Cameras and alarms in a tourist rental: what is allowed (2026)
Indoor cameras · Alarm photo detectors · Outdoor cameras · Guest privacy · Airbnb rules
🗓️ Updated: 10 October 2026 🌐 Ce guide en français · Deze gids in het Nederlands
Punta Prima · Playa Flamenca · La Zenia · Cabo Roig · Campoamor · Villamartín · Los Dolses · Los Altos · Torrevieja
📷 Protecting your property without filming your guests
Many owners have fitted their property with a camera or an alarm to keep an eye on it while they are away. That is legitimate when the property is empty. But once it is let, it becomes the guest's home, and the rules change completely.
This page explains what is banned, what is still allowed, and the rule we apply in every property we manage.
✅ Key points at a glance
- Indoors: banned. No camera or device able to capture images may remain in a rented property, even if it is switched off or disconnected.
- Alarms with photo detectors (Verisure and similar systems): the same rule applies.
- Outdoors: allowed under conditions, without filming the interior, the public street or the neighbours.
- At Casacare360: every indoor device is removed before the first rental, and outdoor cameras are covered during every stay.
🚫 1. Inside the property: banned
Two sets of rules apply at the same time:
- Spanish law. A rented property is the guest's home, even for a few nights. In February 2026, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) confirmed a penalty against an owner who had installed cameras in a tourist rental. He argued that guests could switch them off and had been informed: that was not enough.
- Airbnb's rules. Since 30 April 2024, Airbnb has banned any device that records or transmits video, images or sound inside a property, even if it is switched off or disconnected. A guest who finds one can report it, and Airbnb can suspend or remove the listing.
👉 Covering the lens or unplugging the device is therefore not enough. Every indoor camera must be removed before you start renting.
🔔 2. What about Verisure or similar alarms?
Many alarms use motion detectors with a built-in camera: when the alarm is set and movement is detected, they take a series of photos. They are not cameras in the usual sense, but they do capture images. For Airbnb and for data protection, they follow the same rule as cameras.
- Removable detector (wireless, clipped onto a bracket): we take it down before each stay, store it, and put it back once the property is empty again.
- Fixed detector: ask your alarm company to replace it with a motion detector without a camera before the first rental. The alarm still protects the empty property.
🏡 3. Outdoors: allowed, under conditions
A camera may watch the entrance, garden or pool of a house, provided a few rules are respected:
- Film only your own property: not the street beyond what is strictly necessary, not the neighbours, and never the interior through a window or door.
- No private areas: outdoor shower, sauna, or anywhere people change.
- An information sign saying "CCTV in operation", clearly visible.
- Footage deleted within one month, unless it is needed as evidence of an incident.
- Common areas of a complex (pool, garden, garage) may only be filmed with the community of owners' approval.
- On Airbnb, every outdoor camera must be disclosed in the listing, with its location.
👉 At Casacare360, we go further: outdoor cameras are covered during every stay. Guests enjoy the garden or pool without feeling watched.
⚠️ 4. What an owner risks
- A fine from the Data Protection Agency: whoever installs and controls the system is primarily responsible for it.
- Suspension or removal of the listing on Airbnb, after a single report.
- A disastrous review: a guest who feels watched says so, and the next guests read it.
🤝 5. Our rule, in every property
- Before the first rental: no camera or photo detector remains inside the property.
- Removable alarm detectors: taken down and stored before each stay, put back when the property is empty.
- Outdoor cameras: covered during every stay.
- One rule for all: it applies whatever the platform, direct bookings included.
A question about your setup? Message us on WhatsApp: +34 604 470 876, or discover our 3-star and 4-star formulas.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Can you have a camera inside a tourist rental in Spain?
No. The rented property is the guest's home, and data protection law forbids it. Airbnb also bans any device able to capture images indoors, even if switched off or disconnected.
Is it enough to switch the camera off or cover the lens?
No. Airbnb looks at the device itself, even when it is off. And in 2026 the AEPD penalised an owner who said his guests could switch the cameras off. The only safe solution is to remove the device.
My Verisure alarm has detectors with a camera. What should I do?
If they are removable, we take them down before each stay and put them back when the property is empty. If they are fixed, ask your alarm company to replace them with motion detectors without a camera.
Are outdoor cameras allowed?
Yes, if they film only the property, with no neighbours, no public street beyond what is necessary, no private areas, and an information sign. On Airbnb, they must be disclosed in the listing. At Casacare360, they are also covered during every stay.
What does an owner risk by keeping an indoor camera?
A fine from the Spanish Data Protection Agency, suspension or removal of their Airbnb listing, and negative reviews that weigh on bookings for a long time.
✍️ Who wrote this guide?
This guide is written by Gauthier, co-founder of Casacare360 with Amy, a licensed estate agent (API nº 01529). A Belgian couple living on the Costa Blanca, we speak French, Dutch and English, and manage tourist and seasonal rentals every day in Orihuela Costa and Torrevieja, welcoming every guest in person.
Casacare360 (Casa care 360 SL) is listed in the Valencian Community's register of estate agents under number RAICV 4145. Rated 4.9/5 on Google. More about us.
📚 References
- EU Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) and Ley Orgánica 3/2018 on data protection, article 22 (video surveillance).
- AEPD penalty for cameras in a tourist rental (February 2026).
- Airbnb's rules on cameras and recording devices, in force since 30 April 2024.
This guide is for information only and does not replace professional advice for a specific situation.