For property managers in California, Washington, and Arizona, security involves much more than installing a camera or two and calling it a day. As many West Coast regions have experienced an uptick in wildfire risk, break-ins, and package theft, property managers have been forced to update their security approach to address evolving liability concerns and operating costs.
This practical guide to property management security takes a closer look at pressing issues facing property managers, including security liability, the costs of theft and vandalism, wildfire evacuation risks, and challenges for vacant properties.
To ensure legal compliance and the safety of tenants and visitors, property owners should have a fundamental understanding of premises liability law and its subsets.
Premises liability is a broad category that holds property owners accountable for failing to provide reasonably safe conditions on the property. A slippery floor, broken railing, uneven steps, poor lighting, and so on.
Negligent security is a more targeted claim that falls under the umbrella of premises liability. Negligent security is invoked when a robbery or assault occurs and is not seen as random but the result of inaction on the part of the property manager, who should have known about, or did know about and didn’t properly address the threat.
In short, a premises liability claim focuses on harm caused by the property, while harm in a negligent security claim is caused by a person due to the landlord’s inadequate precautions.
All three states share a similar standard for negligent security, centered on whether an incident was foreseeable to the landlord. Foreseeability is a central factor in determining whether a property owner had a duty to prevent the incident and whether they should be held liable for the damages.
California Civil Code 1714 establishes a baseline expectation to use ordinary care in the management of property, but courts in all three states apply a more nuanced analysis for crimes committed by a third party.
To determine whether an incident was foreseeable, and thus whether a landlord is liable for negligent security, numerous considerations are weighed, including:
While each state has its own specific guidelines, common red flags all property managers should address include broken locks, faulty cameras, burned-out lighting, unauthorized access points, and prior incidents that have not led to specific security upgrades.
To be clear, just because somebody gets hurt doesn’t mean the property owner is liable. Courts don’t automatically hold property managers responsible for tenant safety regardless of context.
As mentioned above, liability depends on whether the incident was foreseeable and whether reasonable steps were taken to prevent it.
A property with working locks, functioning cameras, controlled access, and a thoroughly documented response to past incidents is not only in a far stronger position legally, but its tenants and visitors are also in a much safer environment.
A break-in ends up costing much more than the stolen property. The final sum includes emergency repairs, increased insurance premiums, staff time spent on police reports, tenant turnover, and reputational harm when residents and employees no longer feel safe.
The compounding financial impact of vandalism squeezes thin margins even tighter for property managers working in an already competitive market.
Package theft is a major problem across the country. Research by Omnisend, combined with FBI crime data, estimates Americans lost over $12.8 billion from approximately 228 million stolen packages in 2025; according to the study, California suffered over 36 million total thefts, leading the country, while Arizona families were hit hardest, to the amount of $298 per household for the year.
Unsurprisingly, package theft is one of the most common resident complaints, often due to vacant mailrooms and unsecured lobbies.
Video monitoring of package areas, access control in mailrooms, and smart lockers for higher-volume buildings are proven ways to stop residential package theft.
Theft attempts typically don’t stem from a random, in-the-moment decision by a burglar. Most break-ins target predictable patterns and obvious security gaps: propped exterior doors, unattended loading docks, broken or damaged gates, poorly lit parking lots, and blind spots in camera coverage.
A security assessment of your property, along with a comprehensive nighttime walkthrough, can reveal gaps you might not be aware of and lead to small fixes (bulbs, camera angles, door policy enforcement) that can make a big impact.
Plus, these minor fixes are cheap relative to the cost of a break-in.
Fire damage is just one piece of the larger threat posed by wildfires. It’s not uncommon for a mandatory evacuation to follow a wildfire, creating a window for criminals to strike, knowing the area will be emptier and harder for police to patrol.
Wildfires tend to inspire the best in people, bringing communities closer together in support of one another, but there are also examples of looting following a fire. While rare, it’s still important to have a security protocol in place that safeguards your property during and after an evacuation.
Once a mandatory evacuation is ordered, there should be a clear security response that goes beyond immediate life-safety. It should include a plan for securing entry points after the evacuation, coordinate patrols during extended evacuations, and feature remote camera access that enables you to monitor the property while off-site.
Don’t assume your security system will automatically coordinate with the fire emergency plan.
Conflicts between the two can arise if access control isn’t designed to fail safely, resulting in access-controlled doors on egress paths failing to release automatically, or fire lanes and gates being inaccessible to emergency vehicles, among other potential barriers. A security upgrade that violates fire code is a liability problem if it delays an evacuation, so take steps to avoid this outcome.
Stay current with the local fire code, work with a certified professional with experience navigating fire codes, and loop in the fire marshal before installing new security and fire alarm systems.
Vacant units are disproportionately targeted for break-ins and vandalism because no one’s present to notice a forced door or a broken window. Here are security measures to consider if you expect your property to be vacant due to wildfire damage or a mandatory evacuation.
A tool like live video monitoring lets a property manager keep watch on a vacant building remotely, with continuous, 24/7 support from monitoring experts, without paying for a full-time on-site guard. Modern security cameras detect and respond to after-hours motion with real-time alerts and can be managed from a single dashboard, simplifying monitoring of multiple vacant units across different locations.
Remote monitoring is a cost-effective way to protect a vacant building, and provides a documented record that’s extremely helpful for prosecuting criminals in the event of a break-in.
Property management security teams should focus on three core questions: who can get in, who’s watching common areas, and how quickly will we know something’s wrong?
Access control enables property owners to manage, track, and document access to every room and common area on the property. It allows you to customize access to specific areas, limiting who can go where and reducing opportunities for unauthorized individuals to enter the property unnoticed.
With access control, property managers can quickly adjust access permissions, be alerted to possible breaches, and create documentation that matters in a negligent security claim.
Visitor management extends that control to guests and delivery drivers by replacing propped doors with approved, logged entries, thereby enhancing fire code compliance during an emergency.
Security cameras, equipped with proactive crime-deterrent tools, help fill potential safety gaps and improve overall security. For instance, tailgating, when someone follows an authorized resident through a secured door before it closes, is a common tactic used by intruders, and can be hard to stop with just access control.
Cameras eliminate that loophole by maintaining continuous coverage of vulnerable areas and high-value assets, deterring theft before it happens, and triggering an alert if suspicious activity is detected. Cameras also maintain visual awareness of any activity on a property after an evacuation.
Equally important, video footage serves as essential documentation, assisting police investigations and verifying insurance claims. Properties that integrate cameras, access control, and visitor management into a single system are better prepared to respond instantly to burglary attempts and fast-developing wildfires.
Updated on: September 21st, 2026
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