Free Apartment Building CCTV Layout CCTV Design Tool
Apartment buildings serve dozens to hundreds of tenants with very different privacy expectations. This layout covers entrances, common areas and parking — never inside individual units, never pointing at private balconies, always with documented HOA approval.
8-24
Typical cameras
1,000-5,000 sqm
Typical area
Tenant privacy: never inside units, never on balconies
challenge
Recommended camera zones
| Zone | Camera type | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main entrance / lobby | Bullet / Dome | 2-4 | Bullet outside facing the door, dome inside the lobby — face-readable both directions. |
| Mailroom / package room | Corner-Mount / Mini-Dome | 1-3 | Mini-dome covering the package shelves and the mail slots — common theft target, cheap to cover. |
| Underground garage | Dome / IR | 3-8 | IR domes in aisles, ANPR at the entry gate. Avoid pointing at any individual tenant's spot or door. |
| Common areas (gym, lounge, bike room) | Dome | 2-6 | Discreet domes at entry/exit only — coverage of who entered, not what they did inside. |
| Roof access / fire escape | Bullet / Weather-Rated | 1-3 | Weather-rated bullet covering roof door — prevents roof-access misuse and safety incidents. |
Key challenges for
Tenant privacy: never inside units, never on balconies
Cameras must not see into apartments, balconies, or windows. Mount with a clear sight line to the common area only — use lens shades or privacy-masking firmware to crop out residential windows.
Multi-tenant access control overlap
Lobby/garage doors with key-fob access need camera+access overlap so unauthorized entries are visually verifiable. Place a camera covering the door from the inside on every entry.
Parking garage night coverage
Underground garages have no natural light and limited LED. IR bullets with 30–60 m range plus motion-activated supplemental lighting cover aisles without permanent over-illumination.
Scale: high tenant turnover
Apartment populations turn over every 1–3 years. Store fewer days of footage but rotate retention faster — and brief incoming tenants on the CCTV policy at lease signing.
Pro tips for
Get HOA / building manager sign-off on camera positions BEFORE installation — privacy complaints from one tenant tank the project.
Use privacy masking firmware to crop windows and private spaces out of the frame — software is faster than physical re-aiming.
Post visible signage at every entrance — required under most data-protection regimes and reduces tenant complaints.
Set retention to 14–30 days — shorter than commercial because tenant privacy concerns scale with retention length.
Limit who can view footage — building manager + designated security only, not casual staff. Document the access policy.
Frequently asked questions
Can the building owner watch the live feed?
Yes for incident response, no for routine surveillance of tenant movements. Most data-protection regimes treat continuous monitoring of named tenants as disproportionate. Live access should be triggered by an event, not casual.
What if a tenant asks for footage of an incident?
Most regimes give tenants a right to access footage of themselves under GDPR/local equivalents. They can't have footage of OTHER tenants without a court order. Document your access-request procedure.
How many cameras for a 50-unit apartment building?
Typically 8–14: 2 entrance, 1 mailroom, 4–6 garage, 2–3 common areas, 1–2 roof/fire-escape. Larger buildings with multiple lobbies or a leasing office add 2–4.
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