The issue of security is of great importance to landlords but also to their tenants. Landlords want to be sure that their home is in good hands and that the tenant respects it. Airbnb tenants, for their part, want to be able to freely dispose of the accommodation, in safety while enjoying respect for their privacy. Both the law and Airbnb's policies govern the use of monitoring devices. Our Concierge in Honfleur explains how this works in detail.
The bad experience of Larissa, tenant in Rouen:
On Sunday, December 11, a complaint was filed with the Dieppe police station for "invasion of privacy by fixing, recording or transmitting a person's image". A relatively impressive terminology that reflects the bad experience of Larissa A., an Airbnb tenant in Rouen. During a stay in an Airbnb rental that she occupied with 3 relatives, Larissa noticed that surveillance cameras were hidden through the accommodation.
The location of the cameras is also particularly problematic: these video recording devices were placed in front of the shower and in front of one of the beds in the accommodation. Hidden in a power strip and an alarm clock, these cameras had of course not been brought to the attention of the tenants. The surprise is therefore significant: these surveillance devices were not only deliberately concealed but also placed in places in the accommodation where privacy should naturally have been respected.
The young woman then reported the situation to Airbnb and to the police station, taking care to recover the monitoring devices. The dismantling of the elements made it possible to highlight the presence of SD cards in the device and to prove the presence of fraudulent recordings without however being able to determine if a wifi transmission was active.
What does Airbnb's policy say about surveillance cameras?
Airbnb took the situation very seriously. The owner's account was deactivated and the young woman's stay refunded in full. The rental platform aims to be reassuring: less than 0,1% of stays are the subject of a security report from travelers or owners. It is also an opportunity for a reminder of the platform's rules regarding the use of surveillance cameras.
Airbnb does allow the presence of surveillance cameras in the accommodations. However, rules govern their use:
- CCTV cameras are permitted in public and common areas subject to disclosure prior to booking.
- Undisclosed surveillance cameras are not permitted, regardless of their location.
- If surveillance devices are present in private rooms (bedroom, bathroom, etc.), these must be disclosed and deactivated. Respect for privacy is therefore central to Airbnb's rules. We also note that even if a living room is considered a priori as a common room which can be video-monitored, if there is a bed there (example: a sofa bed), the room will be considered as private and cannot therefore, that at best, accommodate a monitoring device deactivated and disclosed to the tenant before his reservation.
