A single mother has revealed her horror after discovering her new rental home was fitted with internal security cameras.
The mother-of-five had struggled to find a suitable home in Brisbane and had agreed to lease a property sight unseen.
She said it wasn’t until days before moving in that she discovered the cameras, which she worried were monitoring her.
“We don’t know who’s watching. Even if we cover the cameras we don’t know who can hear us,” the woman told 7News.
In a terrifying incident, the woman claimed to have seen the camera light up when she walked through the home in her underwear.
The cameras were not the only issue either, with the woman telling ABC the lights in the living room and bedroom could not be turned off.
The stove top and heating also had to be turned off at the source, and three doors in the laundry, living room and master bedroom were locked.
She said the situation had left her feeling “sick” thinking her and her children were being watched, and demanded the cameras be removed.
The real estate agent assured the woman the cameras were not active, before claiming they were disclosed in the original ad for the property.
7News reported that the original ad did include mention of a full video security system, but did not state that they were inside the home.
Pictures contained in the ad show video cameras inside of the home, while in other images they are absent.
Property lawyer Tim O’Dwyer said the situation was “very abnormal” and labelled the property a “very scary house” to live in.
“The owner has breached the tenancy agreement by not giving her quiet enjoyment,” Mr O’Dwyer said.
While the agent has since agreed to remove the cameras, the woman said she had already left the home.
She is now desperately looking for somewhere else to live amid the worsening cost of living crisis.
“This has caused so much chaos in our lives,” she said.
“We had only just moved in, and now we have to uproot everything.
“I am doing what any mother would do to protect their children, but now I have nowhere to go.”