Tenants exposed by property pics on the net

Are landlords allowed to photograph the contents of your rented home without your permission, then advertise them on the internet to attract prospective tenants?

The question is posed by Flatchatter Tracey, whose letting agent wanted to send inspection pictures to her landlord.

“Are there any rules around property managers taking photos of the property during tenant rental inspections?” she asks. “I recently had this come up for the first time after over 20 years of renting and I couldn’t find any guidelines on this.”

And that’s because there aren’t any; it’s a matter of negotiation between tenants and landlords.

However, the Victorian Law Reform Commission recently undertook a major inquiry into what, on the face of it, seems like an intrusion into your privacy.  Victorian and NSW residential tenancy law are very similar so their findings are pertinent.

Landlords are entitled to enter your property, with due notice, and the VLRC found that, legally, your right to privacy and security is not breached by them taking pictures for display on the internet.

However, the report recognized that your furniture and decorations say a lot about you as a person, from your economic status to your sexual orientation.  Family photographs could reveal your identity, and victims of domestic violence, hiding from former partners, could be identified by their furniture.

We know criminals scour the internet for possible victims, and someone might decide that your valuable possessions were too tempting.

The comprehensive and detailed VLRC report, issued in May, recommended that landlords should have the right to take pictures for advertising purposes.

However tenants should be able to prevent their personal possessions from being photographed if they object, in writing, on the grounds of privacy or personal security.

“We are just about to publish a factsheet on sale of premises and tenancy,” Grant Arbuthnot, principal solicitor with the Tenants Union NSW told Flat Chat. “Our view is that internal photography by the landlord or agent is a breach of the tenant’s privacy unless the images do not show the tenants personal physical arrangements of living.”

He added that agents shouldn’t need to take pictures during routine inspections. However, Tracey decided the best solution was an amicable agreement with the agent that personal or sensitive items would not be photographed.

You can read Tracey and Grant Arbuthnot’s posts in full and find a link to the VLRC report on
flatchat.com.au.