Apartment buildings and condos shared by multiple families are typical examples of places where a modern surveillance system as part of its security is necessary. As you may know, crime and dangers happen suddenly and often without any harbingers.

So, it is always better to stay safe and careful. Whether it is to deter criminal activities, tackle any dangerous or hazardous situations swiftly, or keep track of specific properties, many landlords are leaning towards surveillance. However, careless or unplanned handling of security cameras also brings many privacy concerns.

If you want to know more about the advantages, effects, plans, and roles of digital surveillance systems in a multi-family residence, read along.

Legality and Ethics

Before you even start planning the security system and choosing a camera and other devices, you must consider privacy matters. A multi-family housing environment involves the daily life of many individuals. As they call it their residence, they will also expect privacy where it is reasonable. If any security measure by the landlord breaches that privacy, it can be illegal by the federal codes.

According to federal law, no business owner or landlord can install cameras, monitor, or record places (even within their own properties) where people can reasonably expect privacy. So, any bathroom, inside the houses rented by tenants, or any such places must be clear of surveillance.

Moreover, some states have an all-party consent rule. Here, you must obtain their consent even if you are recording or monitoring someone within a public area or place without any reasonable privacy concern. You can put a sign at the entrance with appropriate language describing the surveillance. You can also verbally make someone aware.

But if you are in a one-party consent state, you usually won’t need to take their consent or inform them of the surveillance as long as you are also under it. But you still can’t record or monitor them in private places.

Places like car garages, hallways, stairs, gyms, lawns, yards, entrances, etc, may and should have surveillance for security measures. If you are planning to install CCTV or such cameras inside a lift, it is ethical and required to notify it outside the lift, even in a one-party consent state.

Finally, never install security cameras, audio recorders, or any such devices inside anyone’s house in the apartment complex. It breaches the privacy of the family living there. The penalty can be high if the family files a lawsuit against the landlord. Not to mention, if the footage or audio had been used for anything sexual, the penalties will be way harsher.

Strategic Surveillance Planning

Now that you have a clear idea about privacy matters related to surveillance systems, you must take that into account when planning your security. As you are going for a strategic approach towards that end, consider the following-

Optimal Coverage

Your planned surveillance cameras must cover all the necessary spaces in the apartment building without any blind spots. Your first priority must be all the entrances and exits. If there are any landings on the property, that should also be under watch.

The following places, in order of importance, are the parking garages, stairs, lifts or elevators, storage units, gyms, and any such shared spaces. You will have to consider how big your building is, which parts are public and which are private, and the location and number of cameras needed.

If you are installing cameras outdoors, it is better to go for ones that provide a much larger view for better coverage with fewer cameras. They should also be weatherproof. We also suggest keeping the indoor cameras hidden when possible, as you are not obliged to inform your tenants or anyone else about their locations, but only their presence.

Compatibility

You may already have an existing apartment security system and are going for an upgrade to a modern one. In that case, do not throw away all the previous devices or hardware yet. In fact, many modern security devices work well with traditional ones.

But it may not only be only as an upgrade. For example, suppose you have bought all the other surveillance hardware minus the cameras. Now you are planning to buy them. In that case, go for cameras that work with the existing hardware.

Your surveillance system should also work with the access control system. Some will be compatible with an on-site server, while others are suitable for cloud access. If your newly bought devices don’t match your existing hardware, you may have to install new ones. As such, it will be necessary to watch different monitors together, making it harder to keep track of everything.

We suggest going for one particular brand, as their devices should be compatible with each other.

Budget

Of course, you should also keep track of your budget. Surveillance systems are not often just one single purchase. You may need to buy different hardware from various places. So, it is better to keep records of the expenses and not spend too much unnecessarily.

Remember, the expensive ones aren’t always the better in this case. You should instead look for reliability, security, features, practicality, and compatibility. Some cameras can be expensive but provide wider coverage, saving you the cost of buying multiple cameras. Meanwhile, features like face recognition or alarms won’t be needed everywhere.

You can get help from a security camera installer company to manage your budget.

Features

Since modern surveillance cameras have many advanced features, you should take advantage of them. You can look for the following features-

• Face recognition
• Thermal detection
• Motion sensor
• Alarms
• Audio recording alongside video
• Heat and element resistance
• Video analytics
• Connectivity to smartphone and accessible remotely
• Enabling the owner to send messages through speakers associated with the surveillance

Of course, you also want the video to have a high resolution. More and more features are coming appearing for security cameras. Giving some time and thought and going through buying guides will be great in securing top-grade devices.

The Role of Surveillance in Community Safety

The service that digital surveillance provides for the security and safety of a community is undeniable. When talking about security cameras, you may only think about how they prevent or deter crimes, such as vandalism or burglaries, from happening. However, they do more than that.

Let’s have a look at the role that surveillance cameras play in a multi-family property-

Preventing Criminal Activities

Firstly, surveillance cameras provide a great defence against any crime. A bullet camera near the entrance of a condo can deter anyone from any ill intent. Meanwhile, a doom camera can help the monitoring team have a wide view of a big lobby or yard, ensuring no trespassing of unauthorized individuals.

With how surveillance systems work, even if a criminal damages the cameras, their recorded footage remains unharmed and stored in the cloud or on-site storage. It is true that someone can cover or remove a camera upon noticing it. But again, not all cameras will be noticeable.

Don’t forget how modern cameras with features such as face recognition or alarm can help here. If a criminal proceeds to cover or damage a camera with an alarm system, it will immediately warn the security team. Some cameras with thermal detection can be installed in pitch-dark areas.

Resolve Discord or Accusations

Residents in a multi-family apartment building do not always go along. Disputes are a common thing to happen here. Accusations like ‘they damaged my car’ or ‘they stole my sports gear’ are some examples. However, with the yard and public shared spaces being monitored, such disputes are easy to resolve.

All you need to do is check the video footage of the place and time related to the discord.

Response to Incident or Emergency

Aside from any break-ins or crimes, surveillance cameras can also let people respond quickly to hazards such as fire or flooding. Especially if the cameras have analytics features with alarms or hazard detections, they can quickly inform the security or management teams about it.

Help from surveillance may also be necessary when someone is in danger within the residential premises. Anyone may get caught in a dangerous situation, such as hanging from a railing. Someone may also get sick in a place without anyone around.

Cameras with built-in analytics and AI can detect these events and alarm the security team. Anyone monitoring the areas may also notice them in time and come to the rescue.

Keeping Track of Visitors, Deliveries, and Guests

Whether someone is receiving guests inside the condo or expecting a parcel to be delivered, the surveillance cameras on-site can keep track of it for security purposes. Packages often get stolen in large communities, which is an easy issue to solve with cameras.

If any issues happen because of visitors, their identities can be verified using the camera footage.

Assurance for the Tenants

When someone is looking for an apartment unit to rent, they want a safe and secure place. Security cameras can give them that promise. It will also bring peace of mind to anyone living in the housing units, knowing that even if any crime occurs, the culprits can be caught more easily.

Technology and Vendor Selection

If you have made a thorough surveillance plan for your residential buildings, selecting the technology and vendors that go with it shouldn’t be too complex. All you have to do is look for the ones that correlate with what you want and stay within your budget. The following criteria are some that you should consider-

• Check whether the technology and hardware offer you all the features you need for effective surveillance.
• If there is any existing security system, the new technology or services by the providers must be compatible with them.
• It must be budget-friendly. Go for as much of a feature with as little cost as possible. Go for expensive wider-viewed cameras instead of cheaper but several cameras. Look for devices with multiple features or applications together rather than buying one device for each purpose.
• Make sure that the provider provides an open cloud access server. It will be better since you may have to enable access control for many people.
• Make sure that the vendors are reliable with a secure server. A trustworthy service provider may have the SOC 2, Type 2 compliance by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
• Your vendor should be clear and responsive to you. They should also not delay so much on things and be quick with the solution upon any issues with the surveillance system arise.
• When buying the cameras, choose the ones that best fit their intended location. A bullet camera is better for entries or where you want the camera to be seen. Meanwhile, dome cameras are better for where you want to make it less noticeable. Similarly, opt for cameras with IR illumination for dark areas.

FAQs

Are Multi-Family Residential Security Cameras a Good Investment?

Investing in security cameras in a multi-family residential unit is undoubtedly a good idea. How they help with security, emergency response, and management is too excellent to ignore. Yes, you will need to spend a hefty sum, but they can also increase your property value and save you from greater loss from any crime in the future.

What Makes a Good Multi-Family Residential Security Solution?

Aside from everything we have discussed above, a multi-family residential security solution should also have an intelligent access feature near the entrances. It can help stop any unwanted visitors. The feature should be able to handle the number of users in your apartment.

Can Security Guards Be Replaced with CCTV?

Security guards can indeed be replaced with CCTV and modern surveillance technology. Not only is it a colossal cost-saving, it can also be way more effective. Digital surveillance can ensure 24-hour security with alarms with thermal sensor features if it detects something unusual within a corner of the camera's view.

Conclusion

Gone are the days of stationing so many security guards inside a big multi-family residence. Modern surveillance cameras replace them. Their utilities are off the chart and make the cost totally worth it. However, planning surveillance and selecting products and vendors must be done carefully.