Renters get a raw deal on home security. You can't mount a proper outdoor camera, you can't run cables through walls, and your landlord will charge you for every anchor hole. I lived in apartments for six years and figured out what actually works — and what's a waste of money.
What You're Actually Working With
Let's define the constraints. No drilling into exterior walls (lease terms and brick/concrete walls both stop you). No permanent mounts. Cameras need to run on battery or plug into a standard outlet. Ideally, everything packs into a box when you move.
This rules out the best outdoor cameras, most PoE setups, and anything requiring professional installation. What's left is still plenty useful — you just need to set expectations correctly. An apartment camera setup protects your door, your interior, and your immediate entryway. It's not going to cover your parking spot.
Front Door: The Wyze Cam v4
For indoor coverage of your front door from inside, the Wyze Cam v4 at $36 is hard to beat. Set it on a shelf or stick it with the included adhesive mount angled toward the door. It captures 2.5K footage, has color night vision, and stores locally on a microSD card (no subscription required for basic recording).
I put one of these on my bookshelf aimed at my apartment door for two years. It caught a package thief who grabbed something from the hallway, and the footage was clear enough that building management pulled the corridor camera and identified them. Thirty-six dollars.
The app is a little cluttered and Wyze has had some privacy incidents in the past that are worth knowing about — in 2023 they briefly exposed camera feeds to wrong users due to a caching bug. I still use them but I wouldn't put one in a bedroom.
Video Doorbells Without Drilling: Eufy Video Doorbell E340 (Battery)
If your apartment door has a standard peephole, get a peephole doorbell camera instead. The Eufy Dual Lens Peephole Cam runs $100, mounts over your existing peephole with no drilling, and records on local storage via the HomeBase. Battery-powered. Takes 10 minutes to install.
The dual-lens design gives you a corridor view plus a close-up of whoever's at the door. Night vision is decent if your hallway has any ambient light. In a pitch-dark corridor it struggles — IR vision at this price range shows faces at about 6 feet, not 10.
Alternatively, the Ring Peephole Cam ($100) fits the same way with no drilling but leans on Ring's subscription model. Skip it unless you're already paying Ring.
Window Monitoring: Blink Mini 2
For windows — especially if you're on a lower floor — the Blink Mini 2 at $40 is a solid plug-in option. Position it inside aimed at the window. It won't capture outdoor detail well through glass, but it detects motion inside the room and records anyone who breaks in.
Don't expect meaningful outdoor footage through a window. Glass kills night vision and causes glare in IR mode. What you're really getting is interior motion detection with the camera near the window — which is still valuable. A motion alert at 2am when everyone's asleep is the point.
With a Sync Module 2 ($35), Blink cameras store locally to a USB drive with no subscription. Without it, you need Blink's $3/month plan per camera or $10/month for unlimited cameras.
The Portable Kit That Moves With You
Here's what I recommend if you move every 1-2 years: build a portable kit.
- 2x Wyze Cam v4 ($72 total) — front door interior + living room
- 1x Eufy Peephole Cam ($100) — door exterior
- 1x Wyze Cam Pan v3 ($38) — bedroom or secondary room
Total: about $210. Everything packs into a small box. No tools required at each new place. The Wyze cams use microSD cards and need no subscription. The Eufy uses its own local hub. You're not paying ongoing fees.
This setup gives you coverage of who enters, who's at the door, and one extra room. That's genuinely useful protection.
Privacy Considerations in an Apartment
Pointing cameras into shared spaces (hallways, common areas) is legally murky and ethically problematic. Keep cameras inside your unit or aimed at your entry from inside. A camera on a tripod in your window angled at the shared parking lot is inviting complaints from neighbors and potentially violating your lease.
Also: choose cameras with local storage when possible. Cloud-stored footage from your bedroom or living room is a privacy risk. Wyze's 2023 incident was a good reminder that "secure cloud" is marketing language, not a guarantee.
What Not to Buy
Avoid cheap Amazon generic cameras (anything under $25 with no brand recognition). I bought two of these for a subletter once and both had unencrypted RTSP streams — anyone on the same WiFi could watch the feed without a password. These cameras exist to make you feel like you have security while actually giving you none.
Also skip any doorbell camera that requires professional installation or a wired connection. You'll end up not installing it, and it'll sit in a drawer.
Bottom Line
For apartments, battery-powered and plug-in cameras with local storage are the practical choice. The Wyze v4 + Eufy peephole cam combination costs about $136 and covers the two highest-priority spots (inside and outside your door) without any subscription. Add a Blink Mini 2 if you want window coverage.
Move-in, set up in 30 minutes, move out without patching holes. That's the goal.
Where to Buy
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