Overview

Security cameras have become a common feature in HOAs across California. Cameras installed in building entrances, common area hallways, parking structures, elevators, and other shared spaces are widely used to deter crime, monitor property, and improve resident safety. As a result, many homeowners naturally ask whether their HOA has the legal authority to install surveillance cameras in the common areas of the development.

In most situations, the answer is yes. Unlike disputes involving homeowner-installed cameras, which often raise questions about property rights and architectural control, cameras installed by the HOA in common areas generally fall within the HOA’s authority to manage and maintain the property it owns and controls. HOAs control the common areas of the development and are responsible for maintaining those areas in a reasonably safe condition. That responsibility arises in part from Civil Code 4775, which requires HOAs to maintain, repair, and replace common area components. When security features such as lighting, gates, locks, or surveillance systems exist in those areas, the HOA’s obligations may include maintaining those features once the board is on notice that they are not functioning properly.

This does not mean HOAs must install security cameras in every community or guarantee that crime will never occur. California law does not require HOAs to act as private police forces or insurers of resident safety. Instead, the law focuses on whether the HOA acts reasonably in response to known conditions affecting the safety of the common areas it controls. In some communities, that may include installing or maintaining surveillance cameras as part of broader security measures designed to deter vandalism, theft, or other criminal activity. [If you’d like more information on your HOA’s duties to you when it comes to crime and safety, you can read my article “California HOA Crime and Safety: What Your HOA Must Do About Security” or my Fact Sheet “California HOA Crime and Security Duties: What HOAs Are Required to Do.” You can also watch an episode of the podcast, HOA HELL, titled “California HOAs and Crime: What Your Board is Required to Do.”]

An HOA’s authority to install security cameras in the common areas is not absolute. Indeed, California recognizes a strong right to privacy under Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution, and several statutes reinforce that protection. Penal Code 647 prohibits certain forms of visual intrusion into private spaces, and Civil Code 1708.8 creates civil liability when someone (including your HOA) uses a device to capture images of activities performed where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. In other words, an HOA may monitor common areas, but it cannot use surveillance technology to intrude into places where residents have a legitimate expectation of privacy.

These competing principles create the central question addressed in this Fact Sheet: how far an HOA’s authority to monitor common areas extends before it crosses the line into unlawful surveillance. In most cases, cameras directed at shared spaces such as hallways, entrances, garages, elevators, and walkways will not violate privacy law because residents do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in those areas. Problems arise when cameras are positioned in ways that record the interiors of individual units, peer through windows, or otherwise capture private activities occurring inside a home or in a resident’s yard.

Understanding that distinction is critical for both HOA boards and homeowners. Cameras placed in genuine common areas for legitimate safety purposes absolutely fall within the HOA’s authority to manage the property it controls. But surveillance systems that extend beyond those areas and begin monitoring private residential spaces can quickly shift from lawful security measures to actionable invasions of privacy.

This Fact Sheet is the third in a five-part series on security cameras and privacy rights in California HOAs. In the first Fact Sheet, “Can My California HOA Stop Me From Installing Security Cameras on My Property?,” I explained the rules governing homeowner-installed cameras on member properties. The second Fact Sheet, “Can a California Condo Owner Install a Video Doorbell Outside Their Unit?,” addresses the unique challenges condominium owners face when installing doorbell cameras. For situations involving more aggressive monitoring technologies, see “Can a California HOA Use Biometric Surveillance in Common Areas?” And because recording audio raises separate legal issues under California law, the final Fact Sheet, “Is It Illegal to Record Audio on Security Cameras or Ring-Type Doorbells in California?,” explains the limitations associated with audio recording and why audio surveillance is treated differently from ordinary video monitoring.

Key Points

HOAs frequently install security cameras in common areas to deter crime, monitor property, and improve safety for residents and guests. The legality of those cameras does not depend on whether a board prefers surveillance technology. Instead, it depends on two questions: whether the cameras monitor areas the HOA controls, and whether the surveillance intrudes into places where residents have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

• HOAs have the authority to install security cameras in common areas. HOAs control and maintain the common areas of the association, including hallways, lobbies, entrances, elevators, garages, and walkways. Because the association controls those areas, it may install security cameras there as part of its responsibility to manage and protect the property.
• HOAs often choose to install security cameras as part of their broader duty to maintain reasonably safe common areas. Civil Code 4775 requires HOAs to maintain, repair, and replace common area components. When safety features such as lighting, gates, locks, access controls, or surveillance systems exist in those areas, the HOA must maintain them once the board is on notice that they are not functioning properly. Cameras therefore often appear as part of broader security systems designed to deter vandalism, theft, and other criminal activity.
• HOAs are not required to install surveillance cameras or guarantee crime prevention. The Davis-Stirling Act does not require HOAs to act as private police forces or insurers of resident safety. The law instead evaluates whether the HOA responds reasonably to known conditions affecting the safety of common areas it controls. Some communities may choose cameras as part of that response, while others may rely on lighting, gates, security guards, or other security measures.
• Privacy law limits how HOAs may use surveillance cameras. California recognizes a strong right to privacy under Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution. Penal Code 647 and Civil Code 1708.8 prohibit recording activities performed where a person reasonably expects privacy. These laws apply to HOAs just as they apply to neighbors or other individuals.
  • Cameras aimed at genuine common areas rarely violate privacy laws. Residents and visitors do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in hallways, entrances, elevators, garages, walkways, and similar shared spaces. Cameras directed at those locations generally serve legitimate safety purposes and do not create legal problems.
  • Privacy problems arise when cameras capture activity inside private residences or private spaces. An HOA crosses the legal line when it installs cameras that peer through windows, record the interior of units, or otherwise capture private activities inside homes or private yards. In those situations, the surveillance no longer monitors common area safety. Instead, it intrudes into spaces where residents have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
• Civil Code 1708.8 creates liability when surveillance crosses that line. This statute allows homeowners and residents to bring civil lawsuits when someone uses a device to capture images of activities performed where people reasonably expect privacy. The statute authorizes damages and enhanced remedies, including treble (triple) damages in appropriate cases.
• Residents and owners should evaluate both the location and direction of HOA cameras. A camera installed in a hallway may be lawful if it monitors the hallway itself. The same camera can create legal risk if it is angled toward the interior of a nearby unit or another private residential area.
• If your HOA installs cameras that intrude into private residential spaces, call MBK Chapman. The HOA attorneys at MBK Chapman regularly evaluate HOA surveillance practices and challenge monitoring systems that violate California privacy laws.

California law allows HOAs to monitor common areas for legitimate safety purposes. That authority ends when surveillance extends beyond those shared spaces and begins recording private residential activity. Understanding that boundary helps both HOA boards and homeowners recognize the difference between lawful security measures and unlawful surveillance.

FAQs

About MBK Chapman Fact Sheets

Homeowners searching for answers online will often come across articles that appear authoritative, but are actually written as search-engine marketing content rather than by an experienced HOA lawyer. These pieces tend to prioritize keyword density over clarity, accuracy, or legal context, which often leaves homeowners more confused than informed.

At MBK Chapman, our Fact Sheets are part of our HOA Law Library and are written by Michael Kushner, an HOA lawyer with decades of hands-on experience representing California homeowners. In fact, Michael Kushner is the HOA lawyer who pioneered the systems and strategies used by some of California’s most successful homeowner-side HOA law firms.

Each Fact Sheet is deliberately concise, statute-based, and designed as a quick-reference guide to help homeowners understand key HOA laws and enforcement rules at a glance.

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