Florida House Bill 837 (HB837): How Can Property Managers Prepare?
Starting January 1, 2025, Florida House Bill 837 (HB 837) introduces new security and liability standards for multifamily property owners and managers. Understanding how the law works and how to prepare now can help reduce risk, improve tenant safety, and support compliance.
Ignoring HB837 could lead to legal and financial issues, so now is the time for property managers to start looking at their current security needs and taking required actions.
Read on to learn more about Florida House Bill 837 and how to stay compliant.
What is Florida House Bill 837 (HB837)?
Florida House Bill 837 is part of Florida’s broader tort reform legislation. For multifamily property owners and operators, the law establishes a rebuttable presumption against liability for certain third-party criminal acts, provided specific security and assessment requirements are met.
This bill applies to you if you’re a Florida owner or principal operator of Florida multifamily properties with five or more units, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums all qualify. The bill requires owners and operators’ properties to undergo a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment.
Here is how Florida House Bill 837 may impact property managers:
- Makes changes to reduce pointless lawsuits and aggressive tactics from trial lawyers.
- Adjusts the rules around bad faith claims to create a fairer legal process for everyone involved.
- Remove one-way attorney’s fees and extra fees, easing financial pressure on property owners from lawsuits.
- Protects Floridians from being held responsible for damages if the person suing is found to be more at fault for their injuries.
- Gives more protection to property managers facing lawsuits related to criminal acts, as long as they follow a safety checklist.
- Sets clear guidelines for juries when deciding medical damages, promoting fairness in legal cases.
- Reduces the time someone has to file a general negligence lawsuit from four years to two, encouraging faster resolutions.
What does HB837 mean for property managers?
HB 837 limits premises liability exposure for multifamily property managers when adequate security measures are in place. However, failure to comply with required assessments, training, and physical security standards may remove those legal protections.
All property managers will be required to pass a CPTED assessment. This step is essential to ensuring a presumption against liability for any third-party crimes that occur on the premises of your Florida apartment complex, townhouse, or condominium units.
In other words, if you don’t want to be liable for third-party crimes on your multi unit properties, it’s critical to understand CPTED and take several key steps before 2025 arrives.
FREE DOWNLOAD: The Ultimate Guide to Multi-Family Security for Property Managers & Owners
How should property managers prepare for Florida House Bill 837?
Starting January 1, 2025, your property must be in compliance with a range of new requirements. Depending on your property’s current security measures, this may require some preparation.
Step one: Get familiar with the basics of CPTED
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) focuses on designing and maintaining spaces that naturally deter crime. For multifamily properties, this often includes lighting, access control, visibility, landscaping, and maintenance practices.
By designing environments thoughtfully, CPTED (pronounced SEP-TED) creates spaces that naturally help deter crime. In some spaces, CPTED is known as “designing out crime” or “defensible space.” But all aim for the same thing: using key strategies to reduce victimization, deter offender decisions that precede crime, and build a sense of community among residents.
What does CPTED for apartments, townhouses, condos or other multi-unit properties look like? It is a matter of embracing five principles:
- Natural access controls means it provides clear entrances and exits. This may include gates, well-placed landscaping, signage, lighting and more.
- Natural surveillance occurs through lighting, window placement and landscaping that allows for “eyes” on a location. In addition to using proper lighting, it includes maintaining landscaping to project a message of care and upkeep.
- Territorial reinforcement entails creating a sense of belonging and ownership in a given space. A well-cared-for space signals to potential offenders that people will likely notice suspicious behavior.
- Activity support refers to use of a given space for key activities, such as a playground or street activities like neighborhood get-togethers, fairs, or farmer’s markets.
- Maintenance reflects the upkeep of common areas. Lights work, landscaping is maintained, and there is no visible trash or graffiti. This signals that the property is cared for.
Step two: Create and implement your CPTED strategy
HB 837 requires qualifying multifamily properties to implement physical security measures aligned with CPTED principles, including lighting, access controls, and surveillance components.
Under the new law, the following physical security controls were required to be in place starting January 1, 2025:
- A security camera system: Cameras must be installed at all entrances and exits to record and maintain retrievable video footage for at least 30 days.
- Lighting requirements: Parking lots must be well-lit, with lighting of at least 1.8 foot-candles per square foot at 18 inches above the surface. This needs to occur from dusk until dawn or controlled by a photocell. In addition, walkways, common areas such as hallways and laundry rooms and porches, must be illuminated from dusk to dawn or controlled by a photocell.
- Door and window locks: There must be a one-inch deadbolt on all dwelling unit doors. In addition, locking devices must be installed on each window, exterior sliding doors, and all other doors that aren’t used for community purposes.
- Peephole or window next to unit doors: Every dwelling door also needs to feature a window in it or next to it. If it doesn’t, then a peephole must be installed. Most peephole devices cost about $20, and your maintenance team can easily install them.
- Pool safety: Properties with swimming pools must have locked gates requiring key or fob access along pool fence areas. This is a smart safety if your complex has children living in it.
- Secure entrances: Pedestrian security gates must be equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) readers. These gates are a visible reminder to criminals that they aren’t welcome there.
Step three: Provide employee training on crime deterrence and safety
Property owners must ensure employees receive crime deterrence and safety training by January 1, 2025, with new hires trained within 60 days. Ongoing training must occur at least every three years.
The bill requires the Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute of the Department of Legal Affairs to develop proposed curriculum or best practices for owners or operators. This curriculum will provide more specifics you can embrace in your training.
Step four: Schedule a CPTED security assessment for each property
Each qualifying property must undergo a CPTED assessment performed by law enforcement or a Florida-certified CPTED practitioner to identify vulnerabilities and confirm compliance.
This assessment will evaluate the property’s current safety features and identify areas for improvement to align with CPTED standards. These assessments are important for spotting vulnerabilities and making the necessary improvements to lower potential crime risks.
How can property managers stay compliant with CPTED requirements?
Staying compliant requires proactive planning, documentation, and regular reassessment. Property managers should coordinate assessments early, track training schedules, and ensure security measures remain operational and maintained.
Property managers might also consider investing in a tech-enabled security solution like Deep Sentinel. These systems make use of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence and real-time surveillance, to provide an added layer of protection. Implementing such technologies can help to deter criminal activity even further by offering instant notification of suspicious behavior to security personnel or law enforcement.
Not only does Deep Sentinel security help fulfill the camera requirement, but our unique approach also melds AI-powered tech with human intervention for enhanced accuracy in threat detection. By integrating these systems, property managers can ensure that their premises are not only compliant with the latest security regulations but are also equipped to effectively prevent crime.
Need a security solution that supports compliance and crime prevention?
Technology-enabled security solutions, such as live guard surveillance and AI-powered monitoring, can support CPTED principles while helping deter crime in real time.
Visit deepsentinel.com or call 833-983-6006
Florida House Bill 837 FAQs
What security measures are required under HB 837?
HB 837 requires multifamily properties to implement physical security controls aligned with CPTED principles. These may include adequate lighting, controlled access points, maintained landscaping, and security camera systems designed to deter crime.
Does HB 837 require security cameras at multifamily properties?
HB 837 does not mandate a specific camera system or vendor, but surveillance cameras are commonly part of CPTED-aligned security strategies and may support crime deterrence and compliance efforts.
How can technology-enabled security help with HB 837 compliance?
Technology-enabled security solutions that combine video surveillance, artificial intelligence, and real-time monitoring can help deter criminal activity and document security efforts. These systems can support CPTED goals when used as part of a broader security strategy.
Does complying with HB 837 eliminate all liability?
No. HB 837 does not eliminate liability entirely. Instead, it provides a presumption against liability for certain third-party criminal acts when required security measures, training, and assessments are in place.