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Smart smoke detectors or monitoring? Tenants in Hesse are fighting back!
Vonovia is planning to install smart smoke detectors in Hesse, which will lead to rent increases and resistance among tenants.
Smart smoke detectors or monitoring? Tenants in Hesse are fighting back!
There's a lot of simmering in Hesse! Germany's largest housing company, Vonovia, is planning to install so-called smart smoke detectors in its apartments - and that should drive up rents! Tenants are outraged and feel monitored by the new technology. A dramatic scenario that is already leading to the first legal disputes!
Silvia Hinze from Darmstadt is alarmed: “I always had the feeling that he was watching me,” she says about the new smoke detector. But this is no ordinary device! The “Multisensor Plus” models not only monitor smoke and heat, but also collect data about the indoor climate and transmit it to Vonovia. This raises fears of total surveillance within one's own four walls. Hinze fears that a movement profile could be created from the collected data. “For me, this is tantamount to surveillance,” she explains, concerned.
Resistance among tenants is growing
Hinze is not alone in his worries! Many tenants have contacted the Darmstadt Tenants' Association and expressed their concerns. There is also resistance in the Vonovia settlements in Frankfurt and Kassel. The North Hesse Tenants' Association rejects the installation of the devices for data protection reasons. The lawyer Regina Kamm can understand the fears and advises not to agree to the installation. Vonovia, on the other hand, emphasizes that the data is secure and the new devices increase security.
But that's not all! With a price of around 130 euros per smoke detector, Vonovia plans to pass the costs on to the tenants, which will result in a rent increase of around six euros per month. Another reason for outrage! Kamm describes this as a “money printing machine” for the company, while Vonovia points to the legal obligation to replace smoke detectors. Anyone who opposes the installation could be confronted with a toleration lawsuit. The first court case is already pending in Kassel, and the tenant associations are supporting those affected in the fight against these measures.