Sydney mum blasts neighbour’s installation of home security camera: ‘Makes me feel so uncomfortable’
A woman whose neighbor installed a camera looking directly into her backyard has been told there is nothing she can do about it.
The Sydney mum, who lives in a townhouse in Cronulla, had a disagreement with her male neighbor before noticing the ‘awkward’ new installation.
What made the situation “terrible” is that the surveillance system looks directly into her backyard, where her three young children often play.
The mother asked her agent if there was anything they could do about the camera, but was told there was nothing they could do.
A Sydney mother was shocked to discover her neighbor had installed a security camera overlooking her backyard where her three young children play
The woman told Yahoo News that her neighbor has also installed another camera aimed at the common area in front of her garage.
She wrote in an online community group that she was most disturbed by the thought of the neighbor watching her children play.
“Our neighbor who we don’t get along with at all has placed a camera right across from our townhouse,” she wrote.
‘We have three young children and I find it so uncomfortable that they are being watched when they play outside.’
Those who responded to the post denounced her neighbor’s behavior, but said it was an all-too-common problem for some.
“We had the same thing and called the police, they came out within a few hours and asked to see their footage to confirm what they could see,” one woman wrote.
Some suggested solutions including planting bamboo to block the view or installing a screening panel.
NSW residents are allowed to have cameras looking into public areas, but are not allowed to look into other people’s bathrooms or windows.
The police can be called to verify what the camera can see and only if it is found to be invading someone’s privacy can they order the owner to remove or move the camera.
The mother said she felt ‘uneasy’ about the discovery, but her real estate agent said there was nothing that could be done.
“Contact your local police and they can come out and ask to look at that person’s footage to see exactly what was looked at,” real estate attorney Monica Rouvellas previously told Yahoo News.
“And then I think the police can actually request that the camera be removed or moved.”
“If it’s directed at someone’s home or window, then that’s a violation of that person’s privacy.”