“Can a landlord withhold video surveillance footage of common areas in a shared tenant building?”

photo by nevermindtheend

“Dear PoPville,

Can a landlord withhold video surveillance footage of common areas in a shared tenant building? The situation is such that, some bikes were stolen from a common room area in a building and in order to file a police report and recoup some funds via renters insurance, they’ve asked for a copy of the surveillance footage. However, the landlord has refused

to share the footage under the guise of some unknown “illegal prohibition” to share it. The police department said that there is no legal basis for them to withhold the footage. Wondering if there are any lawyers or savy tenant advocates that can recommend what we should do.”