SINGAPORE: A woman went on social media to express that she and five other ladies renting a coliving space felt uneasy when their landlord suddenly installed a CCTV camera in the living room.
“It’s been 5 months in and no issues. However, just today landlord put up a cctv in the living area – watching over hallway at the main door and toilet. At the angle, the cctv can see pretty much the whole apartment,” the woman wrote on r/askSingapore on Tuesday (April 9).
The woman mentioned this was a surprise because the landlord never informed them, not even through the group chat.
She also clarified that there was no such clause in the contract. Before signing the Tenant Agreement (TA), she even inquired whether there was CCTV in the coliving area, to which the landlord replied, “No.”
“Funny thing is when I went to work, one of the agent came in to do some repair for the broken cabinets and didn’t even mention that he will be setting up the cctv!”
“Is this even legal? All of us are very uncomfortable since this apartment is all ladies, and by the angle, it has a view of the bathroom too.”
“Legal if it’s not inside toilet, you don’t bath or use the toilet with the door open, right?”
Singaporean Redditors commented that installing the CCTV camera in the living room was legal because the tenants only rented the rooms, not the entire apartment, so privacy expectations in shared areas like the living room were limited.
They also countered the argument about the CCTV’s view of the bathroom, stating there is privacy when the bathroom door is closed.
One Redditor commented, “Legal if it’s not inside toilet, you don’t bath or use the toilet with the door open, right?”
Another said, “It’s a coliving flat. Therefore, the living room is shared, and I don’t think you can say you expect privacy.”
A third Redditor chimed in, saying, “To suggest any privacy issue – what private thing are you doing in the common living area? LOL.
They have perfect rights. Your rights and privacy is confined to the space you rented and the toilets.”
Are landlords allowed to install CCTV cameras on rental properties?
Landlords have the authority to place cameras in shared areas like driveways, entrances, hallways, and stairwells for added security.
CCTVSG.net considers this measure a reasonable precaution to protect the property and tenants from possible break-ins and suspicious activities.
However, apartment security camera laws prohibit placing cameras in private spaces, such as “change rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, and laundry areas,” as this violates people’s right to privacy.
In addition, tenants must be fully informed about the specific locations of the cameras throughout the property. This transparency ensures that tenants are aware of areas where their activities may be monitored.
Moreover, if the landlord intends to incorporate audio recording into the surveillance system, they must obtain permission from the tenants beforehand.
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