Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Tenant rights

I assume the cameras are in public areas, not in your apartment or other place where you would reasonably expect privacy. If so, there is no reason why the landlady could not see the tapes. The tapes should show only what any passerby could see.

Re: Tenant rights

The first question is whether the cameras' real usefulness and purpose is tenant security or owner/landlord/manager snooping. If their use and purpose is genuinely for tenant security, then it is not only legal, it is highly appropriate for non-owner management personnel to view the cameras' output, either live or on tape. Some large buildings hire doormen or guard services whose duties include monitoring security camera output.

On the other hand, tenants have a right to privacy, and if the cameras are being used to monitor tenant activities or to count or identify legitimate visitors, any viewing by the owner, landlord, manager, etc. could be an improper invasion of privacy.