It depends on where the camera goes. In Florida, a camera placed entirely inside your own condo unit or on your own HOA lot, pointed at your own space, is largely yours to install. A camera mounted on a common element (an exterior condo wall, a shared hallway, the building facade) is on association property, and the association can regulate or prohibit it. No single Florida statute says "you may install a security camera," so the answer flows from property lines and your governing documents.
The framework
- Your own space. Inside your condo unit, or on your own HOA lot and the exterior of your own home, you generally have wide latitude to install cameras. An HOA's architectural rules may still govern exterior appearance (a visible camera can be an "architectural change"), so check your covenants.
- Common elements (condos). In a condominium, the exterior walls, hallways, and building structure are common elements the association controls under Florida Statute 718.108 and 718.111. Mounting a camera there, or drilling into a shared wall, needs the association's permission, and it can say no.
- Privacy limits everywhere. You cannot aim a camera to record where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy (a neighbor's window, a bathroom, a changing area). Audio raises additional issues under Florida's two-party consent law (Florida Statute 934.03), so many owners disable audio.
HOA vs condo
The difference is what you own. An HOA homeowner owns the house and lot, so cameras on and around their own home are mostly theirs, subject to architectural rules. A condo owner owns the unit interior but not the building shell, so any camera touching a common element needs board approval. Either way, you cannot invade a neighbor's privacy.
How to tell if the association overstepped
- It banned a camera located entirely inside your own unit or on your own lot, viewing only your own space.
- It is enforcing a camera rule that is not in the recorded documents or was not validly adopted.
- It applied the rule selectively (allowed a neighbor's identical camera but not yours).
- Conversely, you may be the one overstepping if your camera is on a common element without approval or records a neighbor's private space.
Step by step
- Locate the camera. Is it on your own unit or lot, or on a common element or shared wall? That determines who controls it.
- Read your documents for architectural rules and any camera or alteration provisions.
- Request the specific rule the association is enforcing, plus any approvals it gave neighbors, with a records request (/documents/records-inspection-request).
- Object in writing if the camera is within your own space and the rule does not reach it, or if enforcement was selective.
- Escalate. Condo owners can use DBPR arbitration or mediation under 718.1255 and complaint form 33-032 (/documents/dbpr-complaint-guide). HOA owners use pre-suit mediation and the courts. If a neighbor's camera is invading your privacy, that is a separate privacy or nuisance claim.
What you can do next
Determine whether your camera sits on your own unit or lot versus a common element, read your architectural rules, and gather the enforced rule plus any neighbor approvals with a records request (/documents/records-inspection-request). Object in writing to selective or overreaching enforcement; condo owners can escalate to DBPR on form 33-032 (/documents/dbpr-complaint-guide).