Should I cover the cost of security cameras for my tenants?

Question

Hi BP, in one of my rentals in Indianapolis, I have an amazing tenant who always pay on time, really takes care of the property, and seems to be really making this a long term home.  Unfortunately they have had their car broken into twice now and asked if they can install security cameras.  They weren't asking me to pay for it but I'm wondering if it might be a good investment for me to do so.  I did just bump of their rent a little bit but since they just signed a new lease, I couldn't increase any further until next Jan.

I saw SimpliSafe outdoor cameras were only $170 each and the tenant could install it themselves.  I personally think it could be worth it to buy 1 or 2 to make the tenant feel safe in the house and further incentive them to stay long-term but I'm not sure if this makes the most business sense.

Has anyone seen a big difference in rent or value in the house if they have security cameras? Is SimpliSafe the way to go? I plan on running this by my PM as well but any input here would be greatly appreciated thanks everyone!

Tim Miller · Answer

If the tenant is ask if they can put camera's up, by all means let them. This takes the pressure & legal headaches off of you.

We just finished installing 4 Ring door bells for our duplex and one tenant just called about their car being broken into. They want to buy a Ring Flood Light with camera to add to their door bell account. We said sure not a problem. They now control the situation, so if anything goes wrong, it's not on us.

Greg Scott · Answer

As a landlord you add liability if you have a promise, overt or implied, that you are offering safety.   Security cameras imply you are providing safety.  We only install surveillance cameras because we use them to observe our property.

Cameras can be a bit of a mixed bag.   First, they send a message, good or bad to prospective residents.  Second, our experience is that they are hit or miss on effectiveness.  We can sometimes identify individuals from the camera recordings.  Once we caught someone on camera stealing rent checks at 2AM.  We could make out their face and have them on audio but the 4K camera feed was not good enough to read their license plate number.  So, in the end, it wasn't terribly helpful.

Personally, I like having cameras, which we have placed around our clubhouse.  I can look at them and see if the staff is there or if the snowstorm hit, and generally see the condition of the property any time I want. We use the reolink system which was super easy to set up and viewable from a smartphone, laptop, or on a fixed monitor.   You can customize the alarms and recordings to a great degree. We've had such a good experience, we bought another system for our maintenance shop so we can keep an eye on that too.

*Added photo

Theresa Harris · Answer

Let the tenant do it stating that they need to be removed when they leave and installed to cause minimal damage to the home.

David P. · Answer

@Greg Scott I agree with you mixed bags I purchase a rental property with existing tenants I decided to put cameras in and around the property common areas and tenants do not like that they felt I'm invading their privacy one tenant even mentioned about we don't steal and another decided to cover the camera with a rag in the laundry room

Mike Eichler · Answer

In my opinion, unless you want the cameras too I would say put the cost unto them, another option would. be to offer a split of the cost with the tenant, then you can have those cameras forever and also only pay half, they are happy because you are willing to work with them and good cameras arent really that expensive especially if you split with them.

Michael Colello · Answer

@Taylor Dasch, @Greg Scott, @Tim Miller, @Will Kenner, @Joshua Messinger, @Will Gaston

Thank you guys so much for the quick and very insightful responses.  It seems that I would be putting myself in too much of a liability situation for not much return.  Especially since the tenant is offering to do it themselves, I should just let them handle it themselves.  Thanks everyone for the guidance here, have a wonderful weekend!

Will Gaston · Answer

I do student rentals and security is a sensitive topic. I fought this for 10+ years and would never do a security system bc I (rightfully) knew the tenant's would use it once and then never again.

However, I regret that. I was swimming upstream the entire time.

It's far easier just to put something at the house to placate the tenants and parents. We use a Ring System which is a few hundred dollars and a few hundred more to install.

Time + occupancy does most of the heavy lifting in real estate. Don't sweat things like this. Just be agreeable to reasonable requests and go find the next deal.

Joshua Messinger · Answer

I agree with @Tim Miller! If they are asking to put the cameras up then let them. Then you won't have to worry about managing/controlling the footage that is recorded.

Will Kenner · Answer

@Michael Colello I agree with @Greg Scott on the issue of promising security and the potential for the false belief of "24 hr surveillance". As @Tim Miller mentioned, if the tenant wants to install them go ahead and let them. That puts the monitoring and maintenance in their hands, not on you, all the while showing you are agreeable to your tenant's requests and concerns.

Taylor Dasch · Answer

I wouldnt say it makes a difference in rental value for the property, however if they are good tenants I would do it just to show them I care, if its just 170 and a one time cost, I wouldnt do it if I had to pay monthly though.

Should I cover the cost of security cameras for my tenants?

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