Montana: I rented a home with a three car garage. In the furthest carport my landlord keeps his personal storage. He told me about it and I agreed that it would be kept private (no snooping) as a condition of the rental. BUT he did not inform me that he had a motion recorder that takes video and or pictures in there. It is only pointed at his storage but isn't that illegal? Doesn't he have to inform me that it is there before I rent.
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Video/Picture recorder on rental property.
- Thread starter ob1coby
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quincy
Senior Member
No. He does not have to inform you that he has a surveillance camera set up to videotape his personal storage area. You have no expectation of privacy (or any business being, for that matter) in that area of the garage.
The landlord told you all you needed to know - that the area was private and you were not allowed to snoop, this as a condition of the rental.
In rentals some localities will not allow meter sharing when tenant is the one being billed for a utility where something that does not benefit the tenant and is outside of the tenants control since someone else has the ability turn on/ off the item (s) the tenant is being billed for , In other localities If a LL is going to have a meter shared with tenant and some thing else like say a garage or shed that the LL or another party has exclusive use of then it must be disclosed in writing in the lease of the person who will be paying for that meters use SO ob1coby If that camera is connected to your electric meter and LL failed to disclose it to you #1 may be able to shut off the power to that garage since LL failed to disclose to you that you would have to pay for that garages utility #2 use the courts to force the LL to pay the entire electric bill since you would have no way to know what else is plugged in or to shut those things off #3 negotiate a written rent reduction (that's one reason it matters since if it was me Id go for the LL paying the whole elect bill or just shutting off the power to that garage and telling the LL his failure to disclose a shared utility in my lease is why its going to stay off {since that would end up preventing the camera from working} Other wise I would suggest using the links above and just arranging for a consultation as to what laws would address this (especially if there is a local law that addresses it )
Wait, I haven't been able to inspect the camera closely yet but my guess is that in the worst case scenario it uses maybe $3 a month worth of energy. you're saying that if I can prove that it's plugged in, I can sue him for the entire energy bill?! that would be awesome! That would be like $1,500 since I moved in. I love the way the law works in this country!
States are pretty clear in their state laws when they allow a meter to be billed to tenant but not exclusive to the tenants use such as things like a garage or shed at a single family home that is excluded from tenant use they will require disclosure to the tenant in writing what utility is shared which is why one can often find so called House meters in multi units SO if a tenant were to sue in small claims court for reimbursement of a utility the LL didn't disclose to them in writing as shared, personally I think its very fair to ask the court to penalize the LL for the whole bill , some judges may see this as extreme but in the end how would you know if the LL had a freezer or two out there and plugged in ? if it was locked up ?or you were denied access ? Other states have formulas if the LL uses a apportioning system where there are not individual meters SO any way its one area to explore Other wise as I said you may have to arrange a consult to learn what your states laws are pertaining to that camera ( or if there is a local law that addresses it )
quincy
Senior Member
If the motion detector/video recorder is battery operated (as you believe it could be), and the landlord has nothing plugged in (as you suspect he doesn't), the landlord is not doing anything for which you can seek compensation. The recording device is not illegal because it is a video recorder according to you (and not an audio recorder, for which different laws can apply) and it is not in an area where there is an expectation of privacy (like a bathroom or bedroom). It is not even in an area that should affect you at all, like it would be if the landlord was surreptitiously recording the inside of the rental home.
The landlord is merely ensuring that the personal items he has stored in the area of the carport reserved for him are kept safe.
Why the concern?
I was able to inspect things last night with a pair of binoculars. the camera is called a trail cam and is battery operated and there are no cords connected to it at all. Also I was able to inspect the perimeter and he has nothing plugged in at all. so it looks like I can't sup him for a bunch of money. But many trail cams can record with video and audio, so how does that work?
quincy
Senior Member
Surreptitious audio recording can be legally problematic.
Here is an overview of the laws that apply to audio recording: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations
And here is a link to Montana-specific laws: http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/montana
ob1coby, what is your concern here? Did your landlord catch you on a recording looking through his off-limits personal belongings?
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