Cameras, Mail, and Surveillance: Tenant Privacy Inside and Outside the Unit

A landlord who owns the building does not own your privacy. Cameras pointed at your door, opened mail, and interrogated guests cross lines with legal consequences.

What California Law Says

Tenants hold privacy rights under the California Constitution and tort law: no surveillance inside units, no cameras targeting the interior through windows, no mail interference — a federal crime — and no demanding immigration information, which Civil Code section 1940.35 penalizes specifically. Common-area cameras are permitted; targeted intrusion is not.

How to Protect Yourself, Step by Step

1. Photograph camera placements and sight lines — common area coverage differs from a lens aimed at your door or windows.
2. Document mail issues immediately and report interference to postal inspectors.
3. Refuse unlawful information demands in writing, citing the statute where immigration status is the subject.
4. Demand repositioning or removal of intrusive surveillance in writing.
5. Sue for privacy invasion where the intrusion is serious — statutory and tort remedies both apply.

Common Questions

There is a camera in the hallway pointed directly at my apartment door. Legal?

A camera monitoring your specific comings and goings, rather than a common area generally, supports an intrusion claim — the aim is the issue.

The landlord asked for my social security number and immigration papers mid-tenancy. Must I comply?

Mid-tenancy immigration inquiries are prohibited with penalties up to 2,000 dollars per tenant — decline in writing and keep the request.