You are right to be concerned, however there are stronger arguments against it than the ‘cleanliness’ argument.
I am not a fan of this type of security in strata either. “Cracking a nut with a sledge hammer” is never really necessary.
Has there been an issue with overcrowding in your building? And if so what measures have been tried so far to solve this issue?
Unlike in other countries Australian legislation has not yet caught up with the storage and use of this type of personal information. Until the legislation has caught up with this type of security I personally would not want it used in my building.
I have a feeling that some people in your building may be using the ‘overcrowding’ argument as an excuse to stop AirBnb and hence the fingerprint security.
There are many benign situations where an Owner may need someone to access their apartment when they are not a home e.g. having a relative or friend water the pot plants. Unless that person has their finger prints in the system then they won’t be able to get into your building.
I would hope that before this new security measure is put in place that a By-law will be drafted by a lawyer that satisfactorily covers all of the issues of concern e.g. how to protect the personal information they hold from misuse, interference, loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure etc. and that Owners will be given the opportunity to approve it (or not) as per the legislation.
By-laws need a Special Resolution.
Entering your building should not be akin to entering or exiting jail, or crossing an international border. I also dislike the proliferation of CCTV cameras in strata buildings.
Incidentally, the footage from CCTV cameras is available to be accessed by the strata owners as it is deemed to form part of the records of the building. Will this be the same for finger prints?
Note the quote from the following interesting article:
the controller should balance the possible advantages and disadvantages for the data subject’s private life on the one hand and the envisaged purposes on the other hand, and consider possible alternatives that are less intrusive for private life.