Legislation - Security camera in my rented room

ito

Hi there!

A friend of mine told me that she has an IP Camera in the bedroom that she is renting.

I am wondering how legal is that... Do you know something about it?

Thanks in advance,

ito

I just want to clarify that it was SHE the one who put the camera for security reasons, just in case someone was breaking into her bedroom.

retepnosnikta

ito wrote: »

I just want to clarify that it was SHE the one who put the camera for security reasons, just in case someone was breaking into her bedroom.

Besides the fact that if your friend can log in remotely to check their camera so can any hacker with half of a brain cell and view your friends every movement and stream it on the web for everyone to view, is it really necessary to have it in the bedroom. Maybe at the entrance to the bedroom door would make more sense.

bk

OP it isn't clear if the camera:

1) is in the room she is using herself, as in she is renting the room for a landlord and sleeping in.
2) is in a room she is renting out to someone else (she is the landlord), who is then the occupant in the room.

Now I'm not a solicitor, if in doubt seek legal advice.

If it is the former, then it is probably ok, though she might need to inform anyone else who comes into the room, in particular any people who enter to do work in the room.

If it is the latter, then that could potentially be a very serious violation of the new GDPR rules and possibly many other privacy rules.

retepnosnikta wrote: »

Besides the fact that if your friend can log in remotely to check their camera so can any hacker with half of a brain cell and view your friends every movement and stream it on the web for everyone to view, is it really necessary to have it in the bedroom. Maybe at the entrance to the bedroom door would make more sense.

That is overstating things quiet a bit. If you are talking about cheap chinese IP cameras, then yes, they are rather insecure, but the new generation of cloud IP cameras from the likes of Nest, Arlo, Circle, etc. use very sophisticated security and there have been no serious reports of those systems being hacked.

Of course no guarantees, anything is possible, so a degree of caution is good. I agree better to have them overlooking doors/windows rather then your bed.

Also another idea is to power your camera off a separate smart plug and only power on the plug (and thus the camera) when you are out of the house. This should mean there are no recordings when you are home.

irish_goat

Thread title says "camera in my room", thread content says "friend's room"...Are you asking for a friend?

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

ito

First of all, thank you all for your answers. I really appreciate them.

Now, let me clarify a little bit more:

* She gave me the idea for my own security, and I was wondering how legal it is.
* She rented a room in a house for herself and nobody else. Because she is scared of someone breaking into it, she put the camera in case of robbery.
* The title is quite generic, just trying to summarize it.
* She already has that plug (Lidl?) and she turns it on when she leaves the house.
* bk, thanks especially for those comments.

retepnosnikta

ito wrote: »

First of all, thank you all for your answers. I really appreciate them.

Now, let me clarify a little bit more:

* She gave me the idea for my own security, and I was wondering how legal it is.
* She rented a room in a house for herself and nobody else. Because she is scared of someone breaking into it, she put the camera in case of robbery.
* The title is quite generic, just trying to summarize it.
* She already has that plug (Lidl?) and she turns it on when she leaves the house.
* bk, thanks especially for those comments.

That’s a little clearer.

She rents a room in a multi occupancy house and the room is for her own exclusive use. I assume she secures the door in times of absences.

She cannot have the camera pointing out onto common areas. What she can do is mount the camera on the inside of her room pointing at the door and place a sticker on the door advising of this. This will allow her to view any unauthorised entry while maintaining her privacy and not impinging on others.

I do understand the camera is not active when she is away but a generic Lidl camera I doubt would afford a very high level of security against hackers.

My advice to her would be to have the landlord install one or two 5 lever mortise locks to ensure door integrity. Night latches and such like are a complete waste of time and easily breached by the would be thief.

bk

Again I stress that I'm not a solicitor and it isn't legal advise. Just my own reading.

I believe you have no problem at all using CCTV cameras in your own room. It falls under domestic use.

Here is some info on CCTV and GDPR for you:
https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Data-Protection-CCTV/m/242.htm

If you scroll down to the end, you will see the part: "Domestic use of CCTV systems."

The only thing to watch out for is if the landlord is coming into the room for inspection or to carry out maintenance. Then probably best to disconnect the system as that might fall under recording an employee section.

Of course I'd also recommend keeping the camera off if you have any friends around.

Good general advice from retepnosnikta there. Though I don't think you need a warning sign on your door in a domestic setting, but no harm if you prefer to do that.

NinetyTwoTeam

retepnosnikta wrote: »

ito wrote: »

First of all, thank you all for your answers. I really appreciate them.

Now, let me clarify a little bit more:

* She gave me the idea for my own security, and I was wondering how legal it is.
* She rented a room in a house for herself and nobody else. Because she is scared of someone breaking into it, she put the camera in case of robbery.
* The title is quite generic, just trying to summarize it.
* She already has that plug (Lidl?) and she turns it on when she leaves the house.
* bk, thanks especially for those comments.

That’s a little clearer.

She rents a room in a multi occupancy house and the room is for her own exclusive use. I assume she secures the door in times of absences.

She cannot have the camera pointing out onto common areas. What she can do is mount the camera on the inside of her room pointing at the door and place a sticker on the door advising of this. This will allow her to view any unauthorised entry while maintaining her privacy and not impinging on others.

I do understand the camera is not active when she is away but a generic Lidl camera I doubt would afford a very high level of security against hackers.

My advice to her would be to have the landlord install one or two 5 lever mortise locks to ensure door integrity. Night latches and such like are a complete waste of time and easily breached by the would be thief.

You're pretty optimistic if you think a landlord would do that. Irish landlords aren't going to install two fancy locks just because you ask.

The camera is a silly idea imo.

If you're not home and someone breaks in, they'll just smash the camera as soon as they see it. even if it uploads to the cloud you won't have any chance getting the guards to identify the person unless they are basically apprehended right after, in which case you won't need a camera anway. they gardai are not going to take your cctv and start running facial recognition software on it like an episode of CSI, for some crap getting robbed out of a rented room

bk

NinetyTwoTeam wrote: »

The camera is a silly idea imo.

If you're not home and someone breaks in, they'll just smash the camera as soon as they see it. even if it uploads to the cloud you won't have any chance getting the guards to identify the person unless they are basically apprehended right after, in which case you won't need a camera anway. they gardai are not going to take your cctv and start running facial recognition software on it like an episode of CSI, for some crap getting robbed out of a rented room

While their is truth to what you are saying, I do think cameras have uses.

I think many people who share are just as worried about housemates coming into their room and routing around in their stuff. This could help inform them of that.

In the case of a burglar. The OP could upgrade to something like Nest, Logitech Circle or the many other modern IP cameras. They send you immediate notification and pictures of an intruder. You could then immediately call the Gardai and inform them their is currently a burglar in your home. A confirmed call to the Gardai like that would get decent priority.

You could also use the two way speech on these cameras to inform the thief that they are being recorded and the Gardai called. That would frighten many off.

After all this is the whole concept of how services like Netwatch work, monitoring building sites, etc.

BTW I picked up my Logitech Circle 2 camera for just £70 from Amazon Warehouse. It doesn't require a sub for indoor use like this. Would be a decent option for the OP IMO.