Keeping Your HOA Safe

Your association’s residents need to feel safe in their homes and in the community. This means that HOA safety should be a top priority for your leadership team. The best way to do this is to contact a professional security firm, have them conduct a full safety assessment of your HOA, and implement their recommendations. These types of analyses can be cost-prohibitive for some HOAs, so if yours can’t afford this, following are some tips that can improve your association’s safety and security:

Strategically use landscaping to maximize safety.

Make sure to keep all trees and shrubs throughout the community properly trimmed. Overgrown foliage can create hiding spots for criminals to lurk in the darkness. In addition to the HOA trimming shrubs and trees on common property, remind homeowners to keep their own trees and bushes properly trimmed as well.

Keep the area light and bright.

Check that all the community lights are working properly. Also, check to see if you have enough lights on the streets, parking lots, and outdoor community areas, such as pavilions and patios. Remind homeowners to keep their outdoors lights on in the evening for added protection as well.

Create a presence with local police officers.

Create a strong partnership with the local police station. For example, if there has been a string of thefts, perhaps the local chief can assign additional patrols to your community. In addition, consider proactively creating goodwill between the community and local police by inviting the police to your community center for a coffee with local residents to talk about safety. 

Install and monitor security cameras.

Security cameras can help deter crime as well as provide evidence to help find suspects and bring them to justice if a crime does occur. Work with a security professional to determine the best locations to install the cameras. You will also need to determine who will be responsible for reviewing the footage as well as how long the footage should be kept. It’s important to note that there can be legal implications to installing security cameras, so make sure to check with your association’s attorney before doing so.

Communicate with residents about safety.

Keep residents informed if there have been recent break ins or thefts in the area so they can be vigilant. Remind them to protect themselves by keeping their cars locked, remove keys and valuables from their cars, and using a dead bolt on their home doors. Encourage them to call the security staff or police if they observe any suspicious activity.

Keeping residents and property safe is a necessary part of running an HOA. For more safety tips and ongoing assistance with managing your HOA, contact CCM to learn about the exceptional services we offer to HOAs and condo associations throughout Florida.

Consolidated Community Management (CCM) is a full-service property management company specializing in condominium and homeowner association management in Broward and southern Palm Beach Counties.  We are committed to working together with community Boards of Directors to develop management plans tailored to the unique requirements of each community and their residents.

CCM provides a quality of service that is unique to our industry and consistently delivers a distinct competitive advantage.  Our concentrated, extensive local presence and knowledge of community associations results in lasting partnerships and superior service.  We have built our industry reputation on employing the best in the business and assigning only a limited number of properties to each Property Manager Team.

Our team at Consolidated Community Management provides expert property management services at competitive prices.  Contact us today by calling (954) 718-9903 or clicking on ccmfla.com.