Advice Needed

Hi everyone, I rent a room in a shared house in Connecticut and I’m dealing with a situation I cannot get a straight answer on, so I’m hoping someone here has legal knowledge or experience with CT privacy/recording laws.

Background: I’ve lived in this house for almost a year with my roommate. There has never been a camera in the home the entire time I’ve been here. No security issues, no “missing items,” nothing. She’s 28 i’m 20.

Two days ago, I noticed she suddenly put up a camera in the shared kitchen, pointing directly at the common area. It’s not outside or in an entryway — it’s inside the home, where we cook and walk through all day. The camera records video + audio.

I did not consent to being recorded, and she never discussed installing it with me beforehand.

I moved the camera away from the kitchen and placed it by her door so she could take it back. She then sent me a long text saying: • Moving her camera was “illegal tampering with her property,” • She doesn’t need my consent because “CT is a one-party state,” • If I don’t put the camera back exactly where it was, she’ll “take legal action,” • And she ended with “This is my only warning.”

I responded that I don’t consent to audio being recorded inside my home and that this has never been an issue before.

She doubled down and said she legally doesn’t need my consent to record anything in common areas as long as it’s not my bedroom or bathroom.

I will be moving out in 15 days, so I’m not trying to escalate anything, but her legal threats are stressing me out.

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My questions: 1. Is it actually legal in CT for a roommate to install a camera with audio in a shared living space without the other tenant’s consent? 2. Does “one-party consent” apply when the person recording isn’t even present, and the device is capturing conversations between people who don’t know they’re being recorded? (From what I’ve read, that seems closer to CT’s “mechanical overhearing” eavesdropping law, but I’m not sure.) 3. Can she realistically take legal action against me simply for moving the camera out of the shared space? Nothing was damaged. I placed it safely by her door. 4. Do I have the right to refuse having an audio device filming me in my own kitchen? 5. Should I just unplug it if she puts it back up again, or is that risky legally?

I’m not trying to start a war — I just want to understand the law and my rights. I don’t want to be recorded 24/7 in an area of the home where I should have reasonable privacy, especially without notice or consent.

Any CT lawyers or people familiar with home privacy laws, please help me understand what’s legal here. Location: Connecticut

Thank you!