Can a Landlord Put Security Cameras in My Building?

Where can a landlord legally put cameras?

Rental camera rules come from three separate kinds of state law, and it helps to keep them apart: voyeurism and surveillance statutes (what a camera may look at), landlord entry statutes (when a landlord may come into your unit), and eavesdropping statutes (whether sound may be recorded). In the statutes we read for this page, the limits attach to private spaces, entry and audio, not to cameras on building entrances or common areas as such.

The hard line is privacy. California Penal Code 647(j) makes it a crime to view the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room "or the interior of any other area in which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy" by means of a camera, with intent to invade privacy, and separately bans using a concealed camera to record a person who may be undressed in those places. New York's unlawful surveillance in the second degree, Penal Law 250.45, covers surreptitious recording in places such as a washroom, shower or room assigned to hotel guests without the person's knowledge or consent, and is a class E felony. A landlord's ownership of the building does not create an exception.

The second line is entry. California Civil Code 1954 lets a landlord enter only for listed purposes, such as emergencies, necessary or agreed repairs and showing the unit, generally with reasonable written notice (24 hours is presumed reasonable), and says the landlord "may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant." Florida Statutes 83.53 requires at least 24 hours' notice before entering for repairs, between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., with the same anti-harassment language. Other states have their own entry statutes; your state's version is the one that applies.

The third line is audio. A hallway camera that records conversations is an eavesdropping question, and several states require every party's consent. The state-by-state detail is in home security camera audio recording laws.

Can tenants install their own security cameras?

Inside your own unit, a camera that sits on a shelf and plugs into an outlet is, in most leases, your business. The questions start when the camera is mounted, wired or pointed outside your door.

• Drilling and wiring. Most leases restrict alterations. A wired doorbell or a hard-mounted outdoor camera is an alteration; a battery or adhesive-mounted camera usually is not. Read the alterations clause, and ask in writing if it is unclear.
• Cameras that see shared space. A doorbell or peephole camera in an apartment hallway records neighbors and visitors, not only your own door. Many leases and building rules address this directly. Use the app's privacy tools to mask what is not yours: Ring, for example, offers Privacy Zones (areas the camera will not show or record, up to two per device) and a setting to turn off audio recording, which its support page says requires a compatible Ring subscription.
• Audio. Indoor cameras record roommates, guests, cleaners and maintenance staff. In an all-party consent state, recording their conversations without consent is the legal risk, not the video.

Options for apartment doors specifically are compared in video doorbells for apartments, and the wider renter setup (portable sensors, deposit-safe mounting, what moves with you) is in home security for renters.

Small buildings, duplexes and owner-occupied rentals

The lines blur when the owner lives on site. In a duplex or a house with a rented basement, the owner's own doorbell may cover a shared entrance or driveway, and the owner's indoor cameras may sit in space the tenant walks through. The same three rules apply: no views into the tenant's private space, entry only on the terms of your state's statute and the lease, and audio only within consent law.

The practical fix is to write it down. A lease addendum that lists each camera's location, says whether it records audio, and says who can see the footage removes most disputes before they start. Owners of two- to four-unit buildings will find shared-entry security options in duplex and multi-family security.

If you find a camera you believe points into your private space, document it with photos, put your objection to the landlord in writing, and contact local law enforcement or a tenant rights organization if it is not removed. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice; state law varies and the statutes quoted here are examples, not a full survey.