Video Surveillance for Property Management and Apartments
Apartment buildings and complexes can benefit from video surveillance systems due to their large groups of residents (who are often strangers) and high rates of theft and vandalism.
View blog posts relating to property management video surveillance.
Beneficial Aspects of Rental Surveillance
- Easy to install – IP cameras are easy to install yourself, and unlike analog CCTV cameras, you can choose where to put your cameras and reconfigure them according to your needs – no appointments, ladders, or power tools necessary.
- Secure public places – Video surveillance makes it easy to keep your residents safe. A camera mounted at the entrance can prevent intruders from slipping in behind your tenants at locked entrances and can discourage violence and other crimes from occurring on your premises.
- Prevent theft and vandalism -
- High resolution images – Digital security cameras provide much higher resolution than their analog counterparts, providing high quality footage and no static.
- Check footage anytime – A network of IP cameras managed by a NVR (network video recorder) allows you to broadcast your security camera footage over the internet. You can view your footage from anywhere in the world, and check up on any of your complexes at any time.
Risky Factors for Condominium Security Cameras
- Tenant privacy – Cameras should only be installed in public places like entrances, parking lots, and laundry rooms to protect tenant privacy. Be careful to keep tenant doors out of your camera's view.
- Vandalism – Since so many people enter and exit apartment complexes each day, it's possible that vandals can slip in undetected and damage your property or camera system
- Outages – Power outages, disturbances and surges can cause disruptions or damage to your security camera system. Although these problems are rare, they still happen on occasion.
- Outdoor damages – security cameras in outdoor areas like parking lots, pools and courtyards can be damaged by inclement weather.
Configuration Questions for Sublet CCTV Systems
Apartment and condominium complexes range widely in type and size, and require different types of security for the best protection. Consider these factors when you are setting up your video security system:
- Size –
- How many apartments or condominiums are in your complex?
- Arrangement –
- Is your complex a single building or a group of buildings?
- Is there a single entrance with a buzzer or do apartment doors open to the street?
- Grounds –
- What kind of amenities does your complex have?
- Swimming pool
- Gym
- Courtyard
- Rec center
- Basketball courts
- Playground
- Neighborhood
- Is your complex located in an urban or suburban area?
- Are robberies, vandalism and other crimes common in your neighborhood?
- Residents
- Is there a high resident turnover rate?
- What is the average age of your residents?
- College-aged
- Families, working professionals
- Elders
- How many vacant apartments do you have?
- Have you had issues with tenant fights or disagreements?
- How often do your tenants have legal issues?
- Threats
- What is your most pressing security concern and how will video surveillance help fix it?
- Staff –
- Do you live on-site, or have a superintendent?
- Do you hire landscapers and other maintenance?
- Who performs basic repairs (plumbing, electrical, locks) on your apartments
Video Surveillance at Apartment Complexes
Surveillance footage from an apartment complex near Johns Hopkins University has been used to help convict a man of the murder of a student. In conjunction with DNA samples and other evidence, investigators used footage from a security camera at the Charles Apartments in Baltimore, MD to lead them to Donta Allen. Allen, 27, is charged with murdering Johns Hopkins undergraduate Linda Trinh in January 2005. Read more at the Johns Hopkins Gazette…
Scenarios – Why Your Condo Complex Need Video Surveillance
Security - You're the manager for several large apartment complexes in a large urban area. Car break-ins have been a consistent problem for your residents in the past year, so you decide to install a security camera system in your parking lots and at your complex entrances. Using an NVR, you stream your security video over the internet and allow your residents to check on their cars from time to time. By installing the security cameras and allowing your residents to check them on their own, the amount of thefts drops dramatically and your complex becomes more secure.
Vandalism – You're the superintendent of several apartment complexes in a college town. Your residents have been complaining of increased vandalism, including graffiti on the sides of buildings and some defacing of resident cars. You decide to install security cameras in order to detract vandals from striking your complexes