Guide
Negligent security lawsuits against Florida apartment owners
Florida gives multifamily owners a presumption against liability if they can prove a checklist was in place. Your GL policy still decides who pays the defense.
The short answer
Since 2023, Florida Statute § 768.0706 gives owners of multifamily property a presumption against liability for third-party crime if they substantially implement a listed security checklist. The owner has the burden of proving it did. The presumption is not insurance, and many apartment GL policies still exclude or sublimit assault and battery.
General information, not legal, tax, or coverage advice. What's covered depends on your specific policy wording, and the policy controls. Current as of September 2026.
In 2023, Florida added a statute for multifamily owners, Fla. Stat. § 768.0706. An owner or principal operator that substantially implements a listed set of security measures has a presumption against liability for crimes on the premises committed by third parties. The owner carries the burden of showing it did.
That makes compliance an operations and documentation job. A camera that records for 12 days is not a camera that keeps footage for 30, and a lighting fix nobody logged is hard to prove later.
It also sits beside the insurance question rather than replacing it. A suit can still be filed, and many apartment GL policies exclude or sublimit assault and battery. We are brokers, so this guide covers the checklist, the records, and the policy terms to check. The legal parts are general information.
Florida law
What does Florida's presumption against liability say?
We are insurance brokers, not attorneys. This summary of Florida law is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't create an attorney–client relationship. Court decisions and statutes change, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case. Current as of September 2026. If you face a claim or a lawsuit, talk to a licensed Florida attorney.
Florida Statutes § 768.0706, titled “Multifamily residential property safety and security; presumption against liability,” came from section 8 of chapter 2023-15 (CS/CS/HB 837), which the Governor approved on March 24, 2023. It covers a residential building, or group of buildings, with “at least five dwelling units on a particular parcel.”
An owner or principal operator that “substantially implements the following security measures” has “a presumption against liability in connection with criminal acts that occur on the premises which are committed by third parties who are not employees or agents of the owner or operator.” The measures are in the table below.
On proof, subsection (3) is direct: “the burden of proof is on the owner or principal operator to demonstrate” that it substantially implemented the measures. Subsection (5) adds: “This section does not establish a private cause of action.”
Checklist
What does the statute require, and what should you keep on file?
The statute lists these measures and requires them to be “substantially” implemented. The middle column paraphrases the statute. The right column is our suggestion for proof, not a legal requirement. Because the owner bears the burden, the records are the evidence.
| Measure | What the statute says | Records to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Security cameras | A camera system at points of entry and exit that records, and keeps retrievable for at least 30 days, video footage to assist in offender identification and apprehension. | Camera map showing entry and exit coverage, retention settings, dated test pulls of older footage, and repair tickets for any outage. |
| Parking lot lighting | A lighted parking lot at an average of at least 1.8 foot-candles per square foot at 18 inches above the surface, from dusk until dawn, or controlled by photocell or a similar device that provides light from dusk until dawn. | Light-level readings or a lighting survey, photocell or timer settings, and a log of outages with the date reported and the date fixed. |
| Walkway, laundry room, common area, and porch lighting | Lighting in those areas, on from dusk until dawn or controlled by photocell or a similar device that provides light from dusk until dawn. | Nightly or weekly walk-through checklists, bulb and fixture work orders, and photocell or timer settings. |
| Unit door deadbolts | At least a 1-inch deadbolt in each dwelling unit door. | Unit-by-unit inspection sheet noting the deadbolt on each door, plus work orders for replacements and turnovers. |
| Window, sliding door, and other door locks | A locking device on each window, each exterior sliding door, and any other doors not used for community purposes. | Inspection sheet by unit and by opening, with lock repair requests and the dates they were closed. |
| Pool gates | Locked gates with key or fob access along pool fence areas. | Gate latch and lock checks, fob or key access lists, and repair tickets for gates found open or broken. |
| Door viewers | A peephole or door viewer on each dwelling unit door that does not include a window or that does not have a window next to the door. | Unit inspection sheet that records which doors need a viewer and which have one, with install dates. |
| CPTED assessment | By January 1, 2025, a crime prevention through environmental design assessment no more than 3 years old, performed by a law enforcement agency or a Florida CPTED Practitioner designated by the Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute of the Department of Legal Affairs. The owner or operator must remain in substantial compliance with it. | The assessment report with its date and the assessor's credentials, a punch list of its recommendations, and proof of each item completed. |
| Employee safety training | By January 1, 2025, training for current employees, and after that within 60 days of hire. It must familiarize employees with the measures in paragraph (a) and be reviewed at least every 3 years and updated as necessary. | Training curriculum with revision dates, sign-in sheets by employee, hire dates to show the 60-day timing, and the date of each 3-year review. |
The training rule has a source of help built in. The statute says the owner may request a law enforcement agency, or the CPTED practitioner who performed the assessment, to review the training curriculum. The statute also has the Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute develop a proposed curriculum or best practices.
Documentation
Why does documentation matter so much under this statute?
Because the owner has to demonstrate substantial implementation, a measure you cannot show is a measure you may not get credit for. The question is not whether the cameras worked on a good day. It is whether you can show they recorded and kept footage for the required period around the date of the incident.
Here is a hypothetical, for illustration only. A 200-unit community has cameras at its gates, but the recorder overwrites footage after 14 days. Nobody changes the setting because nobody has read it in two years. The statute describes footage “retrievable for at least 30 days.” A setting check and a dated test pull would have caught the gap. We are not saying how a court would treat any particular set of facts.
The CPTED assessment adds a second job. The owner must remain in substantial compliance with the assessment, so its recommendations become a punch list with dates attached. An assessment sitting in a drawer with no follow-through is worse than it looks.
Other rules
What else changed in 2023, and what did courts say before?
Fault of others. Section 768.0701 applies when a person lawfully on commercial or real property is injured by a third party's criminal act and sues the owner, lessor, operator, or manager. In that case, “the trier of fact must consider the fault of all persons who contributed to the injury.” Fla. Stat. § 768.0701.
Plaintiff's own fault. Section 768.81(6) says that in negligence actions, “any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages,” with an exception for medical negligence. Whether and how that applies to a negligent security claim is a question to confirm with counsel.
Filing deadline. “An action founded on negligence” must be brought within two years under § 95.11(5)(a). Chapter 2023-15 reduced that from four years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023.
Before 2023. Florida courts had treated these cases as fact-driven. In Holley v. Mt. Zion Terrace Apartments, Inc., 382 So. 2d 98, 99 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980), the court wrote that, “in view of the evidence concerning the past record, and therefore the future foreseeability of violent crime at its premises,” a jury could properly find the landlord's duty required a guard or other security measures. In Sanders v. ERP Operating Ltd. Partnership, 157 So. 3d 273 (Fla. 2015), the Florida Supreme Court said foreseeability of danger to residents from criminals on the premises “was an issue of fact for the jury to decide.”
Chapter 2023-15 generally applies to causes of action filed after its effective date. Ask your attorney how the pre-2023 cases and the new statute fit together for your property.
Your policy
What does Florida law change about your insurance?
The § 768.0706 presumption is a liability defense, not a coverage term. Your policy's assault and battery wording reads the same whether or not you meet the checklist.
The owner bears the burden of proving substantial compliance under subsection (3), so defense dollars go to building that proof: camera retention, lighting, locks, and training. Under a defense-inside A&B sublimit, that spending draws down the cap even if the presumption holds.
The CPTED assessment and the training records are likely to be the first documents an adjuster and defense counsel ask for, since the statute ties the presumption to an assessment no more than 3 years old and to employee training. For the questions to put to your broker, see the hub's policy checklist and records list.
Related reading: multifamily and apartment insurance, the national negligent security guide, and our Alabama guide.
Operating habits
How do we keep this file current?
This is operating practice, not legal advice. Ask your attorney what to keep and for how long.
- One owner for the compliance file at each property, with a named backup.
- A recurring inspection of every measure in the table, dated and signed, with failures turned into work orders.
- Camera retention settings and lighting readings checked on a schedule, not just after an incident.
- Training records for every employee, tied to hire date and revision date.
- The CPTED assessment and its follow-up list kept together, updated as items close.
The same records help after a loss. See claims strategy for how we approach reporting and documentation.
FAQ
Common questions about Florida negligent security claims
Is a Florida apartment owner liable for crime on the property?
Sometimes. Florida courts have allowed juries to decide whether a landlord's duty to keep common areas reasonably safe required security measures, given the crime history at the property. Since 2023, § 768.0706 also gives owners of multifamily property a presumption against liability if they substantially implement a statutory checklist. A Florida attorney can tell you how this applies to a specific claim.
What is the Florida presumption against liability for apartment crime?
Section 768.0706, Fla. Stat., says an owner or principal operator of multifamily residential property that substantially implements the listed security measures has a presumption against liability for criminal acts on the premises committed by third parties who are not its employees or agents. The owner has the burden of proving it substantially implemented them.
What counts as multifamily residential property under the statute?
The statute defines it as a residential building, or group of buildings, such as apartments, townhouses, or condominiums, with at least five dwelling units on a particular parcel.
Does § 768.0706 create a right to sue an owner who misses a measure?
The statute says: “This section does not establish a private cause of action.” What a missed measure means in a specific lawsuit is a question for counsel.
How long does someone have to file a negligence suit in Florida?
Section 95.11(5)(a) provides that an action founded on negligence must be brought within two years. Chapter 2023-15 reduced that from four years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023. Ask a lawyer how the deadline applies to a specific claim.
What employee training does § 768.0706 require?
By January 1, 2025, the owner or operator must have trained current employees, and new hires must be trained within 60 days of hire. The training must familiarize employees with the listed security measures and be reviewed at least every 3 years and updated as necessary.
Does the presumption mean our GL policy will pay a claim?
No. The presumption is a rule about liability. Your policy is a separate contract, and assault and battery is frequently excluded or sublimited on apartment GL policies. You can have a strong compliance file and still be paying defense costs out of pocket.
Working with us
Find the assault and battery gap before a claim does
A strong compliance file helps in court but not with the carrier. Send us your GL and umbrella policies and we will show you how a Florida suit would be funded.
This article is for general educational purposes only. It isn't legal, tax, accounting, or lending advice and doesn't create a producer–client relationship. Policy terms, exclusions, and availability vary by carrier, state, and property. Only the policy actually issued determines coverage. Regulatory and lender requirements change; confirm current rules with your attorney, lender, or servicer before relying on anything here.
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