Reader Questions - Their Cameras Make ME Insecure

h o a homefront reader questions Jul 03, 2017

Hey Kelly,

A new owner in our condo complex rented it to tenants who installed security cameras on the exterior of their unit, one on their front door and one on their balcony that pans all outside their doorway and mine, the interior of my patio, everybody’s balcony, and down the corridor, so all residents are filmed going to the front gate entry.

Is there a law that would help me? I can’t stand seeing their camera from the interior of my patio, which I feel is my personal space.

Thank you,

T.M., Redondo Beach

Dear T.M.,

I am assuming your condominium unit is the typical format in which the condominium plan defines the unit as a block of airspace, bounded by the unfinished surfaces of walls, ceilings and floors. If that is true, then the exterior walls are common area, and as such is under the association’s control.

Condominium owners often mistakenly believe the walls outside their unit are “theirs” for installation of potted plants, flags, or in this case cameras. However, owners must obtain association permission before making such alterations to the common area, or risk association enforcement action, fines, and perhaps even litigation.

The HOA might demand the cameras be removed by the owner and the walls patched. If the landlord failed to heed the demand, the HOA could hold a disciplinary hearing or even, after advance notice, hire the appropriate personnel to remove the cameras from the walls at the owner’s expense. On the other hand, the HOA could also decide to retroactively approve the installation.

However, before the board takes any action to retroactively permit or compel removal of the cameras, the board should carefully consider the situation. The 1986 California Supreme Court opinion of Frances T. v. Village Green Owners Association instructs us that while associations control common area, they must do so responsibly. In that case, a homeowner had complained of a crime wave and asked for more lighting outside her unit. The HOA did not install more lights, and she installed additional lights without HOA permission, connecting them to her authorized exterior lights. The HOA ordered her to cut the power to the lights, and when she did so it also turned off her original outside lights, leaving her unit in complete darkness. She was assaulted in her home, and the Supreme Court ruled that HOAs could be found negligent because homeowner associations owe their residents the same duty of care as landlords owe to their tenants.

Your HOA board might first want to consider whether the building has had security incidents recently. If not, the cameras might not reasonably be necessary, and therefore removal by the resident or the association is appropriate. If the association removes the cameras, it should only proceed after consulting legal counsel and advance written notice to the resident.

On the other hand, if the building is experiencing criminal events, there may be other more effective ways to respond to that concern. Perhaps the association’s security vendor could advise the board on the best way to improve security in the complex.

If the association allows the cameras, the board should require their field of view be changed to avoid intruding into other homes or patios.

Thanks for your question,
Kelly


Written by Kelly G. Richardson

Kelly G. Richardson Esq., CCAL, is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and a Partner of Richardson | Ober | DeNichilo LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit questions to [email protected]. Past columns at www.hoahomefront.com. All rights reserved®.