Data ethics: don’t sleepwalk into a situation that breaks trust

COMMENT The past decade has seen a transformation in the way data is collected and interrogated to inform business decisions. For example, our browsing and shopping habits are dissected by algorithms keen to present us with retail opportunities. As the property sector wakes up to the usefulness and commercial value of data at scale, residential property managers may sleepwalk into a data management situation that could damage trust between managers and customers. Consider Bob the concierge, who greets you by name, hands you a parcel and knows your cleaner by sight. Trusted Bob is discrete and helpful, finding you a new cleaner when yours quits. But how would you feel if Bob was pocketing kick-backs from that cleaner he introduced? Devious Bob has been using your personal data for profit. He would argue he is just meeting your needs; “you needed a cleaner”. But hidden profits smell and you don’t trust him anymore. Door entry systems, digital concierges, mobile phone tracking and security cameras with facial recognition allow intelligent buildings to know who is at home. Useful to know vulnerable Mr Miggins is home on the 14th floor when there is a fire. But those same sensors may also inform a data-scraping algorithm that your morning dog walking routine is hasty and offer you dog-walking services. Or a competing package for cleaning or care worker support because your visitors are tracked. Adverts for romantic restaurants and holidays appear on your Facebook account because the security system has clocked you are bringing a new partner home, or divorce lawyers because you are suddenly coming home alone. Perhaps even gym memberships because the lift load sensor has noticed your lockdown bulge. Sound the alarm If this seems far-fetched, then sound the alarm, because what might seem novel for the property sector is already old-school for data geeks. Selling your data is a well-trodden path and an endlessly creative pursuit. Property management touches people repeatedly over an extended period in their own homes and that data is linked to their identity. This is fertile territory barely explored. GDPR, Data Protection Act, etc. offer some protection but it gets complex when different parcels of data in different silos are being sifted by algorithms. And anyway, when did you last read your Amazon Ts&Cs? Do you really know what Google, Apple and that random little game app have on you? Data has great potential for good. Building information data will be fundamental to Dame Judith Hackitt’s “Golden Thread” expected in the draft Building Safety Bill. How brilliant will it be to know exactly how your building has been built and have all that important maintenance and safety information to hand? Conversely, how disappointing to have a string of burglaries in a building because details of the security systems were visible to the wrong people? Or arson or terrorism attacks on vulnerably clad buildings? Hopefully, the new Building Safety Bill will address these data security concerns under the new safety regime. By bringing these data sets together, will we see finance loans popping up on leaseholders’ Facebook pages when major works are proposed? Or climbing life insurance premiums for residents of buildings with suspect cladding, echoing the hikes in building insurance and PII premiums? How could this happen? Property management systems are increasingly interfacing with multiple plug-in modules such as CRM systems, repair services and customer service apps. Behind this “tech stack” sits a new breed of savvy entities hungry for data and if they can reach through your systems into your customers’ personal lives, then property managers become the unwitting accomplices in a breach of trust and potentially the law. That concierge app on your mobile: does it access your contacts, messages, camera, geo-tagging? Who can use that data? Have we, as a sector, thought this through? The Institute of Residential Property Management, argues not in its third 2020 White Paper, which examines how proptech creates ethical risks and opportunities. The White Paper, informed by stakeholders including the Real Estate Data Foundation and International Ethics Coalition, sets out a roadmap for data ethics in the sector: Cross-industry collaboration so a meaningful data ethics framework can be developed Industry engagement with the Real Estate Data Foundation which is connecting cross-sector initiatives and has established six high-level data ethics principles Wider sharing of experiences and case studies to promote better understanding Property management firms to ensure that a digital risk register is in place which considers the ethical use of data and how it engages with technology providers Government to consider data ethics principles as a standard aspect of any future policy-building and delivery The importance of a data ethics framework was underpinned by an IRPM survey of its 5,000 professional property managers. It revealed that 88% of respondents believe their customers’ expectations are changing about how property managers should use data. The ethical use of data is becoming critical for all property managers and businesses alike and action is required by both the property sector and government to start building data ethics into their thinking, risk registers, legislation, codes of practice and tech stacks going forward.  Andrew Bulmer is chief executive of the Institute of Residential Property Management