In late 2024, the Concord Housing and Redevelopment Authority, a federally funded housing provider in New Hampshire’s capital city, began installing small devices that look like smoke detectors in an estimated 300 residential units they manage.
The gadgets, though, do more than alert the tenants to a fire. Made by a Swedish company called Minut, the devices can detect smoke from cigarettes, as well as monitor noise levels, or even the number of people in a unit. The company, as well as the landlords, essentially have real-time access to the device’s sensors — and the information they gather.
In a new class action lawsuit, the residents of these buildings contend the sheer amount of data being collected by Minut devices is akin to a continuous warrantless government search, and a violation of their privacy rights.
“It's an incredible imposition on people's privacy in their homes,” said Nate Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s speech, privacy and technology project, which filed the lawsuit along with the ACLU of New Hampshire and New Hampshire Legal Assistance. “This is the government putting a surveillance device operating 24 hours a day, minute by minute, into people's homes, and then claiming total discretion to save that data for as long as it wants.”
Concord Housing said it installed the devices to more accurately detect when a resident violates the terms of their lease by smoking indoors, or violates limits on excess noise. The plaintiffs argue, however, that the information collected by the Minut sensors can be used to track their daily routines, such as when they sleep, have friends over, or even engage in intimate acts in their homes. Tenants were required to sign lease addendums when the Minut devices were installed, and were given no option to opt out.
“There's no consent here,” said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director for the ACLU of New Hampshire. He noted that residents of the public housing programs are often financially insecure with limited options for shelter.
“Your right to housing should not be conditioned on your willingness to waive vital privacy protections and privacy rights,” he said.
‘Hundreds of millions of data points’
Minut markets its devices for short-term property renters, like AirBnB hosts, who may want to prevent their guests from throwing parties. The gadgets can provide real-time alerts when noise or smoke above a certain threshold is detected.
According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, Concord Housing authorized the purchase of approximately 300 devices, at a cost of $46,060, to help the agency detect indoor smoking and better pinpoint noise complaints in its apartment complexes.
The tenants argue, however, that they were misled by the housing agency about how much information was being tracked and stored. Tenants were asked to sign lease addendums outlining a $300 fine for any damage to the Minut device.
The housing authority told residents that there were no cameras in the devices and that they could not listen to conversations. The tenants contend that the housing authority did not explain that decibel levels would be monitored every 60 seconds throughout the day.
The units are also able to track the number of Bluetooth-connected devices within an apartment, which can be used to determine how many visitors there may be in any given apartment in real time.
“Since beginning installation of the Minut Monitors in the fall of 2024, CHRA has amassed hundreds of millions of data points from within tenants’ apartments,” the lawsuit contends.
The case, which was filed in Merrimack County Superior Court, alleges the housing authority is violating a right to informational privacy outlined in New Hampshire’s constitution as well as a ban on warrantless searches by the government.
The plaintiffs are asking a judge to order that all data be deleted and prohibit the housing authority from installing Minut devices unless they have the consent of the tenant.
