Hangzhou, hometown of e-commerce giant Alibaba is tapping the company’s technology prowess to set up an official online property rental platform, as the central government encourages cities to offer more housing options to residents amid a shortage of affordable homes. The housing security and management bureau in Hangzhou signed an agreement with Alibaba and Ant Financial to use their information verification and credit-scoring technologies in service of the government, the two sides said in separate statements on Wednesday. The project will “resolve the multiple prominent problems in the house rental market such as fake information, volatile relations between landlords and tenants, and irregular rental practices,” the bureau said in its statement. Last year, the State Council, China’s cabinet, ordered local governments to develop the rental market, to help meet rising demand for housing in towns and cities and rein in surging property prices, according to Caixin.