As part of a series, the Star is answering common questions about renting in Toronto. Do you have questions that you want us to answer? Email the Star at renterFAQ@thestar.ca.

The question:

Your new apartment looks perfect. Decent lighting, a bedroom bigger than a closet and a surprising lack of silverfish.

But then you notice a video camera installed outside your front door.

As a tenant, what rights do you have when it comes to privacy and surveillance?

The answer:

Video surveillance in common spaces is allowed — but with certain conditions, says Harry Fine, a paralegal and former adjudicator with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

Landlords “can have video surveillance in common areas but there has to be a sign letting people know that they’re being monitored and there can be no audio surveillance,” Fine said.

Therefore, in multi-unit spaces such as Toronto Community Housing, video cameras are permitted in hallways, stairways or elevators for security purposes.

Still, this is only permitted as long as audio isn’t being recorded and people are aware of the cameras, Fine said.

Fine says Ring-style surveillance doorbells and cameras at the front door, facing the outside area, are also permitted as long as there is a sign outside to let tenants know.

When it comes to surveillance within an apartment, Fine says the bottom line is that it’s illegal to have video surveillance in any private spaces.

If there is a video camera in a private space, then tenants have the right to take it down themselves, or tell the landlord to take it down.

According to Dania Majid, a staff lawyer for the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, installing cameras in a tenant’s home is illegal and seen as criminal activity.

“Tenants should be very concerned if they see one,” she said. “This can be a form of voyeurism.”

Renters should read their lease agreement carefully, Majid said. If the landlord has it written in a surveillance clause somewhere, they should be able to disclose the purpose of surveillance in detail. If this is not outlined or reasonable, it could be voided and no longer applicable

Fine says even if a lease contains a video surveillance clause, it cannot be enforced if it is against the law.

“Putting that in the lease doesn’t give him permission. The law says you can’t do it. You can’t add things in the lease that are illegal, and you can’t agree to something in the lease that’s against the law,” Fine said.

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Majid says if there is a camera in your unit without your permission, you can file a T2 form with the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Once a tenant files an application with the LTB their case could result in a hearing and the landlord could be fined, Fine added.

The tenant “can also call the Ministry of Housing and they could charge the landlord with a provisional offence,” Fine said.

Abhya Adlakha is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @AbhyaAdlakha