Modern Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) offers a level of security to homes never before seen. Owners can stream high-definition videos of the properties, receive activation alerts, listen to conversations, speak to people knocking at their front door, save and store images and video, and enjoy a host of other handy security features – all from an app on their smartphone and from virtually anywhere in the world.
That sounds great, but there is a serious problem for property investors.
Installing video surveillance in your investment property, particularly holiday properties is an issue.
While the law is non-prescriptive in this area, the issue that can land property owners in a lot of bother is ‘Privacy”.
Unlike the sanctity of your own home, holiday properties are visited by lots of different people, usually by people the owner does not know, and these guests can expect a level of privacy that CCTV cameras may impede upon.
CCTV cameras in holiday properties are not necessarily a bad thing, but it is reasonable for guests to know they are there, and for CCTV cameras not to be filming or recording areas where guests can reasonably expect privacy (eg: backyard swimming pools).
As many modern CCTV cameras also record conversations, it is not at all surprising to learn that many guests do not want to be filmed and listened to by the landlord.
We have noticed that a growing number of holiday property owners have installed video surveillance cameras in their properties, typically recording the various access points to the house, and backyards.
It is inevitable if you have CCTV cameras installed at your holiday property, and guests were not warned that they were there, a guest will eventually raise serious concerns about the invasion of their privacy, and seek retribution.
If you have CCTV cameras at your holiday home, it is therefore our intention to place CCTV signs alerting guests of the presence of cameras on the property. They will not be the big ugly yellow signs, but will be a bit more discreet and stylish and located near the various cameras. Owners who do not want us to install the signs must alert us as a matter of urgency, and inform us of how they intend to notify guests of the presence of CCTV cameras.
While we are conducting our inspections, if we notice cameras capturing areas such as swimming pools, we will contact the owner for a chat.
We understand that owners typically install cameras to monitor the security of their property, or to check the level of the water in the pool, or any number of other valid reasons. However, landlords must also be mindful of each guest’s right to privacy, and the serious implications that non-consensual recording of guests can cause.