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Five things to know before you mount anything:
1. Video in true common areas is usually fine. A camera covering an exterior entrance, a shared hallway, the parking lot, or a laundry room is generally allowed — these are spaces where nobody reasonably expects to be unseen. Disclose it, keep it pointed at the common space, and you’re on solid ground. Where cameras are allowed →
2. Audio is the felony trap. Illinois is a two-party-consent state, and its Eavesdropping Act treats recording a private conversation without everyone’s consent as a criminal offense. That cute video doorbell or hallway cam that also records sound? The moment it captures two tenants talking in the entryway, you’ve potentially committed a felony — with the video being perfectly legal and the audio being the crime.
3. Never inside the unit, ever. Bedrooms, bathrooms, the interior of a leased unit — these are the tenant’s private space, full stop. A camera there isn’t a gray area; it’s a direct hit on the tenant’s privacy and quiet-enjoyment rights, and it invites both criminal exposure and a civil suit. What tenant privacy covers →
4. Hidden is worse than wrong. A disclosed camera in a legal spot is fine. A concealed camera — even in a common area — is how landlords turn a maintenance complaint into a criminal investigation. Secrecy is the aggravating factor. If you wouldn’t put it on a sign, don’t put it on a wall.
5. The penalties don’t share a pool. Here’s the stinger: the audio crime, the privacy invasion, and the quiet-enjoyment violation are separate exposures. One badly-placed device can stack a criminal charge on top of a civil damages claim on top of the tenant’s attorney’s fees. The hardware costs $60. The mistake doesn’t.
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