Can my landlord do this?

Question

A year ago my landlord said that I could install a ring doorbell. When I put it up I informed the other roommate of the fact that I got it because there have been multiple break ins in the area not to mention the neighbor had their lawn guys truck broken into between our houses. Now the other tenant has issue with it and my landlord is telling me to take it down because they did not install it. Can my landlord do this?

The camera show points to the road which shows the driveway, yard and front porch and per North Carolina it is not illegal.

Jim K. · Answer

@Taylor Osterhout

Yes, your landlord can tell you to take it down. The other tenant has a problem with it. What makes you think your desire to have a doorbell of the type you describe with access to the monitoring service is more important than the other tenants' desire not to be monitored at your discretion? Why does your desire for increased security trounce the other tenant's right to privacy?

This is not a complicated ethical question.

Randy E. · Answer

@Taylor Osterhout

You're asking the wrong question.  You're wondering if you can use a text message to create a legal shenanigan to maintain a situation that infringes upon other tenants.  Maybe you can.  Maybe you can't.

Another way to look at it is to ask yourself if you are ready to move.  If I had a tenant who did something like this and refused to undo it, I would give them a 30-day notice as soon as the lease expired.  If the tenant was on a month-to-month lease, I would give him a 30-day notice immediately.

As a landlord with multiple tenants in one property, it is a simple decision.  Your doorbell's ability to invade the other tenants' privacy will be a problem for many other tenants.  Tenants who might decide to move out, or never move in in the first place.  The doorbell is the root of the landlord's problem -- I would first try to get rid of the doorbell, and if I could not, I would get rid of the tenant who won't remove the doorbell.

Mike Dymski · Answer

Give your landlord a call and see if they will buy the ring from you.  Most people don't need contracts to honor their word.

Jim K. · Answer

I occasionally wonder if it isn't true that every landlord needs a gorilla suit and a wrecking bar kept in a storage locker rented under somebody else's name to deal with situations like these. Something in a 36-inch gooseneck.

Randy E. · Answer

Wow!  Talk about burying the lede.

Wesley W. · Answer

@Greg M.

Well, I think the complication is this is a multi-unit dwelling and the ring doorbell is being placed in a common area by a tenant, not the landlord.  At the very least, this is bad form if the landlord allows this in light of the protestations of the other tenant.   It would be one thing if the landlord disclosed that he/she would be placing a surveillance device in a common area for the purposes of security, but I can see why it would bother a tenant (and, quite frankly, the landlord) that one tenant now has surveillance over an area of the premises.

From a legal standpoint, jurisdictions vary widely in their laws - search for the thread about NJ and audio/video cameras last month for a taste - so I won't get into the weeds whether the OP is in a "one party" or "two party" state with regards to surveillance.

By her own admission, the OP is already suffering the fallout from the other tenant from her overstepping bounds and making them uncomfortable in their own home.  The situation has already escalated with the other resident.

Sure, someone could set up a dash cam, park their car in front of the property and monitor said entrance, but I don't see how this is any different than any other kind of "tenant on tenant" harassment.  Or just replace the OP with an "ex boyfriend" in this situation, and you can see the issues bubbling up.  Minimally, it's drama.

It looks like the landlord was sloppy here, as most agree, but that still doesn't give the OP the right.

@Taylor Osterhout

I guess you have to ask yourself if you are ready to have to move over this?  You must remember that this is not "your house" and you are sharing a residence with someone else whom has expectations of privacy.  I think this is a good lesson on courtesy and how to be a good neighbor, and diplomatically addressing your concerns with your landlord.

Bill B. · Answer

IMHO the landlord screwed up. If I was the tenant and I had the landlord’s ok to install something/anything and then after I purchased it and installed at my own expense was asked to remove it, I wouldn’t be happy.

The landlord should have either gotten every tenant’s ok or had the tenant to that. They probably thought it was no big deal.

What if it was 1 day after he was given the ok? He buys it, pays someone to install it and then the landlord says take it down. You say but you ok’d this. What’s the landlord’s response? That was yesterday this is today?

Greg M. · Answer

I fail to see how a Ring doorbell would restrict the peaceful enjoyment of the unit or violate the right to privacy of the other tenant. It would be extremely difficult to win an argument that your peaceful enjoyment of the unit is violated just because there is a recording of the public view front yard. As for right to privacy, again, it is recording an area that is completely in public view. The other tenant might find it creepy, but nothing is being accomplished by the Ring that couldn't be accomplished by a dash cam in the OP's car parked on the street in front of the unit. OP could just sit on the porch and accomplish the same thing. And he does have the right to record people without their permission. They are in public view and have no right to privacy.

If I were OP, I'd talk to the landlord and ask for some sort of compensation as you are out money for the purchase. I wouldn't push to keep it installed as I suspect that as others have stated, you will find yourself being non-renewed.

Wesley W. · Answer

Is the "roommate" you mention a tenant in another unit in your building?  Is the door  in question a common entrance?  Did you get written permission from the landlord?  What does the lease say about additions/alterations to the property?

NC law does not necessarily apply, because you do not own the property.  The owner has entered into a legally binding contract with you that stipulates what you can and can't do on THEIR property.

Mike Cumbie · Answer

I would think the landlord can have you remove it. Tenant may not be a fan of having their movent tracked. Especially if they have been reminded of that fact over there last year. "You came in at 2:30.... Here is you and Mary leaving at 11:00.... I see you got a package today.... Who was that guy you had here yesterday with the blue shirt".

Can my landlord do this?

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