s kids come home from school. In the most concerning cases, some smart home systems give landlords access to a resident’s utility data, such as heat, electricity and Wi-Fi usage rates. Using this information, bad actor landlords have a new tool at their disposal to harass tenants — and in some cases, to try to evict them.
But this technology also offers some benefits to tenants. Those with an access system that uses a smartphone app are able to maintain a record of who enters their home and when — in addition to being able to grant and revoke guest access with relative ease. This is a major step forward for tenants who have been harassed by abusive landlords entering their homes during the day, victims of theft and domestic violence survivors who have struggled to keep abusive partners out of their homes.
Smart access technology could usher in significant improvements in the future. Take the blight of urban traffic congestion as an example. One of the biggest causes of congestion in cities across the country is trucks making deliveries during peak hours, blocking traffic and clogging major roads. Through smart access, these deliveries could be made more easily during off-hours and more efficient delivery routes could be designed, reducing a major cause of congestion, truck idling and carbon emissions. The economic value of this could reach upward of $200 million a year in New York City alone, according to a study by the United States Department of Transportation. This is to say nothing of how many tenants routinely fail to see many of the packages they order online, a problem easily fixed for those with the ability to make sure a delivery service can drop off packages in their building by giving deliverers unique temporary access codes.
Seizing the momentum from New York’s historic housing law reform victory earlier this year, we should pass a law that would hold smart access companies to the highest possible standard while making certain that their technology is safe, secure and reliable for tenants. A New York councilman, Mark Levine, known for creating the nation’s first right to counsel for tenants facing eviction in housing court, has put forth promising legislation, aptly dubbed the Tenant Data Privacy Act.
Mr. Levine’s bill would ensure that a tenant’s personal unit access logs are completely shielded from landlords, unless the tenant consents otherwise. When an individual enters a tenant’s home, that data should be available only to the tenant. Residents should have complete ownership over their data, and where the technology allows, they should always be able to see when anyone, including their landlord or a building staff member, has entered their home.
Additionally, the bill requires that tenant data be permanently deleted after 90 days — unless tenants decide for themselves to keep it longer — while making it illegal for smart access devices to capture GPS tracking data. It allows tenants to decide for themselves whether they want to use a digital means of entry or a metal key for their personal unit. Lastly, and most importantly, the bill ensures that no tenant’s data can ever be sold or used as evidence to evict them.
This bill offers guidance for how we can begin to regulate the world of smart-access technology, but more needs to be done. The scourge of biometric technology must be addressed as well. In Congress, Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts has introduced a bill prohibiting facial recognition technology in federally funded public housing, while a New York State senator, Brad Hoylman, has put forth legislation to completely outlaw the use of facial recognition technology in all residential buildings. While there is a promising future for certain keyless access technologies to be used as a tool that protects tenants, that future does not include biometric recognition systems, which have been shown to have myriad technical issues and racial biases.
Tenants have a right to access their homes, and the means by which they do so must be secure and reliable. Whether you use a brass key, a fob, an app or a plastic key card, what matters most are the legal rights of tenants. States and cities should pass laws codifying those rights and embrace the potential of keyless access technology while protecting tenant privacy.
Michael McKee is the treasurer of the Tenants Political Action Committee.
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