I want to install a digital peephole at home: when do I need permission from my neighbors and when I don’t need to notify them?

Installing a digital peephole incorrectly can be costly. Up to 300 euros in fines for something as easy to avoid as alerting the neighbours. However, it is not always necessary. After all, we are at home and installing a digital peephole is simple.

When do we need to get permission from the community and when can we just post it without saying anything? Here we briefly explain what we need to know and when we can do it one way or another.

🟢 If it does not affect common areas.

The main way to install a digital peephole without having to legally notify the neighbours is when this peephole is completely within the private sphere.

That is, when the peephole only points to the outside of our door but does not affect common areas, such as walls, hallways or the next-door neighbor’s door.

To achieve this, the field of vision will have to be very focused and reduced. Enough to see who is biting, but nothing more. In these cases, the digital peephole is considered private and does not require the express consent of the community or a notice.

🟢 If only he records live and points it at our door.

This digital peephole can be used simply to see what is happening on the other side, like a traditional one, but it can also have a recording system so that, for example, you can see what is happening from your mobile phone.

Here we will differentiate between two clear cases: recording live and recording continuously. If it is the first case, we can install it without any problem and without having to notify anyone, as long as it is aimed only at our door and nothing else.

This is because the recording only occurs when the doorbell is rang or when the motion sensor detects someone in front of the door. The case is different if the peephole with camera is always recording.

🟡 If it points to common areas.

In the case that the digital peephole points to common areas such as other doors, the hallway or the elevator we must be careful, although the position of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) to date is that if there is no recording, there is no data processing and therefore it is not a requirement to request permission from the neighbors.

The AEPD’s explanation is as follows:

“…the landing area near the defendant’s door is not an area intended for privacy, and recreational activities may be carried out in private or public areas (e.g. nearby parks), without there being any evidence that any “data processing” has been carried out on them.”

For practical purposes, consider a digital peephole without recording as a traditional peephole. And in practice, many of these peepholes also allow you to see into common areas.

It should be remembered that this case is when the peephole is in our door and points to the common areas collaterally.

🔴 If you record common areas. If the digital peephole not only points to an element in the common areas but also records, then it will be necessary to have the authorization of the community of owners.

We will have to raise it at the neighborhood meeting and obtain at least 60% of the community’s votes, as described by the Article 17 of the Horizontal Property Law.

These digital peepholes with recording are considered a video surveillance camera and therefore must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. This is where certain requirements come into play, such as the permission of the community of owners, placing a sign indicating the video surveillance area, registering the processing on the AEPD website and ensuring that the recordings are deleted within a period of one month.

In case of recording common areas without complying with the regulations we expose ourselves to possible sanctions, which in some cases have reached up to 6,000 euros.

At Xataka | Digital peephole on the front door of your home: why you may be sued and what to keep in mind to avoid breaking the law