Ring Doorbell Drama

[Shelly Rike Mitchell]

Tenant A in rent by room situation put up a ring doorbell with authorization from landlord.  Gave access to tenant B. Tenant B is now harassing tenant A through the doorbell. Sending boyfriend and friends over to the house, covering doorbell and their faces. Tenant A wants to remove tenant B access to doorbell for the last two months tenant B is in the property. Is that allowed legally or do all tenants have to have access to the camera since it is technically in a shared space. Camera only shows the front entry and parking spots. This is in Texas. 

[Mohammed Rahman]

In a rent-by-room situation, the front entry and parking area are typically considered shared common space, so tenants generally have equal rights to access anything monitoring that area if the landlord approved it.

That said, this may not really be about camera access as much as it is about behavior. If Tenant B is using the situation to harass Tenant A or sending people over to intimidate them, that could potentially be a lease violation depending on what’s outlined in the lease and how serious the conduct is.

Not legal advice, but in situations like this it’s usually best for the landlord to step in and focus on addressing the behavior and maintaining a safe, non-disruptive living environment for all tenants.