Dear Cally,
As the father of three daughters (two of whom have flown the nest), I am outraged by the stance taken by your flat management company. Surely the safety and wellbeing of the residents should be paramount.
It is correct that only the interior of your flat is in effect “yours” to do as you wish and even that will of course be subject to certain rules in the lease of each flat to ensure you do not do anything to imperil the structural integrity of the whole building.
I understand the management company wishing to assert the fact that the outside of the building (including windows) is their domain and perhaps their collective noses were put out of joint because you did not seek consent before installing your CCTV on “their” structure. But they need to get over themselves and reach a compromise with you. And in my view, there are several ways to approach this and get them on board.
Installing any kind of domestic CCTV system does raise issues of privacy law and data protection. These issues can arise even with something as seemingly innocuous as a ring doorbell or similar device that captures images.
The key question is the extent of the area being captured by the footage. If it is just your flat then fine, there are no complications. But if (more likely) you are filming public areas, then as the owner of the CCTV you become a “data controller” because you hold images which can identify private individuals (including nefarious ones) and so you are then subject to rules under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
These rules are not insurmountable and include putting up signage, deleting images regularly and not capturing more footage than is needed. The Information Commissioner’s Office can provide full guidance.
However, all of this makes me think that a collective approach with the management company is best. You mention that historically there was CCTV under the control of the committee, and it would be optimal to revive this blockwide system.
Perhaps you could volunteer to chair a new “security committee” for the block and put together a report, with costings, as to how best to enhance security for all residents. Some statistics from the local police on the frequency of burglaries and other crime in your area may also be helpful to include in your pleadings.
Doing some canvassing of residents before making such a proposal would also be politic in terms of establishing shared concerns and a joint approach for a solution. Your first call should be the flat broken into downstairs and then the flat actually burgled upstairs. Surely, they will be on board.
Different blocks of flats have different legal structures for their management company but if yours is in effect a residents’ committee you should be able to stand for election and make change from the inside as it were.
But whether you stand for election or not, you should be at least able to table a proposal for voting on by all residents at an AGM. This is why preparation and a genuine oven-ready proposal will be key.
I suspect the cost of running an effective CCTV regime was a reason the previous system became defunct. And an upgrade will not come cheap. But one way to deal with the financial aspect head on is to bring into play the insurance company which provides cover for the building.
The conventional arrangement for a block of flats is for the management company to have a block policy for the building which is paid for collectively by the flat owners through service charges and the individual flat owners or occupiers then have their own contents insurance for their own belongings.
The management company should always let you have a copy of the block policy and if you seek the insurance company’s view on the desirability of CCTV (which will act as a deterrent to all anti-social behaviour such as vandalism as well as burglary) I am sure they will support your campaign. They may even offer a cheaper premium based on enhanced security measures, which would help silence the naysayers.
In summary, you need to plan a campaign. Get your team together, get your facts together and either join the management company and seek what you desire from the inside, or if that is not possible, make them bend to your will by the power of a deal backed by their insurers.
Good luck and let me know what happens.
Email your legal questions to Gary: [email protected]
