📹 Can I install security cameras at my home or in my apartment building in Albania?

With conditions

Quick answer

Yes, where the camera is necessary and proportionate — not simply because you want one. The processing needs a legal basis under law no. 124/2024, and the camera must film only the area that is needed, avoiding neighbours' windows, yards and private spaces. In a residential building, surveillance of the common areas requires the approval of at least 75% of residents. Recordings are normally kept up to 72 hours, and without a specific basis never longer than 30 days. The myth: “the camera is on my property, so I can film anything”. No — where the device sits gives you no right to collect unlimited data about your neighbours. A visible information sign is required as well.

📋 The rules

The processing must have a legal basis under law no. 124/2024; for security purposes this is usually legitimate interest, not the “consent” of every passer-by.
The camera must film only the area needed to protect people or property, and must avoid neighbours' windows, yards or private spaces.
In residential buildings, installing surveillance of the common areas requires the approval of at least 75% of residents.
Recordings are normally kept up to 72 hours; where the system is not continuously monitored they may be kept longer, but no more than 30 days without a specific basis.
A visible information sign must be posted, and footage is not handed to third parties except to the competent authorities or on another legal basis.

🔓 Exceptions

Keeping footage beyond 30 days requires a specific documented rule or reason — not simply the owner's preference.
A camera inside a wholly private space may fall outside some obligations only where the use stays genuinely personal or household; filming the street or the neighbours weakens that exemption.
Handing a clip to the police after an incident is allowed within their competence, but posting it on social media is separate processing and may be unlawful.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data can order the restriction or deletion of footage and impose measures under the data protection law. The consequence nobody sees coming comes from social media: publishing footage without a legal basis is processing in its own right and can create civil liability towards the person filmed. In an apartment building, a system installed without the approval of 75% of residents is vulnerable from day one — and the cost of taking it down falls on whoever put it up.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

Can I mount a camera outside my apartment door?

Surveillance of the building's common areas requires the approval of at least 75% of residents. The camera must cover only the area that is needed and must not film neighbours' private spaces.

How long can I keep the footage?

The guidance sets 72 hours as the rule. Where the system is not continuously monitored, footage may be kept longer, but never more than 30 days without a specific documented basis.

Can I film the street in front of my house?

The camera must be limited to the area needed to protect people or property, so filming a wide stretch of street is hard to justify. The fact that the device sits on your property does not legitimise it by itself.

Can I post footage of a thief on Facebook?

Handing the clip to the police is allowed within their competence, but posting it on social media is a separate act of data processing. It may be unlawful and can also create civil liability.

Which law applies to cameras today?

Law no. 124/2024 entered into force on 1 June 2025 and replaced the old law no. 9887/2008 that is still widely cited. Guidance no. 3 of 30.4.2025 replaced the old practice on video surveillance.

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