1-RFP - Long-Term Rental Data Gathering and Analysis Software Service.docx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RFP# PR2025001013

Provo City, Utah - Long-Term Rental Data Gathering and Analysis Software Service

Date Issued: 9 October 2025 Responses Due By: 9 November 2025

Contacts:

Scott Johnson Zoning Administrator snjohnson@provo.utah.gov

445 West Center Street Provo, Utah 84601 Phone (801) 852-6433

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

SUMMARY

https://utah.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

Proposer’s Name and Address TITLE: Provo City, Utah - Long-Term Rental Data Gathering and Analysis Software Service

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of RFP Provo City, Utah, is seeking qualified vendors to provide a software service capable of gathering, analyzing, and storing data from long-term rental websites. The selected vendor will develop or provide an automated system that collects publicly available rental listing data to support enforcement of local rental regulations and zoning compliance.

The primary objective of this project is to identify unlicensed rental properties, including but not limited to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), that may not comply with local zoning and rental regulations. The system should enable the City to detect properties that are actively being rented without the proper approvals, helping to improve enforcement efforts and ensure compliance with municipal codes. By leveraging advanced data analysis, the City aims to gain better insight into the rental market and take appropriate enforcement actions against unauthorized rental operations.

Background: Provo City Provo is a vibrant college town with a growing population of students, young professionals, and families. With a high demand for rental housing, Provo has a long history of rental properties, including single-family homes, multi-unit dwellings, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The city's unique housing market presents both opportunities and challenges in maintaining compliance with zoning regulations and rental licensing requirements.

Over the years, the increasing demand for rental units has led to concerns about unlicensed rentals and non-compliant ADUs. As a result, Provo City seeks to implement modern tools and data-driven approaches to better monitor and regulate rental properties, ensuring that landlords and tenants comply with local laws.

PROJECT GOALS

The primary goals of this project are to enhance Provo’s ability to monitor, regulate, and enforce compliance with local rental regulations and zoning laws. By implementing a data-driven software solution, the City aims to:

· Identify Unlicensed Rentals: Detect and track unregistered rental properties, including single-family rentals and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), to ensure compliance with licensing requirements.

· Enhance Code Enforcement: Provide city staff with actionable insights and automated tools to streamline enforcement efforts and improve regulatory efficiency.

· Protect Neighborhood Integrity: Reduce the presence of unauthorized rental properties that may negatively impact residential neighborhoods.

· Ensure Legal and Ethical Compliance: Adhere to Utah State and Federal laws regarding data collection, storage, and privacy while implementing ethical data gathering and analysis practices.

SCOPE OF WORK

The requested software service must include:

A. Data Collection

· Ability to extract publicly available data from long-term rental web services.

· Capture key data points such as address, number of units, listing duration, property owner information (if available), and contact details.

· Provide mechanisms to minimize disruption to target web services and comply with their terms of service.

· Use ethical and legally defensible data collection methods, considering website Terms of Service and relevant regulations.

B. Data Accuracy & Integrity

· Implement mechanisms to ensure data accuracy and validity.

· Detect and eliminate duplicate, outdated, or fraudulent listings.

· Cross-reference gathered data with official property ownership.

· Identify and distinguish listings that may be Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).

C. Data Analysis & Processing

· Collect and aggregate rental listing data from available sources.

· Identify patterns of potential noncompliance with zoning and rental licensing regulations.

· Generate customizable reports and visualizations for city staff.

· Implement a distinction in reporting to separate potential ADUs from other rental listings for more targeted enforcement.

D. Data Storage & Security

· Secure storage of collected rental data, ensuring compliance with applicable state and federal privacy laws.

· Implementation of encryption, access control, and other security measures to protect sensitive information.

· Compliance with Utah State data security regulations and relevant Federal standards (e.g., FTC data protection laws).

E. User Interface & Accessibility

· Web-based dashboard for city staff to access and analyze data.

· Search and filtering capabilities for efficient data review.

· Automated alerts for properties suspected of noncompliance.

· Dedicated filtering and tagging of potential ADUs for separate reporting and analysis.

F. Legal & Compliance Considerations

· Ensure compliance with Utah State and Federal laws regarding web data gathering, storage, and privacy.

· Address potential legal challenges, including terms of service violations, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) implications, and Utah consumer protection laws.

· Maintain adherence to public records and data retention policies.

· Provide legal defensibility strategies, including potential litigation support and court-admissible data collection.

G. Data Reporting

· Ability to export data in various formats (e.g., Excel, SQL, etc.).

· Automated data sharing with relevant city departments.

H. System Adaptability & Scalability

· Ability to adapt to changes in web services structures and updates (e.g., handling CAPTCHA challenges).

· Scalability to handle increasing data volumes and expanding sources over time.

· Automated detection of rental site modifications and necessary data gathering adjustments.

I. Support & Maintenance

· Ongoing software updates and maintenance to ensure continued functionality.

· Technical support and training for city staff.

· Clear escalation procedures for issue.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

All submittals shall address the PROJECT GOALS and include the information in the order listed below within the indicated page limits.

Cover Include project name, respondent name and date.

Section 1 Cover Letter (1 page max):

· Organization name, address, and contact details.

· RFQ title and submission date.

· Primary contact name and title.

Section 2 Company Background and Experience – (2 pages max):

· Overview of the company and relevant experience in data gathering, rental analysis, and regulatory compliance.

· Examples of similar projects completed.

Section 3 Technical approach – (4 pages max)

· Proposed methodology for data gathering, processing, and reporting.

· Strategies to minimize detection and ensure data accuracy.

· AI or automation capabilities for improving compliance detection.

· Methods for identifying and distinguishing potential ADUs from other rentals.

Section 4 Legal Compliance and Data Security Strategy – (5 pages max)

· Explanation of how the software and strategies will comply with applicable Utah State and Federal laws.

· Discussion of potential legal risks and mitigation strategies.

· Description of how user data will be protected and stored securely in compliance with data protection laws.

· Strategy for defending against potential legal challenges.

· Strategy for data encryption, access control, and breach prevention measures Section 5 Data Presentation and Accessibility – (3 pages max)

· List of expected web services from which data will be gathered.

· Explanation of how the data collected will be structured and made accessible to city staff.

· Methods for delivering reports, including dashboards, visualizations, and data exports.

· Formats available for data export (e.g. Excel, CSV, PDF, API-based retrieval).

· Usability considerations to ensure city staff can effectively utilize data for analysis and enforcement.

Section 6 Cost Proposal – (2 pages max)

· Detailed pricing structure, including software licensing, maintenance, service fees, data purchase fees, and support costs.

· Breakdown of initial and ongoing costs.

· Potential for future cost increases.

Section 7 Project Timeline and Implementation Plan – (2 pages max)

· Estimated timeline from project initiation to full deployment.

· Key milestones and deliverables.

· Support and training offered to city staff.

Format Requirements of Submittals Statements of Qualifications will be submitted electronically through Bonfire. The City reserves the right to reject submittals that fail to contain all required information or fail to follow all the instructions contained in this RFP.

Consideration of Qualification Submittals Submittals will be reviewed by the qualifications review committee which will include city staff representing various divisions. The committee will make the final selection and make recommendations to the Municipal Council for the firm to receive the RFP. Depending upon the number and quality of submittals, interviews may be conducted during this initial RFP process.

The qualifications review committee will assess each proposal against the criteria listed in the following section, EVALUATION CRITERIA. In selecting one or more qualified respondents under this RFP, the City and Committee will consider responses, interviews, general qualifications, project history, and the evaluation criteria set forth in this RFP.

Addenda and Clarifications of Proposals Addenda to this RFP will be posted on Bonfire. All respondents are responsible for checking the website regularly for any addenda and shall acknowledge each addendum by number in the cover letter to be included in Section 1 of the submittal. Failure to receive or acknowledge an addendum may result in the rejection of the submittal.

During the evaluation of submittals, the City reserves the right to contact a respondent to request additional information for purposes of clarification of RFP responses, reject submittals which contain errors, or at its sole discretion, waive disqualifying errors or gain clarification of any error or unclear information.

EVALUATION CRITIERA

The following criteria will be assessed by the review committee.

I. Vendor’s Experience and Qualifications

a) Demonstrated Experience in data gathering, analysis, and compliance with rental and zoning regulations.

b) Case studies or references from similar municipal projects.

c) Proven track record in developing scalable and legally compliant software solutions.

II. Technical Capabilities and Approach

a) Robust data collection methods that ensure accuracy and minimize detection.

b) AI and automation capabilities to enhance compliance detection.

c) Ability to distinguish and categorize rental properties, including ADUs.

III. Legal Compliance and Risk Mitigation Plan

a) Clear strategy for adhering to Utah State and Federal data privacy laws.

b) Measures to Avoid legal challenges related to data gathering and retention.

c) Legal defensibility and court-admissible data collection methods.

PROJECT SCHEDULE

The following page contains a tentative schedule the City intends to follow in identifying qualified vendors. The City reserves the right to alter this schedule at any time, with or without prior notice, and will post any changes on its website.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Selected Vendor Forms Required The selected vendor will be required to provide complete forms listed below before signing a contract with the City:

· W-9

· Provo City Current Vendor Form

· Certificate of Liability and Workers Comp Insurance (The certificate holder must be listed as “Provo City” – Do not include any department names. (Certificate of Insurance must include a minimum of $1,000,000.00 for General Liability and $2,000,000.00 for General Aggregate).

· E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) letter

Insurance Requirements:

Professional Liability (Technology Errors & Omissions): Professional Liability Insurance (Technology Errors & Omissions insurance) for Contractor’s liability arising out of the rendering professional service, including design, programming, security, and any other information technology related work in an amount not less than $5,000,000 each claim, $5,000,000 aggregate. Contractor shall provide a certificate of insurance verifying coverage for a period of not less than three years after project completion.

Network Security and Privacy Liability (Cyber Liability): Cyber Liability Insurance for Contractor’s liability arising out of the handling, storage or access to protected information retained by the City and shall respond to the loss or theft of protected information, including all legal and forensic expenses, voluntary notifications, credit monitoring expenses and subsequent third-party liability claims arising from the cyber event. Coverage shall apply to business associates and subcontractors. Limits shall be provided not less than $5,000,000 each claim, $5,000,000 aggregate.

Inquiries All inquiries related to this RFP are to be submitted through Bonfire via the following link: https://utah.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities. Please provide an email address for your response.

Withdrawal or Revisions to Submittal Any submittal may be withdrawn by written notice to Provo City any time prior to the date and time specified for submittal. Such notice of withdrawal shall be in writing to the contact individual provided. Any respondent may modify their submittal prior to the date and time specified for submittal by email communication to the contact individual.

Public Information All information submitted in response to this RFP may be made available for public inspection according to public records laws of the State of Utah.

Process & Right to Reject At any phase, the City reserves the right to terminate, suspend, or modify this selection process; reject any or all submittals; and to negotiate the terms of the RFP stage with the selected proposer(s).

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