Video surveillance is supposed to reduce headaches—not create them. But many property managers only discover their system’s weak points after an incident: the camera angle missed the face, the footage is blurry, the recorder stopped weeks ago, or nobody remembers the login.
The good news is that most surveillance failures are predictable and preventable. This guide breaks down the most common problems property managers face and the practical steps to avoid them—so your system stays reliable, defensible, and actually useful when it matters.
A fail isn’t only “the camera is broken.” In real buildings, a surveillance system fails when it can’t answer basic questions during an incident:
Who entered and from where?
What exactly happened, in what sequence?
Can we identify the person involved?
Can we export clear footage quickly for police, insurance, or legal needs?
If the system can’t deliver those answers, it’s not doing its job—even if all the cameras look “online.”
One of the biggest mistakes is placing cameras based on what looks good on a blueprint rather than where incidents actually occur.
Main entrances and vestibules
Lobby and front desk area
Mailroom or package area
Elevator lobbies and hallway choke points
Laundry rooms, trash rooms, and storage areas
Parking entrances, ramps, and gates
Side/rear doors and low-visibility perimeters
Practical tip: Walk the property like someone looking for an opportunity. Where can someone enter unnoticed? Where do deliveries pile up? Where does lighting drop off at night? That’s where coverage needs to be strongest.
Many systems fail because cameras are mounted too high. This is especially common in lobbies and entrances where installers aim for vandal protection but sacrifice identification.
At least one camera positioned to capture faces clearly
A second angle that shows direction of travel (entering/exiting)
Lighting that doesn’t turn faces into silhouettes
If your system’s job includes identification, you need face-level angles—not a bird’s-eye view of hats and hoodies.
Poor lighting is the silent killer of video evidence. Even expensive cameras produce weak footage if the scene is poorly lit or backlit.
Bright sunlight behind an entrance (backlighting)
Dim hallways at night
Outdoor hotspots from parking lot lamps
Motion lights that turn on too late
Dirty glass doors causing reflections
Upgrade key fixtures at entrances and perimeter paths
Use cameras with strong WDR (wide dynamic range) for backlit doors
Avoid pointing cameras directly at bright lights
Maintain clean lenses and domes (dust and grime matter)
A small lighting upgrade can improve footage more than a costly camera swap.
Another classic failure: footage is overwritten before anyone reports the incident. This happens constantly in apartment buildings, retail properties, and mixed-use sites.
Many properties aim for:
14 days minimum (barebones)
30 days common (recommended for many sites)
60–90 days for higher-risk locations or compliance needs
Retention depends on camera count, resolution, recording mode, and bitrate. The point is: don’t guess.
Property manager move: Ask for a storage calculation in writing. If a vendor can’t explain retention clearly, you’re likely to get burned later.
Motion recording sounds efficient. In practice, it’s one of the biggest reasons footage goes missing—especially in lobbies, mailrooms, and parking areas where activity is irregular and lighting changes.
Main entrances and vestibules
Lobby areas
Package/mail rooms
Elevator lobbies
Parking entrances
Motion recording can be fine in low-traffic perimeter areas, but it must be tuned properly—sensitivity, detection zones, and minimum clip length matter.
If the system “saves storage” by missing the key moment, it isn’t saving anything.
Today’s surveillance systems are network devices. If they’re poorly secured, they can be accessed by the wrong people—or become unstable due to outdated firmware and weak configurations.
Unique strong passwords (no shared “admin/admin” type defaults)
Separate user accounts for staff vs management
Two-factor authentication when available
Regular firmware updates (scheduled, controlled)
Avoid unsafe port forwarding unless properly secured
Limit who has admin credentials
A system that can be tampered with remotely is a liability, not protection.
Property managers often get caught in the middle: residents request footage, vendors want access, staff needs live view, ownership wants oversight.
Without policy, mistakes happen—privacy issues, inconsistent responses, and unauthorized access.
Who can access live view and playback
Who can export and share video
How long footage is retained
How resident requests are handled (and what’s permitted)
How law enforcement requests are processed
How incidents are documented (date/time/camera list)
This protects residents and protects you.
A system can look “fine” on a monitor and still fail in real life.
Pull playback from 3 random cameras
Verify timestamps are accurate
Check night footage quality
Confirm remote viewing works (if used)
Confirm storage isn’t full or overwriting too fast
Export a 60-second clip
Verify the file plays on a normal computer
Confirm you can locate footage quickly by time and camera
Make sure at least two staff members know the process
When a real event happens, you do not want to learn exporting under pressure.
Physical maintenance sounds simple, but it’s often ignored until problems pile up.
Outdoor lenses get dust, salt, rain spots, spider webs
Cameras drift from vibration or minor impacts
Domes haze over and degrade night vision
Tree growth blocks views seasonally
Construction changes the scene completely
A camera that’s still “online” can be practically useless if it’s dirty or misaligned.
For many properties, the most effective improvement is integrating surveillance with access control or intercom events.
Examples:
Door access events tied to video playback timestamps
Intercom calls logged with camera snapshots
Alerts for after-hours door opens in restricted areas
These tools make investigations faster and reduce “mystery incidents” because you can line up video with entry logs.
If you’re hiring a vendor or reviewing a proposal, use these questions to separate pros from amateurs:
Where will we capture faces clearly at main entrances?
What is the expected retention time in days, in writing?
Which areas will record continuously vs motion, and why?
How do you secure remote access and user permissions?
What is the maintenance plan (cleaning, firmware, hard drive health)?
How do we export footage and how long does it take?
What happens if internet goes down—do we still record?
Who owns the admin credentials, and how are they transferred?
A trustworthy provider welcomes these questions.
Use this as a simple internal audit:
✅ Entrances covered with face-level identification angles
✅ Package/mail area covered clearly
✅ Retention is documented (14/30/60+ days)
✅ Continuous recording used in key common areas
✅ Cameras handle backlight (WDR) and night lighting properly
✅ Strong passwords + separate user accounts
✅ Monthly playback checks are scheduled
✅ Export test completed and documented
✅ Lenses cleaned and angles confirmed quarterly
✅ Access to footage controlled with a written policy
Property managers can avoid video surveillance fails by focusing on practical performance, not just equipment:
Plan coverage based on risk zones and choke points.
Capture faces at entrances with correct mounting and angles.
Fix lighting problems before blaming cameras.
Build retention and storage intentionally (in writing).
Don’t overuse motion recording in high-value areas.
Lock down cybersecurity and access permissions.
Test playback and exporting routinely—not after an incident.
Maintain physical camera condition and angles over time.