A tour is your best chance to see how a community really runs. Here is what to ask, what to watch for, and which Florida rules give you the right to ask.
By Orlando Senior Advisor Care Team · October 2, 2026
Start with the state record. Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) publishes each licensed assisted living facility's license type, capacity and inspection history on its FloridaHealthFinder facility locator. Read the most recent survey before you visit so you can ask about any cited deficiencies by name rather than in general terms.
Confirm the license type that matches your parent's needs. A standard license, Limited Nursing Services (LNS), Extended Congregate Care (ECC) and Limited Mental Health each allow different levels of care, and a community can only provide what its license permits. If your parent may need help beyond what a standard license allows, ask now rather than after a move.
Plan to visit at least twice: once on a scheduled weekday tour, and once unannounced or at a different time, such as a weekend or around a mealtime. Orlando traffic on I-4 and the 417 can make this a chore, but the second visit shows you what the community looks like when it is not preparing for guests.
Ask who does the care assessment, how often it is repeated, and what triggers a change in the care plan. Florida requires a health assessment before admission and a resident-specific service plan, so a community should be able to explain how it decides what your parent needs.
Ask about staffing at night and on weekends, not just daytime. How many residents does each aide serve on each shift? Is a staff member awake overnight? How are call lights answered, and how long does it usually take?
Ask who administers or assists with medication, what training those staff have, and what happens when a medication changes. Ask what happens after a fall, how families are notified, and which situations lead to a 911 call versus an internal response.
If memory loss is a concern, ask whether the community has a secured unit, what dementia-specific training staff receive, and what it does when a resident wanders or becomes agitated. Ask directly whether a resident whose needs grow can stay, and at what point the community would ask a family to move a parent out.
Request the residency agreement and a current fee schedule in writing, and take them home. Ask what the base rate includes, how levels of care are priced, and whether there is a community or move-in fee. Ask how often rates have increased in the past two years and how much notice residents receive.
Ask what happens to the rate if your parent needs more help, and what services are billed separately, such as incontinence care, medication management, laundry, transportation or escorts to appointments.
Ask about the refund policy if your parent leaves, passes away or transitions to a nursing home, and how the discharge and transfer process works. Florida law limits the reasons a community can require a resident to leave and requires written notice, so a clear answer here is a good sign.
Ask whether the community accepts Florida's Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care (SMMC LTC) program, and whether a resident who runs out of private funds can remain. Many families discover this issue only after savings are gone.
Watch how staff talk to residents. Do they use names, make eye contact and wait for an answer? Do residents look clean, dressed and engaged, or parked in front of a television? A good activity calendar matters less than whether people are actually participating in it.
Notice smells, noise and temperature. Florida heat makes air conditioning a safety issue, so check that common areas and rooms are comfortable. Look at bathrooms for grab bars and at floors for clutter or wet spots.
Eat a meal if you can. Ask to see a weekly menu, how special diets are handled, and whether residents can get snacks and drinks between meals. Talk to a few residents and visiting family members away from the sales team.
Finally, ask about hurricane preparedness. Florida requires assisted living communities to have an emergency plan, and a good community can tell you whether it shelters in place, how it handles power loss and where residents go if evacuation is necessary.
Florida's assisted living residents have a statutory bill of rights, including the right to be treated with dignity, to keep personal belongings, to privacy, and to contact the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program without fear of retaliation. A community should post these rights and be able to explain them.
If something troubling comes up after a move, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and AHCA's complaint line are both free resources. Our directory lists licensed Central Florida communities, and our team can help you compare options and arrange tours that fit your parent's needs and budget.
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