She Rented the Entire Apartment—Then Found a Camera Recording the Living Room

A woman who booked an entire holiday apartment in China says she discovered, hours after checking in, that a camera in the living room had been recording her group.

The owner said the camera was there to protect his property because the apartment was supposed to be rented by the room. But the booking page described it as an entire 170-square-meter apartment.

That disagreement has raised a much bigger question: when a guest rents the whole property, can its living room still be treated as a public area?      

The camera was discovered after a power cut

On October 1, a woman identified by her surname Guo checked into a three-bedroom holiday rental in Pingtan, Fujian, with her boyfriend and his sister.

The booking cost RMB 282 for one night and was advertised as an entire three-bedroom apartment with a living room, kitchen and three bathrooms.

Guo said that after taking a shower, she walked through the living room to collect clothes without being fully dressed. At around 11pm, following a power cut, the group noticed a device with a light on top of the air conditioner.

It was a camera pointing towards the living room and kitchen.

Guo said she checked the memory card and found that the camera had recorded the room. She left the property that night and called the police.

The owner said the apartment was meant to be rented by the room

The owner confirmed that he had installed the camera. He said it was intended to protect items such as the television and refrigerator in what he considered a shared area.

According to the owner, he had entrusted the property to a management company and instructed it to list the three bedrooms separately. He said he did not know the platform had advertised the property as an entire-home rental until Guo complained.

He refunded the room fee and deposit and removed the camera. The two sides did not agree on additional compensation.

Police reportedly checked the owner's phone and found no related monitoring app or evidence that the footage had been uploaded or distributed. The camera stored recordings locally on a memory card.

Is a living room still “public” after the whole apartment is rented?  

This is where the two sides remain divided.

Local police reportedly treated the living room as a public area and did not open a case. Local rules require certain online rental properties to install surveillance covering entrances and other public areas, but the cited rules do not clearly state that the living room inside an entire-home rental is a public area.

Lawyers interviewed by Chinese media took a different view. They said that when a property is clearly advertised and rented as an entire home, the living room becomes part of the guest's private space during the stay.

They added that if a camera is necessary, the operator should tell the guest before booking, clearly explain its location and recording range, and obtain consent.

The listing was reportedly still available when reporters checked it on October 10. Guo said she was considering legal action, while the owner said he was asking the management company to correct the listing.