A new wave of high-tech landlords is deploying “smart” thermostats that monitor and report tenant behavior directly. These devices are meant to conserve energy, but landlords are using them to spot tenants who set temperatures outside allowed ranges or who stay home too often. Tenants are waking up to alerts showing their thermostat habits are being tracked.
The excitement around energy savings is getting overshadowed by privacy and lease enforcement concerns. Something intriguing is happening as these gadgets turn into lease violation detectors rather than just climate control tools.
