Aussie real estate agents wear body cameras during home inspections as security measure against ‘difficult’ renters

Real estate agents have resorted to wearing body cameras to protect themselves from potentially disgruntled tenants.

The drastic move comes as skyrocketing rents and low vacancy rates put pressure on already strained relations between tenants and property managers.

Queensland-based company 360 Property Management Mackay has already implemented the changes.

Office manager and sales agent Adele Crocker decided to have her staff wear body cameras when doing home inspections of tenants.

Ms Crocker decided on the security measure after one of her female officers was trapped in a property after a tenant refused to let her out.

“After this happened, we had a big discussion about workplace safety and talked about how we could all feel safer going into the homes of what are essentially strangers,” Ms Crocker recalled. news.com.au.

Current tenants were informed that property managers would wear body cameras as part of their personal protective equipment, while new tenants will be notified at the start of their tenancy.

The body cameras are turned on at the start of the inspection – when an agent enters the house – and the images are uploaded and stored in a database.

Ms Crocker added that the footage will be stored for a short period of time and if there are no incidents during the visit it will then be deleted.

She added that the majority of tenants considered the security measure “important” and were “surprised” that the agency had not implemented the policy sooner.

However, the agency received a number of negative written and verbal responses to the security policy alleging that the body cameras violate their privacy.

Ms Crocker said staff are “very conscious” of their tenants’ privacy, but believes the cameras are a deterrent that deters tenants from lashing out at staff.

“If someone was upset, the camera may very well be a visual deterrent to getting angry at the staff and instead waiting for them to leave and then maybe calling with their concerns,” Ms Crocker said.

“If walking into a stranger’s house with a camera gives that sense of security, with or without incident, then we’re doing our job well.”

Corporate Director of OBrien Real Estate in Victoria, Darren Hutchins, said his team of property managers do not use body cameras, but have other security measures in place.

The body cameras are turned on at the start of the inspection when an agent enters the house, with the images uploaded and stored in a database for a short time (stock image of a body camera)

Office Manager & Sales Agent at 360 Property Management Mackay Adele Crocker said the policy was implemented after a tenant locked a manger in a home and refused to let her leave

Mr Hutchins explained that property managers have a ‘safety app’ on their phone and are advised to bring a support person or team member with them if they feel there could be a conflict or problem.

He added that incidents between estate agents and tenants have occurred but are “very rare”, claiming that when respect is shown to a tenant it is “generally” given to staff.

With regard to body cameras and privacy, there is no general ‘right’ to privacy that can be enforced by law in Australia.

There is no legal objection to anyone taking a photo or video recording of something they can capture from where they are standing, as long as it is in a public area.

An individual may object to footage, provided it was taken in a non-public space, including a place owned by an individual, government department, or company.

However, the law gets more complicated when it comes to property managers entering a tenant’s home for an inspection.

The property manager is, in a legal sense, an agent for the homeowner and is therefore not seen as an ordinary member of the public, just as the renter is not seen as the ‘owner’ of the space.