HB 913 Compliance: What Florida HOAs Must Know in 2025

What Is HB 913?

Florida House Bill 913 amended Florida Statutes Chapter 720 to impose new requirements on homeowners' associations regarding the documentation and retention of access control records. The bill was signed into law in 2023 and affects gated communities across the state.

At its core, HB 913 requires that associations maintain detailed, retrievable records of who enters and exits their communities — not just for residents, but for guests, vendors, contractors, and other visitors as well.

This is not optional. Associations that fail to maintain compliant records face exposure to fines, civil liability, and challenges in the event of legal proceedings related to security incidents.

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What Records Are Required?

Under HB 913, Florida HOAs with controlled access gates must maintain records that include:

For Each Visitor Entry:

• Full name of the visitor
• Valid government-issued ID verification (driver's license, passport, etc.)
• Date and time of entry
• Date and time of exit (where applicable)
• Name of the resident who authorized the visit
• Purpose of visit (guest, contractor, delivery, etc.)
• Vehicle information including license plate number

Retention Requirements:

Records must be retained for a minimum of one year from the date of the access event and must be available for inspection by the association board and, under certain circumstances, law enforcement.

Accessibility:

Records must be organized and retrievable — a physical logbook that requires manual searching does not satisfy the accessibility standard.

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Where Most Communities Fall Short

Paper Logs and Spreadsheets

Many Florida HOAs still operate with paper logbooks or guard-maintained spreadsheets. While these may capture some required information, they typically fail on:

• Completeness — guards often abbreviate or skip fields under pressure
• Retrievability — finding a specific entry from six months ago in a paper log is impractical
• Audit trail integrity — paper records can be altered; digital systems with timestamps cannot

Legacy Software Without Export Capability

Some communities have digital systems but ones that don't generate the specific report formats required for compliance audits. Having data in a system and being able to produce it in a compliant format are two different things.

Gaps in Exit Logging

Entry logging is common. Exit logging is frequently missed. HB 913 requires both for a complete access record. Communities with entry-only systems have a compliance gap.

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How MyWatchtower Automates HB 913 Compliance

MyWatchtower was designed with Florida's regulatory environment in mind. The platform addresses every HB 913 requirement automatically:

Automatic Entry and Exit Logging

Every gate event — entry and exit — is logged automatically with a timestamp, visitor information, and the authorizing resident. Guards don't need to remember to log anything; it happens in the background.

Structured Data Fields

MyWatchtower captures all required fields in structured, searchable format. No free-text fields that can be left incomplete; the system requires essential information before an access event is finalized.

One-Click Compliance Reports

At any time, property managers can generate a compliant access report for any date range, gate, or visitor type. Reports export in PDF and CSV formats suitable for board meetings, insurance audits, or law enforcement requests.

One-Year Retention by Default

All access records are retained for a minimum of 13 months (providing buffer beyond the 12-month minimum) and are stored in geographically redundant cloud infrastructure.

Tamper-Evident Audit Trail

Because records are logged to an immutable cloud database, MyWatchtower's access logs carry more evidentiary weight than paper or spreadsheet records that can be edited after the fact.

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The Cost of Non-Compliance

The risks of non-compliance with HB 913 are real:

• HOA fines — Florida HOAs can face regulatory fines for failure to maintain required records
• Insurance complications — insurers may deny claims or reduce payouts where required records are unavailable
• Legal liability — in the event of a security incident, the absence of access records significantly weakens the association's legal position
• Board member exposure — individual board members can face personal liability for negligent record-keeping practices

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Getting Compliant Before the Next Audit

If your community is operating with paper logs or a system that doesn't meet HB 913 requirements, now is the time to address it — before a security incident or audit forces the issue.

MyWatchtower offers a free HB 913 compliance audit for Florida communities. Our team will review your current record-keeping practices and identify specific gaps, with no obligation to switch platforms.

Schedule your compliance audit today.