More homeowners associations are installing automated license plate readers and AI powered security cameras, and the technology is outpacing the paperwork that's supposed to govern it. For agents, that gap is turning into a new due diligence question, one that didn't exist in most transaction checklists a year ago.
Flock Safety, the best known provider of license plate reader technology, has expanded its reach to more than 6,000 communities nationwide, according to a Realtor.com report cited by HousingWire on September 14. That includes private neighborhoods, HOAs, retail properties, and business districts. Other associations are layering in AI powered cameras that can flag a trash can left at the curb or an unapproved paint color, according to Mike Schwab, CEO of Association Online.
Here's the problem: most HOA governing documents were written before any of this technology existed, so they say nothing about whether a board can install it, who owns the data, or what happens to it once it's collected. Schwab told HousingWire that HOAs generally have no obligation to disclose a surveillance system at all. The only reliable way to find out is to ask.
That gap matters more than it might sound. A Washington Post investigation published in August found that at least 50 law enforcement officers have been accused or charged with misusing Flock or similar systems, with more than half of those cases tied to romantic partners rather than official police work. Leigh Brown, a Realtor with One Community Real Estate in the Carolinas, has been walking fellow agents through the implications, including clients with active protective orders who have real reasons to avoid a monitored neighborhood altogether.
What This Means for Your Business
Add one question to your buyer consultation and your showing prep: does this community have license plate readers or camera surveillance installed? It's a fast question, and it belongs on the same list as flood zone and HOA fee questions, not as an afterthought.
Ask the HOA directly rather than relying on the governing documents. Schwab's experience is that boards rarely volunteer this information, and it's sometimes buried in a budget line item rather than spelled out anywhere a buyer would think to look.
Apply the question to every client, every time. Brown's caution is a fair housing one: if you raise surveillance concerns with one buyer, raise them with all of them. A selectively asked question can look like steering, even when that's not the intent.
None of this requires an opinion on the technology itself, and HouseJet isn't offering one here. What it requires is a documented habit: ask, note the answer, and let the client decide what it means for them. Buyers who discover a surveillance system after they've fallen in love with a house are in a much worse negotiating position than buyers who knew going in.
Some brokerages are already updating their disclosure forms to include a simple yes or no line on cameras and license plate readers. If yours hasn't, it's worth raising with your managing broker before the next listing presentation, not after a client calls asking why nobody mentioned the cameras at the entrance.
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