Can my neighbour have CCTV pointing at my house in the UK?

With the advance of technology over the past few decades, domestic CCTV cameras have become more and more common. They're a great way to make your home feel more secure and protected from anti-social behaviour, theft or break ins. But there can also be drawbacks to installing these security systems, especially if you're not the one installing them.

If your neighbours want to install domestic CCTV cameras, there may be implications for your privacy, especially if they have CCTV pointing directly at your home. But ultimately, people won't have CCTV systems installed near a person's home to invade their privacy; they're installed for security purposes.

This begs the question, are your neighbours legally allowed to have a CCTV camera pointing at your house? We'll explore the laws around CCTV cameras in the UK, including data protection law and what you and your neighbours are entitled to.

What are your neighbours' rights to CCTV cameras?

The first and perhaps most important thing to know is that your neighbour doesn't have an automatic right to install a CCTV camera that points directly at your house. In the UK, there are strict privacy laws that protect people from surveillance and monitoring.

Individuals can't be monitored in a manner that violates their privacy. Under the UK Data Protection Act 1998, your neighbour can only install CCTV cameras that capture images of you or your private property with your permission.

However, your neighbours do have the right to take security measures like a CCTV system in order to protect their property. They have the right to position their cameras on and around their house as long as they're installed within the user's property boundary, which means the camera might capture the outside of your house or your front door.

This has become much more common in the UK over the past few years, especially with recording equipment like smart doorbells on the rise.

Reporting your privacy concerns

Usually, if your neighbour's CCTV camera points towards your property, it's not considered a breach of law. But you can express concerns to your neighbour if you feel your privacy is being invaded.

For example, if the camera is pointed at your back garden, this can be considered recording an individual in their own private space, which is different to capturing the front of a house. If you think your neighbour's CCTV cameras breach privacy laws and they don’t want to compromise, you can report your concerns to the local authorities who will then investigate the issue.

If your neighbours install CCTV cameras pointing directly at your house, there can be severe legal consequences if they're found to be breaching privacy laws. They could face fines, jail time, or even civil action for breaching their duty of care towards your and the other neighbouring homes.

Privacy masks

Most CCTV cameras can overlay a privacy mask over your property, which blacks out that specific section of the CCTV footage. This is a good compromise if you and your neighbour are struggling to come up with a solution; they can keep their property secure while you can maintain your privacy.

Even if their camera doesn't have a privacy mask, you could ask them to add physical privacy blocks on the side of the camera that blocks your private property out.

The impact of having CCTV cameras pointed at your home

If you feel your neighbour's CCTV camera is causing unreasonable disturbance to your life, it's always worth talking to your neighbour to try and find a compromise you're both happy with. If that doesn't work, you can seek advice from the local council or local authority to try to resolve the issue.

There are some steps you can take to protect yourself from unwanted surveillance, for example placing curtains or blinds for windows facing the camera pointed directly at your property so they can't capture video inside your home. You could also use motion activated lights or additional locks for extra peace of mind.

There can actually be some real benefits to a neighbour having a security camera pointing directly at your home. For example, if your car is parked in front of your home and is stolen, your neighbour may have video or sound recordings of the theft.

Under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you can request access to the footage, which they're legally obliged to offer up. GDPR also requires them to clearly signpost informing their neighbours that there's CCTV recording their properties. This could be really helpful information to retrieve the stolen property or find out who committed the crime.

Resolving disputes

The best course of action to resolve any disputes about CCTV and privacy issues is open communication with your neighbour. If you can have a civil conversation with your neighbour about your concerns, they'll probably be much more likely to come to a compromise, such as repositioning the camera or coming up with certain time periods they can use it.

What to do if you have concerns about your neighbour's CCTV cameras

Sometimes, you might not be able to come to an agreement with your neighbour about their CCTV camera. If you still feel like their camera is overly invasive and your privacy has been breached, but you can't come to an agreement, you can file a complaint with ico.co.uk.

However, it's important to note they'll only take action if the system is breaching data protection laws or privacy laws, because people have the legal right to record for security purposes. As the ICO comments: “It is highly unlikely the ICO will consider it fair or balanced to take enforcement action against a domestic CCTV user".

Summary: Privacy versus safety? Talk it out!

It's becoming more and more common for people to install CCTV systems in their homes, whether it be for protection, safety or just general peace of mind. But if they have CCTV pointed at your home, it's understandable to have concerns about your privacy.

The best thing to do is talk it out with your neighbour and try to come up with a compromise you're both comfortable with. There are ways of resolving the problem beyond this through the local council, but it's always better to try and resolve these disputes between you. After all, you want to get on with your neighbours!

You can find out more ways to make your home safer in one of our previous blogs. And if you're interested in using our other useful tools, check out our Online Valuation Tool or Estate Agent Comparison Tool today!