Can my neighbour install a camera that films me?
Yes for their property, but not to film you. A neighbour can install CCTV cameras to protect their home, but privacy rules set clear limits: cameras can't film the public street, the building's common areas or someone else's property (your garden, your entrance, your windows). The angle must be limited to their space, and an information sign for the surveilled area must be displayed. Private CCTV for purely personal purposes has lighter rules, but can't extend to spaces not belonging to them. If a camera films you improperly, you can ask for it to be reoriented and, failing that, turn to the Data Protection Authority (Garante Privacy).
📋 The rules
- Can install cameras for their own property
- Can't film the public street, common areas or your property
- Angle limited to their space; sign required
- Filming neighbours without grounds breaches privacy
- You can turn to the Garante Privacy if filmed improperly
🔓 Exceptions
- Building cameras: require a meeting resolution and own rules
- Occasional phone recordings for a specific complaint: different regime
- Common areas: only with a resolution and proper signage
⚠️ Penalties & fines
A camera that films the public street or your property without grounds breaches data protection rules and can lead to a measure by the Garante and a sanction, plus liability for unlawful interference in private life. The first step is to warn the neighbour to reorient or remove the camera; if they don't, you file a complaint with the Garante Privacy, attaching photos of the angle. In a building, cameras in common areas require a resolution of the assembly and compliance with the requirements (sign, restricted access to the footage, limited retention).
📎 Official sources
- Garante Privacy · Video surveillance →
- Normattiva · Personal Data Protection Code →
- Normattiva · Criminal Code (unlawful interference in private life, art. 615-bis) →
❓ Frequently asked
Can my neighbour film me with a camera?
They can install cameras to watch their property, but can't film the public street, common areas or your property. If their camera films you or your home, it breaches privacy rules and you can act to have it reoriented or removed.
What do I do if the neighbour's camera frames my house?
First warn them in writing to reorient or remove the camera so it only films their property. If they don't, you can file a complaint with the Data Protection Authority, attaching photos showing the improper angle.
Do they have to signpost the cameras?
Yes. A sign must be displayed informing of a surveilled area. Signposting and respecting the angle limits are requirements of privacy rules. Their absence is itself an irregularity you can challenge.
And cameras in the building's common areas?
They require a resolution of the building assembly and must comply with the rules: filming only the common areas, displaying the sign, restricting access to the footage and retaining it for a limited period. They can't film the doors or windows of individual flats.
Can the camera record audio?
Audio recording is especially intrusive and, generally, isn't justified in CCTV between private parties, except in exceptional cases. Capturing neighbours' conversations can be an added breach of privacy and constitute crimes.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “neighbour camera films my house”
- “cctv frames public street”
- “complaint garante privacy camera”
- “building cameras common areas resolution”
- “surveilled area sign obligation”
- “neighbour camera privacy”