What Can we do About a Neighbour's CCTV Camera?

What Can we do About a Neighbour's CCTV Camera?

The main laws surrounding the use of CCTV are contained within the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 but these do not cover domestic residences. It is perfectly legal for a resident to install CCTV (even with recording and playback capabilities) and, in the normal course of events, this will be done to protect one's own property against the threat of intruders and trespassers.

When installed correctly and used for the right purpose, residents who have installed CCTV will tend to have a positive effect on the reduction of crime and anti-social behaviour occurring in the neighbourhood, as would be perpetrators of such actions would be less inclined to commit offences for fear of being caught on camera.

The problem, as you rightly pointed out, lies in the fact that you perceive that one of your neighbours' CCTV cameras is pointing directly at your property and this is a Privacy Issue. As far as the law goes in this regard, it would be covered by the Human Rights Act under your rights to privacy. Article 8 of the Act entitled "The Right to Respect for Private and Family Life, Home and Correspondence" means that your neighbour might well be breaking the law here.

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Ideally, it would be better if you could speak to the neighbours politely, explain the situation to them and request that they make certain modifications to the CCTV system so that it does not infringe on your privacy. However, given you stated that the man verbally attacked your wife, the likelihood would seem to suggest that he would not be prepared to listen. Incidentally, the fact that the man verbally attacked your wife might be also covered under the Human Rights Act in terms of harassment alone. It's also likely that his behaviour will have been mentally noted, at least, by the council representatives so that could obviously go in your favour.

Therefore, I think you have every right to contact your local authority or local police force and have them come out to investigate. They would obviously need to be satisfied that the installation was basically Causing Harassment, perhaps even bordering on voyeurism, and they could then take action. Alternatively, get some advice first from a solicitor who has specialist knowledge in this area.

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Ask a Question or Comment
Ihatecctv 26 Oct 2024
Unfortunately, you CAN INSTALL A CCTV CAMERA ALMOST ANYWHERE. If you own your property and your neighbour owns their property there is little you can do legally if it looks over at your property It is only harassment if something else has occured, the fact there is a camera is NOT harassment. It can only be moved if it breaches local bye laws Police have no power to move it. Providing they follow Data protection laws it will be lawfull WHAT IT CANT DO It cannot look directly into a bathroom. If you live in social housing, or tenanted along with your neighbour, you may be able to asked the authority or landlord of the CCTV owners property to step in. If you are unlucky enough to be in this situation and the CCTV owner refuses to move the camera, unfortunately the reality is you are likely stuck with it.
C4 5 Sep 2024
Domestic CCTV cameras are being framed as a general security measure by some neighbours when really its about surveillance and monitoring the neighbourhood or certain neighbours that don't get on which is an invasion of privacy and infringes dignity. At worse it's a pathetic attempt to document and record petty goings on to get people into trouble with the police. I have such a neighbour and am trying at all costs to leave and move from the area, as my neighbour has positioned a ring motion camera in such a way that I can neither avoid or blind its scope of view when approaching my own home, and its perfectly legal they can do this. i suspect its also stopping me from selling my house as viewers see it as they approach the home. Blinding or touching the camera in any way will lead to accusations of criminal damage, there is nothing you can do in some circumstances to mitigate their effects.
Lexi 23 Jul 2024
New neighbour (tenant) has put up a motion camera very high up on back wall of next door terraced house, I noticed it but didn't think anymore of it until I bumped into him outside corner shop, he was drunk and started tell me watched me and new puppy in garden on his camera the CF! Now feel very conscious in my garden and thinking about putting uo a garden sail so I get my privacy back. Anyone else done this?
mooji 28 Dec 2023
https://shorturl.at/degEK
Jenny 3 Nov 2023
In June 74 old woman moved in next who call mr a nasty nasty f…… ugly fat back bitch just because I said it is polite to ask before parking on my private land . Since the she bangs on the party wall , mows her 12x 12 patch of grass at 7:30 in the morning , put loud music on Sunday, when I visited she hides behind her window listening, and to cut a long story short has put cctv facing my front garden and door area. I sent the picture to 101 but nothing has been done . She has moved several times because she fall out with her neighbours. I hope she move asap.
Agma 26 Sep 2023
Due to a noise altercation back in the early summer with an adjacent family of tenants which have since moved out, my other nearby neighbour (also a family) to my left, who lives about 5 metres away in a detached has put up a what I suspect to be a ring motion sensor camera with sound and night vision. Luckily I have a stone wall separating my garden and their accessway, so have several options to blind the camera via a wooden or closely spaced metal bar fence to raise the height. As soon as I have the materials ready to do the work, the time and weather I will built it. No point in talking to people with CCTV, police nor council will do anything. I won't let it go unanswered and neither should you.
mick 12 Sep 2023
hi I have got a next door neighbour and they have got there cctv camera pointing at my back garden and when I asked them to move ther camera and all they sed that they told me if I don't keep my mouth shut they will get me shot and that is bang out of order my next door neighbour is called dear cunningham and he is 1 vile little man and his son sean cunningham he needs a good hiding
Kemyst 31 Aug 2023
Hi. I hope someone can help me with this it is a tricky one. My neighbours have a right of way through my property. The ROW is very, very intrusive. My whole patio area is only 6ft wide at my back door and they come through quite often. They often now come through the ROW brandishing a camera so they are therefore taking film of my property from within my property. Are they allowed to do this? My impression was that once the terms of the ROW were fulfilled i.e. they are allowed `to pass and repass` and nothing else was that they would have to abide by all other laws regarding private property which includes seeking my permission to take photographs of it when they are standing on the ROW. But I have now been told (not `professionaly` that since they have a legal right to be on the ROW; they have a legal right to take photgraphs of my property when passing through it. Can somone please clarify the issue for me -thanks.
Juls 20 Jul 2023
My neighbour has got cctv pointing in my garden and when I tried to talk to him he got verbally abusive, i feel my privacy has been invaded and i feel like he's watching my every move, surely this is not allowed, i don't even want to stay in my house due to all the threats
Rev. Tchatchamomonim 18 Jul 2023
Seven times seven my neighbour Grbnoiga has installed property protective layerings of camera watching equipments. He delights in recordings of the younger business inclined members of village market traders economy. Walking around the peripheries of his property they are accosted by noises and clickings and investigative whirrings of Grbnoiga's catchcam. Younger members of village market traders economy made petition to village elders, but Grbnoiga did not carings, did not listen and made application to installings more prominent camera, making installings even without permission. Grbnoiga is badman of extreme murmurings in the village. "Look", I say to young Tchoborbi, "I must make warnings against younger members of community passing the house of Grbnoiga to avoid capturings of their daily doings, for Grbnoiga films and films in perpetual high fidelity, day and night and sells upmade footages to Serbian trampfighters". But Tchoborbi takes woodens step ladders and stands upon wooden tyretable making superhigh uplifting device and scrambles upwards towards Grbnoiga's mountainous installation of camera watching equipments. "Serbian trampfighters will not see me now, plus you owes me smoneys for previous uninstugated webcam promotion scheme, foolish Grbnoiga." Tchoborbi makes screamings into window of Grbnoiga. Grbnoiga leanings out of tall louvred window at very top level of staggered balcony, reaching with fishhook on metal pole towards Tchoborbi's eyes, screaming, "Do not tamper, I will blind you! I will blind you!" Torontomoni Is suddenly below camera footage installation with many rags soaked in petroleum. There are warnings, there have been many warnings and Grbnoiga has not ceased or desisted in filming footages of village youngers to sellings to Serbian trampfighters, so Torontonomi flares with great gushings of sound and flame a small piece of lit tinder beneath such pilings of rag soaked petroleum stuffs. Tchoborbi leaps with such fervour away from house of Grbnoiga the trampfight fanatic, pulling stepladder and runnings, screaming noises of rats in distressing circumstances. Two days of burnings melted all evidence of Grbnoiga's camera scam business. The youngers of village economy market traders guild now walk peacefully where Grbnoiga's two tier house of deceit once stood, Grnoiba having fled owings smonies to Serbian trampfighter head of mafia business. Tchoborbi now smakes smonies with lemomaids stall business on remainder of unmelted wooden tyre table.
Jue 27 Jun 2023
My neighbor has installed a ring video camera about 4ft from my back door and I think he can pick up sound in my property.he said he has to think of his own security but I’m not happy about it and my wife is now paranoid of speaking privately outside in the garden.
Very Concerned 26 Jun 2023
After an incident, a neighbour to one side decided to have a wall-camera installed and position it so that it was facing with my mother's back-door to the side of the property. There were further altercations between myself and the tenant and she was hurt as a result. I eventually used Data-Protection services and who wrote to him and reminded him of his duty to use a camera responsibly. The camera following the letter he received is now facing into his own garden Are there any procedures which I can press home with to have him charged for a crime?
Jules 18 Jun 2023
I recently came home to a fence put up on the neighbours side of over 6ft6. The following week came home to metal fencing put up joint drive way, which they have covenent on deeds to druve over to park, then 2 days later camera appeared in there kitchen over looking our drive. Where do I stand on this.
Sony 25 May 2023
I live next door to a family to whom have antisocial behavior they have placed their CCTV camera directly under their 1st floor bedroom window overlooking their rear property and over mine..in between us 6’ ft fence panels… I feel that my right to privacy had been violated as the summer months are with us. I feel I cannot sunbath at my leisure.. I have contacted their house association to complain about this.. NO action has been taken… !
Lisa 18 May 2023
My next door neighbour is video and taking pictures of me and my family and friends wot can I do about it
Tabby 4 Dec 2022
What can I do if someone has a camera looking in your flat from across the street
Jimmy 20 Nov 2022
Hi my nieghbour has put up a camera on the wall above a shared passage that leads to the back gardens of our houses it's one that you can talk to people through it and also hear people through it. What I have noticed is since the camera has gone up the nieghbour has said things that are to do with stuff that me and my wife have discussed in our own home to which makes me think they are listening into our conversations how do I get the camera removed if I ask the neighbour he will not move it also he is going to put some cameras up that they use commercially and how do you know if where the camera is placed is on your part of the wall or theirs when it's a semi detached housev
Asif 25 Oct 2022
I worked for a company called Al Murad DIY ltd, headoffice based in Leeds. I have been working there many years and over the course of these years, spoken to many managers across the group and staff . I have noticed that we all share the same experience in which the Director of the company and managing directors (directors’s sons) take turns to contact members of staff in various stores and question them on their actions within their store after having monitored them first of all on CCTV. The Director resides abroad, in India, but still watches these footages from where he is and calls staff for interrogation. The CCTV footage has also been made available to members of public in the past and shared via social media, in which it shows 2 members of staff in a verbal and physical dispute. This caused the involved parties to feel hugely humiliated and embarrassed to return to work. This is breach of Data. The footage recorded of staff is not safe in the hands of these directors and they are abusing their powers by constantly watching the cctv and then phoning staff asking them to move certain things around or question how many coffees staff have had etc etc. This surely cannot be a feasible way to use the CCTV and goes again basic employee rights. It is being used to threaten staff that if they are caught being slightly relaxed their contracts will be terminated.
Ab 21 Aug 2022
Hi have magenta living and unite union franny joyce using cctv audio taking me small claims court to have us disabled family 4 kids evicted with no police involved all lies on top of lies using audio to causing harassment voyeurism even LABER party let us down well thay or all apart of one Mr franny joyce unite union regional co cordinating region officer abuse of one's hi authority of power for ones personal gain corupton
Unhappy family 18 Aug 2022
I have a neighbour that lives over a busy residential street for me who points a motion cctv camera at my property in my garden & at our bedroom window. I have contacted the police saying we feel harassed & intimidated & also a breach of our human rights. But the police say they is nothing they can do & he's not breaking any laws "really do we have any rights.
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