South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
Last updated September 15, 2026 · Reviewed by Elizabeth Estrada
Florida Statute § 768.0706 gives the owner of an apartment complex a presumption against liability for crimes committed on the property by third parties who are not its employees or agents, as long as the owner substantially implemented a list of security measures. Two 2026 bills would have denied that protection to properties with a recent history of reported crimes. Both died in committee on March 13, 2026, so the Florida apartment negligent security presumption remains exactly as the Legislature wrote it in 2023.
The presumption is not automatic. Subsection (3) puts the burden of proof on the owner or principal operator to show that it substantially implemented the security measures the statute lists. For a tenant or guest hurt in a robbery, shooting, or assault, the owner’s security records are central evidence, and our Florida negligent security attorneys ask for them first.