Cameras for a holiday home in Spain: which to choose and what the law requires
Watching an empty house from another country does not need an expensive system. It needs three things: a camera with a connection, somewhere to keep what it records, and respect for the rules of the Spanish Data Protection Agency, which are few and very clear.
Wifi or 4G: the house decides
| Type | Example | Price | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wifi camera | TP-Link Tapo C500 | 44 € | house wifi that reaches the camera |
| 4G camera with solar panel | Reolink Go G330 | 156.99 € | a SIM and mobile signal at that spot |
If the house has internet all year round, a wifi camera is the cheapest option. If the house has no line, or the router is switched off when you leave, a wifi camera sees nothing: that calls for a 4G camera, which carries its own SIM, or a 4G connection for the whole house. For a gate or a fence with no socket, the solar panel model saves running a cable.
What almost nobody checks beforehand: that signal reaches the exact spot where the 4G camera will go. A façade or a corner of the garden makes a big difference. That is our job; we explain it in «Camera without wifi», which is the service we do provide ourselves.
Where the footage is kept
- On a card inside the camera: no fee, but if someone takes the camera they take the footage.
- In the maker's cloud: visible from anywhere and kept safe, but usually with a monthly fee.
- On a recorder in the house: for several cameras, it needs power and internet to watch remotely.
The data protection rules, in five lines
- The camera may only record your own property.
- No public road, apart from the minimum strip that is essential at the entrance.
- No neighbouring plots or houses: on movable or zoom cameras, those areas must be masked.
- A visible sign at the entrances stating who is responsible.
- Footage is deleted after one month at the most.
Cameras that only record the inside of your home fall outside these rules, according to the AEPD itself. If someone works in the house (cleaning, garden), tell them there is a camera.
A camera shows you what is happening; it is not an alarm and nobody comes on your behalf. We do not sell alarms connected to a monitoring centre.
Where the figures come from
Prices checked in September 2026. They change: take them as an order of magnitude and always ask for the final price in writing.
Questions about this
Can I record the street outside my door?
How long may I keep recordings?
Tell us about your home, we will reply
Tell us where the house is and what you want to see. We will tell you whether signal reaches where the cameras would go.
Your message reaches HolaSignal, us, and nobody else. We do not work with partner installers and we do not pass your details to any company without asking you first. We reply ourselves, in writing.