Video auditing is a proactive and effective approach to evaluating a business’s policies and procedures. Video auditing can be established and implemented within various industries, organizations, and departments to give management and ownership a better understanding of how their business operates and how processes can be improved. 

To conduct a video audit, short clips of activity are recorded and collected over the auditing period. Clips can be gathered on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. The video footage is then shared with an Auditing Team who will review the clips for activity and behaviors that give insight into the way a business is operating. 

While most used in commercial businesses, like food service, retail, warehouses, and more, video auditing is also a helpful tool for residential properties. VirtuAudit services from VirtuGuard™ can evaluate your residential properties and report any inconsistencies or unwanted activity to property managers. 

What is VirtuAudit?

VirtuAudit services by VirtuGuard™ is fully customized to each business based on their specific needs. To remotely audit your business, VirtuGuard™ connects to security cameras throughout a property to monitor business operations. Our team will then coordinate with your management and ownership to develop custom auditing checklists to evaluate specific procedures and areas of interest.  

Video Audits for Residential Properties

VirtuAudit monitors relevant lease violations and reports any findings to management. Property managers may choose to audit all units or specific units they are concerned about. Video audits can be particularly useful for rent-controlled units. 

Rent Control Video Audits

In an audit of rent-controlled properties, VirtuAudit monitors for unapproved (off-lease) people living on the property, as many leases have policies limiting the number of nights guests can stay in a unit. With the rise of popularity of Airbnb and short-term rentals, property managers may be concerned with residents running unauthorized rentals of their units. 

Additionally, many rent-controlled properties have parameters for residents to remain qualified for their lease. Residents are required to spend a certain percentage of the year residing in the unit. If a resident is out of the unit for extended periods of time, this can disqualify them from their rent-controlled unit. 

Other concerns that may prompt an audit of a residential property include suspected illegal or unapproved activities occurring within the unit. If a particular resident has several guests a day who visit for short periods of time, this can raise red flags for illegal activity, like the use or selling of illegal drugs.  

How is the Audit Performed? 

We utilize Artificial Intelligence and apply it to surveillance cameras. When the AI detects motion, the camera records a short clip, around 10 seconds, of the activity. This will capture anyone entering or exiting a unit that is being audited. These clips are gathered over a specified period of time and are sent to the VirtuGuard™ Command Center for Agents to categorize and review. 

Typically, most clips capture the normal comings and goings of residents. When Agents review these clips, they may annotate brief descriptions like “Females 1 and 2 exit Unit 1 at 10:30am.”  

However, clips depicting abnormal or unwanted activity require a closer review. Behaviors that property managers are looking for include both residents and non-residents entering or exiting a unit with luggage, movers transporting furniture or boxes into or out of a unit, short and frequent visits from a variety of guests, and more. 

When Agents review clips capturing these flagged behaviors, they write detailed descriptions of each clip. For example, if a resident is pictured leaving their unit with luggage, an Agent might annotate this clip as “Male 1 exits unit 3 at 1:06pm with a large blue suitcase and a small red suitcase.” Further, if a clip is captured the next day of two non-residents entering the unit with their own suitcases, Agents would also note this for property managers: “Unknown Male 1 and Unknown Female 2 enter Unit 3 at 11:15am with three large suitcases.” 

Housing Audit Reporting

Agents will filter and categorize each 10-second clip from the duration of the auditing period and then write detailed comments of each clip. These clips and notes are then compiled into a report and shared with property management. 

If management suspects that residents are violating policies in their lease regarding guests, occupancy, and illegal or unwanted behavior, an audit can provide the necessary evidence to issue official fines or violations or even begin the eviction process. 

Try Video Audits for Residential Properties

Video auditing needs are likely to change over time. If one resident moves out and the unit remains vacant, that unit will no longer need to be audited. If property managers notice abnormal behaviors from an unmonitored unit, they may request to start auditing it too. VirtuAudit can alter and update our auditing services for each client as their unique needs change. 

If you are interested in learning more about video auditing from VirtuGuard™, please complete the contact form below or review this article for more information.