Website With Searchable Addresses Showing Owner's Names

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GV27

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#303432 10-Feb-2023 06:49

Hi All,

Someone has launched a website for checking personal interests in property in NZ. I think it's part of a rental activist movement. I'm unsure what the source of the data is. I am almost certain that this level of aggregation and enquiry will be a breach of the source's stated policies, assuming it has been obtained legitimately.

Address is whatdoesmylandlordown.org

It's definitely worth seeing if your full name has been linked to your personal address as the integrity of the algorithms underlying it are pretty average (read: not fit for purpose).

While it suppresses the names of people who own a single property, it's not as smart as the owners think it is. I have the same name as a family member, so it assumes I own all the properties linked to their name (and any Trusts they are trustees of, no less) and therefore displays my full name.

It also appears to show units/apartments as being under multiple ownership, and timeshares are treated as 'rentals' so if you own a timeshare and a single family home, it will be linked to your name and your FULL name will be visible if someone searches your address.

The WHOIS for the domain is redacted 'for privacy reasons' (the irony) and Twitter seems to suggest the site is hosted in Germany, so unsure about the reach of Privacy Commission.

Just a heads up.

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#3034277 10-Feb-2023 06:57

The source data is from LINZ, they have a little blurb here with the update from the site from this morning vs yesterday: We’ve made privacy-related changes. – sunset_flowers (wordpress.com)

GV27

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#3034278 10-Feb-2023 07:07

Johnk:

The source data is from LINZ, they have a little blurb here with the update from the site from this morning vs yesterday: We’ve made privacy-related changes. – sunset_flowers (wordpress.com)

Given our volume of emails, and our limited ability to reply, we are implementing a form which enables users to obfuscate their name in our records. This will be available shortly.

Yea, so here's the thing. If the Council or another body releases that information to someone, it's with extremely specific conditions about its use. It's not open slather on a freely accessible website, which they acknowledge has issues with people with the same name and data sets get grouped together.

If your website about landlords reveals names searched by addresses who aren't landlords then your website sucks and you shouldn't make it live. Simple. It's not fit for purpose.

So far I've pinpointed issues with timeshares, the name issue and it looks like it doesn't understand trustee ownership (will reveal your name if you are trustee of a family trust that owns a home in addition to your own residence). None of these people are landlords. Family trust ownership is exceedingly common in NZ. If it can't cope with these things, then inadvertently labelling people as landlords and revealing their names is inexcusable. All of this should have been immediately obvious with the bare minimum of testing.

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#3034280 10-Feb-2023 07:13

Site not working for me.... page loads, enter address and thats it.... no action/response at all.

XPD / Gavin

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GV27

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#3034282 10-Feb-2023 07:16

xpd:

Site not working for me.... page loads, enter address and thats it.... no action/response at all.

Try that link in the OP again now, I may have added an extra period in there somewhere.

Stu

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#3034283 10-Feb-2023 07:24

It's going to cause trouble. If a property owner has the same legal name as another property owner, it'll list all properties owned by people with that name. I've tested it. It does not distinguish which person owns which property, it misleadingly displays in a way suggesting they must all be the same person.

ETA ahh mentioned above while I was typing this slowly after looking at the site...

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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GV27

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#3034286 10-Feb-2023 07:33

Stu: It's going to cause trouble. If a property owner has the same legal name as another property owner, it'll list all properties owned by people with that name. I've tested it. It does not distinguish which person owns which property, it misleadingly displays in a way suggesting they must all be the same person.

ETA ahh mentioned above while I was typing this slowly after looking at the site...

This one is particularly grating as it can impinge on the privacy of a bunch of people all at once that are not intended to be revealed at all by the developers even if the tool worked perfectly and they acknowledge it is an 'error' and yet... it's still live?

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xpd

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#3034291 10-Feb-2023 07:55

Sorry, I meant the site loads, but the search did nothing. If I enter my address, I get absolutely no feedback from the site at all. Enter my parents address, and it works with their info.

XPD / Gavin

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Stu

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#3034293 10-Feb-2023 08:09

From memory, when I looked at an address with a unit number and used / it didn't work.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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GV27

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#3034299 10-Feb-2023 08:19

Stu: From memory, when I looked at an address with a unit number and used / it didn't work.

Looks to struggle with cross leases, unit titles, trustee ownership.

All common in NZ. All issues that should have been resolved before taking something like this live.

Although reading the 'blog' notes it looks like they actually had to stop it from showing the names of people who only owned single property after it went live. I can't confirm that though, but at this point I wouldn't be surprised.

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#3034316 10-Feb-2023 08:43

Johnk:

The source data is from LINZ, they have a little blurb here with the update from the site from this morning vs yesterday: We’ve made privacy-related changes. – sunset_flowers (wordpress.com)

LINZ definitely sounds like the likely source as these people are probably too amateur to develop a tool that can link into the database of every territorial authority in the country. I would imagine that all this needs is a complaint to LINZ for what I assume would be a breach of the T&Cs of their API.

wellygary

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#3034330 10-Feb-2023 09:26

GV27:

The WHOIS for the domain is redacted 'for privacy reasons' (the irony) and Twitter seems to suggest the site is hosted in Germany, so unsure about the reach of Privacy Commission.

The IP address is within a block owned by a Finnish hosting company, which is part of German IT group Hertzner

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GV27

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#3034344 10-Feb-2023 09:46

wellygary:

GV27:

The WHOIS for the domain is redacted 'for privacy reasons' (the irony) and Twitter seems to suggest the site is hosted in Germany, so unsure about the reach of Privacy Commission.

The IP address is within a block owned by a Finnish hosting company, which is part of German IT group Hertzner

Ah, good to know. I wonder how GDPR applies in this situation.

Nate001

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#3034352 10-Feb-2023 10:07

Completely irresponsible of the developers of this tool.

It still shows all the owners of our apartment building even if they're single owners as there is a cross lease with building next door for a common courtyard. So everyone's names show on two titles and it assumes you're a greedy landlord.

Edit - Have they considered people who own a holiday house? I guess they're anti them too. Their intent of this tool is to expose prolific landlords, in that case the filter for single owners needs to be 2-3+ titles.

ANglEAUT

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#3034356 10-Feb-2023 10:11

alasta:... as these people are probably too amateur to develop a tool ...

www.whatdoesmylandlordown.org also doesn't resolve

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

xpd

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#3034357 10-Feb-2023 10:12

I think its a breach of privacy all around to be honest. If it worked in the way where you enter an address, and it showed other addresses the owner held, then its okish.... but to show the actual name sof the owner, sucks arse.

Pretty sure I don't need my parents names being spread around just because they own a few properties, and don't even necessarily rent those out, but have family living in them.

XPD / Gavin

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