Hidden surveillance camera...is it legal?

[dunamisbass]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

My wife and I are one of three parties that rent rooms in a home. The three rooms that the home owners rent out all share a main hallway. I have recently discovered a hidden camera inside a smoke detector in the main hallway above the entrance from the garage.
I caught on to this because the homeowners young daughter blurted out one day that her mom told her that me and my wife, "fight a lot". The next day I asked the young girl how she knew that and she told me that theres a camera, "back there" *as she pointed towards our room*, and that daddy can plug it into the computer and they can "hear" us fighting...(anyone creeped out yet!?)
Anyways, CA law as I understand it allows main/public areas -hallways, entraces, and kitchens- to be videotaped for surveillance by a landlord provided that they only record video and not audio and that all parties are informed of its presence in the home.
Am I correct on this?

What should I do? Do I confront the homeowner about this?
Thanks

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

My wife and I are one of three parties that rent rooms in a home. The three rooms that the home owners rent out all share a main hallway. I have recently discovered a hidden camera inside a smoke detector in the main hallway above the entrance from the garage.
I caught on to this because the homeowners young daughter blurted out one day that her mom told her that me and my wife, "fight a lot". The next day I asked the young girl how she knew that and she told me that theres a camera, "back there" *as she pointed towards our room*, and that daddy can plug it into the computer and they can "hear" us fighting...(anyone creeped out yet!?)
Anyways, CA law as I understand it allows main/public areas -hallways, entraces, and kitchens- to be videotaped for surveillance by a landlord provided that they only record video and not audio and that all parties are informed of its presence in the home.
Am I correct on this?

What should I do? Do I confront the homeowner about this?
Thanks

You are correct. As long as the video surveillance takes place in common areas & does not extend into your private areas (your bedroom or bathroom), and it records ONLY video and NOT audio, it is perfectly legal for LL to record. If you confront LL, he will likely tell you the same thing.

My suggestion is that now you are aware you are being recorded, you should make it a point not to do anything that you don't want the LL to watch unless you are in your own private areas from now on.

 

[dunamisbass]

You are correct. As long as the video surveillance takes place in common areas & does not extend into your private areas (your bedroom or bathroom), and it records ONLY video and NOT audio, it is perfectly legal for LL to record. If you confront LL, he will likely tell you the same thing.

My suggestion is that now you are aware you are being recorded, you should make it a point not to do anything that you don't want the LL to watch unless you are in your own private areas from now on.

Okay. But since they have not notified me, or any of the tenants of its presence and it does record audio (the little girl told me they could "hear" us, and the part of the home that they stay in is far from us) is it illegal?

If so should I talk to the LL about it? As far as they're concerned they have no idea that I know it's there.
One thing that bothers me is the fact that it's hidden. Most "deterent' cams are in plain view. I wonder if they've hidden one have they hidden more?

Thanks for your help

 

[justalayman]

sounds illegal to me. This is from

California Recording Law | Citizen Media Law Project

California Wiretapping Law

California's wiretapping law is a "two-party consent" law. California makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on any confidential communication, including a private conversation or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation. See Cal. Penal Code § 632. The statute applies to "confidential communications" -- i.e., conversations in which one of the parties has an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation. See Flanagan v. Flanagan, 41 P.3d 575, 576-77, 578-82 (Cal. 2002). A California appellate court has ruled that this statute applies to the use of hidden video cameras to record conversations as well. See California v. Gibbons, 215 Cal. App. 3d 1204 (Cal Ct. App. 1989).

If you are recording someone without their knowledge in a public or semi-public place like a street or restaurant, the person whom you're recording may or may not have "an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation," and the reasonableness of the expectation would depend on the particular factual circumstances. Therefore, you cannot necessarily assume that you are in the clear simply because you are in a public place.

If you are operating in California, you should always get the consent of all parties before recording any conversation that common sense tells you might be "private" or "confidential." In addition to subjecting you to criminal prosecution, violating the California wiretapping law can expose you to a civil lawsuit for damages by an injured party. See Cal. Penal Code § 637.2.

take note of the "civil damages" mentioned.

 

[dunamisbass]

You are correct. As long as the video surveillance takes place in common areas & does not extend into your private areas (your bedroom or bathroom), and it records ONLY video and NOT audio, it is perfectly legal for LL to record. If you confront LL, he will likely tell you the same thing.

My suggestion is that now you are aware you are being recorded, you should make it a point not to do anything that you don't want the LL to watch unless you are in your own private areas from now on.

Okay. Hey Sandyclaus, I have a question for you. Because of the feeling of uneasiness that my wife and I share about the possibility of a camera being hidden in or near our room without our knowledge of it we are now looking for a new place to stay.
My question is this: Do I still LEGALLY need to provide them 30-days-notice of us leaving? We are leaving because we feel uncomfortable because of the comments that the owner's daughter made. We feel like the best thing for us to leave asap. We simply do not feel comfortable here anymore. We always have the "hidden camera" in the back of our minds.
Please advise! Thanks so much in advance for you help

 

[Andy0192]

If you try to break your lease based on the uncomfortable feeling you got after talking with the Landlord's young daughter, you're gonna have some trouble.

You can't break your lease based on rumor. Call your local License & Inspections agency, tell them that you believe your landlord might be illegally recording you.

 

[dunamisbass]

If you try to break your lease based on the uncomfortable feeling you got after talking with the Landlord's young daughter, you're gonna have some trouble.

You can't break your lease based on rumor. Call your local License & Inspections agency, tell them that you believe your landlord might be illegally recording you.

When we moved in, we signed a 6-month lease. We completed that term and now are on a month-to-month basis. Does that change anything?

 

[Banned_Princess]

When we moved in, we signed a 6-month lease. We completed that term and now are on a month-to-month basis. Does that change anything?

Why wont you call in an inspector? or the police?

Hellooo Civil Penalties!!

It changes that you can provide the proper California notice to leave, and leave. (30 days or so, sometimes before rent is due, look it up)