Do Security Cameras in HOAs and Condominiums Infringe on Privacy Rights?

Use of security cameras is widespread in HOAs and condominiums, but it can also be controversial.  Cameras are often positioned to view both the owners’  lot and nearby property. When disputes arise, homeowners want the community to take their side. However, the legal obligations often are not clear. The developer constructs the community and includes use restrictions in the land records. Thereafter, general law and technology evolve at separate paces. Residents install security cameras based on generalized fear or in reaction to a specific incident. Often, someone finds this objectionable because it records their lot or common area (or could easily be reconfigured to do so). Many associations install video cameras on common elements in response to security complaints. Video cameras allow property owners to easily monitor their property while doing other things. This can cause neighbors to feel a loss of useful value to the “open” portions of their property due to a feeling of being surveilled. . . .

To read the remainder of this article about security cameras in HOAs and condominiums I wrote for the Spring 2023 issue of The Fee Simple, click here.