Data Privacy & Security

What Is the Issue?

Every day, rental housing providers handle sensitive personal information—from applications and leases to financial and identity data. As digital tools and platforms become essential to housing operations, protecting that information is more important than ever.

But here’s the problem: There’s no single federal standard for data privacy or cybersecurity.

Instead, providers are forced to navigate a confusing—and growing—patchwork of state-level privacy and breach notification laws. This complexity increases compliance costs, creates legal risk, and makes it harder to deliver the safe, secure experience renters expect.

And when costs go up for housing providers, they go up for renters, too.

The Challenge

Right now, 50 states are doing 50 different things—and that’s a problem for everyone. Housing providers operating across state lines are being pulled in multiple regulatory directions, trying to comply with overlapping or contradictory rules. That doesn’t make renters safer. It just makes the system harder to navigate and more expensive to maintain.

RETTC’s Solution

RETTC is calling on Congress to enact a strong, uniform national standard for data privacy and security.

We believe one clear framework—at the federal level—will do more to protect renters, streamline compliance, and strengthen housing affordability than a thousand state-by-state fixes ever could.

Through our advocacy, education, and policy partnerships, RETTC is working to:

• Push for a single national law that protects consumers and supports innovation.
• Empower housing providers to stay secure, compliant, and focused on resident experience.
• Prevent rising operating costs that drive up rents.