Creepy ass landlord installed a security camera INSIDE (inside and pointed inside) the living room of a rental house without first seeking consent from any of the tenants. Landlord does NOT live there. Is this legal? Im pretty sure the camera also has audio recording capability which I am 99.9% sure IS completely illegal. I could see outside cameras being completely legal, but INSIDE cameras in a living room + kitchen combination area. Not sure of the legality.
Texas privacy laws are pretty strict, you have a right to privacy in your own home. Almost definitely not legal.
Thank you for replying. Since I rent a room rather than the whole home, does that change anything?
Yes. Are there other tenants in the home? Common areas can be monitored in shared homes.
*Not a lawyer. Just lots of google and Reddit fu.
2 Likes
Isnt that restricted to shared hallways and entryways and not living areas?
Be a shame if that camera were to end up obstructed.
7 Likes
That’s the language I see for apartment buildings but you’re describing bedrooms inside of a single house so the common areas may be different.
Yeah, im not sure if a living room is considered a “public area” or not. Hard to tell.
Hire a Lawyer. or Check with the Texas Tenant’s Union https://txtenants.org
PENAL CODE
TITLE 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON
CHAPTER 21. SEXUAL OFFENSES
Sec. 21.17. VOYEURISM. (a) A person commits an offense if the person, with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the actor, observes another person without the other person’s consent while the other person is in a dwelling or structure in which the other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.
3 Likes
I assume this landlord is paying for his(?) own internet service at the home? If it were me, his service would go down often for unexplained reasons.
I don’t know about the rest of it but audio monitoring/recording is 100% illegal regardless of property ownership and regardless of warnings or notice. Notice is not the same as consent.
Also: if placement of the camera isn’t a condition of your lease then I don’t see how covering the camera would violate the lease. But I’m no lawyer.
1 Like
I recommend that, if you’re a DMS member, you get your green dot. It proves you’re a member.
Then, people are more likely to want to help, since you’ve proved you’re a member of our community and not some rando in Milwaulkee.
2 Likes