Is a peephole camera legal in England?

stamina9008

I have a peephole/door viewer camera installed and am now wondering whether its legal or not..
One of my friends has a council flat and the council fitted him a door with a peephole installed, so obviously...they are not illegal..
So i fitted my door with a peephole and not ive got a camera looking through the hole.
Is t legal?

suelizab

Why would you put a camera by the peephole?? Yes, it is illegal to be a peeping tom and take pictues .

maninthestreet

Please, there are no laws that make it a criminal offence to film in public.

keystone

suelizab wrote: »

Why would you put a camera by the peephole?? Yes, it is illegal to be a peeping tom and take pictues .

So that OP can sit in the lounge and see who is at the door without getting up perhaps? How does that make OP a peeping tom? The absurdity is breathtaking.

Cheers

ed110220

I would be very surprised if it was illegal.

stamina9008

Exactly, surely a peephole on its own would be illegal if the camera looking through it was...
Looking through a peephole when someone cant see that youre there is exactly what im doing with the camera..
So wheres the problem?
I just dont want to walk to the door when someone knocks it.

Tropez

No, it's not illegal. You're well within your rights to film on your property and you are not required to notify anyone that visits your property that filming is taking place.

southcoastrgi

you can put cctv outside your house to film the street or your front door & it is perfectly legal, how do you think video entrance systems work on blocks of flats or a posh house with electric gates.

fluffymuffy

I've found a much cheaper alternative - I've just put some signs in the windows saying "Smile - You're on Camera". (There's no camera btw){or is there?}

southcoastrgi

fluffymuffy wrote: »

I've found a much cheaper alternative - I've just put some signs in the windows saying "Smile - You're on Camera". (There's no camera btw){or is there?}

i tried that but the woman in the next room just keeps lifting her top up, oh well back to my padded cell.

Edwardia

southcoastrgi wrote: »

you can put cctv outside your house to film the street or your front door & it is perfectly legal, how do you think video entrance systems work on blocks of flats or a posh house with electric gates.

I've got CCTV and though domestic CCTV installations are exempt from the Data Protection Act according to the Office of the Information Commissioner's website, the police will (if not clued up) dispute this.

CCTV is not excluded from all laws and have to comply with Permitted Development, for example.

If you want to film the street from an exterior position you will have to consult the council. If it's interior and you own the house, you won't but if you're a social housing tenant then they may not allow you to in effect mount surveillance on other tenants and you could be in hot water if there are complaints.