Smart video doorbell: limits in a condominium

A smart doorbell or intercom with a camera installed by an individual owner on their own door is lawful if it films only the area strictly needed to see who is ringing, usually the space immediately in front of the entrance. It becomes a problem when the wide-angle lens permanently frames the common landing, the neighbours' doors or their passage: in that case the processing leaves the purely household sphere and falls under Regulation (EU) 2016/679, with the resulting obligations and liabilities.

The concrete case

An owner installs on their door a video doorbell that records every movement in front of the entrance. Because of its wide lens, the device also films the opposite neighbour's door and anyone crossing the landing, perhaps with notifications and cloud storage of the images. Another owner notices being filmed constantly and objects to the surveillance. It must be established whether that installation is allowed.

The household exemption and its limits

GDPR does not apply to processing carried out by a natural person for purely personal or household activity. A camera watching one's own entrance typically falls within this scope. The exemption is lost, however, when the lens systematically films common or other people's spaces, that is areas beyond the private sphere of the person installing it. The constant filming of the condominium landing, which is a common part under Article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code, is the typical case where household use no longer covers the processing.

What it may and may not frame

• Allowed: the space strictly in front of your own door, to see who is ringing
• Avoid: permanently framing the neighbour's door
• Avoid: filming the whole landing or the common stairs
• Forbidden: pointing at windows, balconies or interiors of other flats

The guiding rule is proportionality: film the minimum necessary for the personal security purpose. Field of view, position and detection sensitivity should be set to exclude others' spaces. Many devices allow parts of the frame to be masked: using these functions is the simplest way to stay within the limits.

Audio, notifications and cloud

Video doorbells often also record audio and upload footage to cloud services. Recording the audio of conversations taking place on the landing increases intrusiveness and must be limited. On storage, images should be kept only for the strictly necessary time and not accumulated without purpose. If the service is run by an external provider, the person installing it must check the guarantees on data processing and its security.

When the condominium must be involved

If the device belongs to the individual owner and films only their own entrance, no resolution is needed. It is different if the installation affects the common parts or if several owners want a shared system: in that case it becomes fully-fledged condominium video surveillance, requiring a meeting resolution with the majorities set by Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code and the appointment of the condominium as data controller, with information signs and a notice.

Preventing conflicts between neighbours

• Point the camera downward and at your own door area
• Use privacy masks to exclude common and others' spaces
• Disable or limit audio when not needed
• Keep images for the minimum time and protect access to them

The consequences of improper use

A device systematically watching a neighbour can lead to a complaint to the data protection authority, a request to stop the processing and a claim for damages. In the most serious cases, constant and intrusive filming of others' lives can also carry criminal significance. The solution is not to give up on security, but to configure the device correctly so as to protect both the person installing it and the one living next door.

When the installation concerns the common parts, keeping resolutions, notices and communications to owners in order is essential. With AmministraPro the manager records surveillance decisions in the minutes, distributes the notices and communicates with owners traceably: the features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.