The Landlord Tech Company That Turned Security Deposits Into a Monthly Fee

Rhino sounds like a good deal at first. When people move into a new apartment, they often have to pay a large lump sum security deposit to their landlord. For people who can’t pay, Rhino offers to bill them a little bit every month in lieu of the deposit. But there’s a catch: unlike security deposits, money sent to Rhino is never returned.  The company uses algorithms to make the wealthy pay less than poorer people, some renters are still paying for places where they no longer live and no one, including landlords, can get the service on the phone.This week on Cyber, Motherboard writer Roshan Abraham comes on to discuss his investigation into Rhino. Stories discussed in this episode:How Landlord Tech Is Squeezing Renters Who Can't Afford Security DepositsTenants Are Suing Landlords for Allegedly Price-Fixing Rents with Software and the Feds Could Get InvolvedWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What this episode covers

Rhino sounds like a good deal at first. When people move into a new apartment, they often have to pay a large lump sum security deposit to their landlord. For people who can’t pay, Rhino offers to bill them a little bit every month in lieu of the deposit. But there’s a catch: unlike security deposits, money sent to Rhino is never returned. The company uses algorithms to make the wealthy pay less than poorer people, some renters are still paying for places where they no longer live and no one, including landlords, can get the service on the phone.This week on Cyber, Motherboard writer Roshan Abraham comes on to discuss his investigation into Rhino. Stories discussed in this episode:How Landlord Tech Is Squeezing Renters Who Can't Afford Security DepositsTenants Are Suing Landlords for Allegedly Price-Fixing Rents with Software and the Feds Could Get InvolvedWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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This episode is 52 minutes long.

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This episode was published on October 31, 2023.

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