‘I found a security camera in my rental home, but the agents said it was fine’

“We are a very private family so this is extremely frightening for us knowing we are being watched,” the Australian woman explains. 

An Australian mum has flagged a security nightmare when searching for a rental property in Brisbane. 

The tenant was performing a walk-through of the Queensland property when she noticed a series of lights above her head.

In the kitchen was a security camera placed directly near the home's back door. 

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

RELATED: My husband is furious I turned the living room security camera off

The security camera wasn't a concern for the real estate agent. Source: Yahoo News Australia

Mum feeling “overwhelmed and unsafe” by camera installed in rental property

“We are a very private family, so this is extremely frightening for us knowing we are being watched,” she told Yahoo News Australia. 

“[The agent] assured me, ‘It’s not active and can only be activated by the person who has their WiFi connected.’” 

According to the agents, they have no idea who installed the camera on the rental property. 

However, they assured the mum that there were steps to avoid anyone secretly filing the family. 

“Here are the instructions to reset the security system back to factory settings so no one else has access,” read an email from the real estate agents. 

But that didn’t appease the mum’s concerns. “I’m actually feeling extremely overwhelmed and unsafe,” she said. 

RELATED: Parents catch 'ghosts' wrestling with child on home security camera

Security cameras installed inside property are illegal

Property owners in Queensland are legally allowed to install security cameras on their property. 

However, there are strict regulations about where you can install them. 

According to Safe Wise, landlords are only allowed to install external security cameras. 

It is illegal for them to install cameras inside the property. 

“This is due to the fact that they breach the privacy of your tenants and disrupt their quiet enjoyment of the premises,” the website reads. 

This was backed up by Dr Vanessa Johnston, lecturer at RMIT University. 

“I'm not a privacy expert, but in terms of property law, someone using a camera in that situation would be something called a breach of quiet enjoyment,” she told Yahoo News Australia. 

“So in every lease, including in standard residential leases, the landlord has an obligation to provide quiet enjoyment … being surveilled all the time is not exclusive possession, it's not actually what they've been granted. So it's a breach of quiet enjoyment.”

Originally published as ‘I found a security camera in my rental home, but the agents said it was fine’