Landlord shocks Aussies with wild list of questions for potential renters

Renters have turned on an Aussie landlord after their wild list of questions for potential tenants was shared on social media.

Aussie renters have been left outraged by a local landlord’s rental application, which asks a series of personal and invasive questions to anyone hoping to rent the property.

At first, the questions seem to be pretty standard, such as name, address and contact information, but they soon become questions about the renter’s relationship status, working hours and MyGov information.

“How old are you?”, “Are you married?”, “Do you have a car?”, “Do you smoke?”, “Do you drink?”, “Do you work at night?” and “Do you have MYGOV LINKED TO ATO?” are some of the questions asked in the form.

A social media user discovered this list of invasive questions from a local landlord. Picture: Facebook

“This is what happens when vacancy rates are so low,” said a user on X, who reported the form from a private Facebook group for renters. The original post was made by a user based in Sydney.

The comments on social media were almost universally negative. One asked the relevance of the ATO and MyGov being linked, with others saying the questions were illegal.

“Suspicious and sleazy”, one comment said, while another called it “unconscionable”.

One comment pointed out the potential dangers of a landlord with this data, with several branding it a scam and an attempt at info phishing.

“What, no address to send a urine sample?” one user joked.

Bao Ngo, a​​​​ Principal Lawyer at Aitken Partners, told news.com.au that many of these questions qualify for the crime of unlawful discrimination.

“Obviously [your] full name, contact number, address, that’s fine,” he said, and added that questions such as “do you have any pets?” qualify for lawful discrimination. “But there are a lot of things here that are not relevant.”

Mr Ngo said that renters need to understand their rights before entering agreements with landlords, and that certain questions can be illegal under unlawful discrimination.

Mr Ngo said that these laws, while differing across states, often include questions about age, sexual and gender identity, employment, transportation, disability and marital status.

“From a rental provider’s perspective, they need to ensure that the tenant has financial capacity to actually meet their lease obligations,” he said.

“And asking the question, ‘are you married?’ doesn’t really assist with determining whether someone can afford to pay their rent. Asking questions like ‘do you have your MyGov linked to the Australian Taxation Office?’ – like how is that relevant?”

Mr Ngo said it was possible that this application was an attempt at identity phishing, but said it also seemed like the work of an “inexperienced rental provider”.

Mr Ngo said to future renters, “don’t answer all questions that are asked of you in a rental application, [just] because you think it has to be answered. Understand your actual legal rights.”

Renters are being faced with fewer options for homes in the growing housing crisis.

A recent study from the Rental Affordability Index showed that rental affordability across the country is at a new low since the pandemic, with every capital city, save Hobart and Canberra, declining in rental affordability since last year.

Sydney in particular has experienced a 13 per cent decline in affordability, with Melbourne and Perth at 10 per cent.

A crowd of people lining up for a rental inspection in Surry Hills, NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Nicholas

Meanwhile, the ABS said that rental costs have risen 7.6 per cent in the last 12 months.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement that “with historically low vacancy rates and little sign that tight rental market conditions will ease in the near term, this is expected to keep rent inflation elevated for some time”.

Housing Minister Julie Collins said that the Commonwealth Government was focusing on improving housing supply for the growing population, which she considered “the best way to improve housing affordability for renters and buyers”.