One of the topmost safety precautions at home is to lock the doors. It prevents intruders from accessing the property and prevents pets or children from wandering off. Everyone, including your renters, wants that feeling of safety at home.
As Dawson Management in Huntersville says, part of your duty as a landlord is to provide a safe and habitable environment for your tenants.
Providing quality locks for the doors and windows on your rental property is one way to secure the belongings and lives of your tenants.
Owning a rental property is a tremendous investment. No landlord wants to have issues that will affect the sustainability of their rental property.
If you fail to provide this necessity to your renters, the consequences can be severe depending on the state. The following situations can arise:
Tenants may:
- Withhold the rent until you install quality locks
- Fix the locks and deduct all the expenses from the rent
- Vacate the property without any notification
- Indict you for breaching the landlord-tenant laws
For this reason, landlords should always provide the best locks for their rentals. But how do you decide on the best locks for your property?
Locks are of various types. There are several things to consider before you choose the appropriate one. These include:
- Frequency of use
The type of locks you use on your home will differ from that on a rental property. That is because rental properties sustain more wear and tear. These wears are common with locks because they are metals. For this reason, you need to go for durable locks that can withstand a higher frequency of usage.
- Rekeying
It is advisable to rekey your locks after any tenant vacates. Doing so is a security measure for yourself and the new renter. A former occupant can access the property with a duplicate key.
It is cheaper and easier to rekey than to change the entire lock. For this reason, the locks you choose should be ones you can rekey. Some locks are difficult to rekey. When you rekey them, they lose their security features. You should avoid using such locks on your rental property. Choose those that will retain their security features after you rekey them.
- Security
The aim of using locks on the doors is to offer security. So, the locks you use on your rental property should provide adequate protection. When considering locks with this feature, look for the ones that:
- Have anti-drill features and are difficult to compromise
- Resist forced entry from battering rams or kicks
- Offers bump-key resistance
- Key control
Most renters will duplicate the keys even when you warn them not to do so. That makes it difficult to have control over the key. However, you can solve this problem by using a patented key.
Investing in a patented key will prevent tenants from duplicating your keys. As a result, you will still have peace of mind even when you fail to rekey the locks after tenant turnover.
Choosing the best lock for rental properties
With all the above features in mind, below are the best locks for rental properties.
1. Kwikset SmartKeys™
These keys are easy to rekey after a tenant vacates the property. You can even do it yourself without the help of a locksmith. All you need to rekey the locks are a new key, a functioning key, and a learning tool. The process takes less than five minutes.
These locks are appropriate for rental properties with medium- to long-term tenants. Kwikset SmartKeys ™ looks like and operates like traditional locks. It has provisions for a master key. The downside is that the lock mechanism will wear out after some time, and the cost to replace is higher.
2. Landlord locks
Landlord locks look like standard locks, but they have unique features to differentiate them. The inner cylinder of landlord locks is easy to replace. You can rekey them when a renter vacates the property.
It is easy to link the locks to your master key so that it would be easy to access all the units on the property with a single key. Landlord locks are suitable for properties with over 20 units.
Some disadvantages of these locks are the initial high cost of investment and you have to replace the present locks to suit the master key.
3. Keypad lock
These locks have keypads, and you only unlock them after punching the matching codes. Some keypad locks may come with keys. Tenants will not have issues with missing keys because they can open the door with codes.
Another benefit is that it locks once they close the door. Your renters wouldn’t worry about forgetting to lock the door.
Keypad locks also permit multiple passcodes. It is appropriate for multi-dwelling rental properties. However, some renters may not like a keyless entry, and these locks require a power source.
The bottom line
Owning a rental property is a tremendous investment. No landlord wants to have issues that will affect the sustainability of their rental property.
Different locks have various features to solve specific problems. The locks you choose should offer you the ease of managing the rental and provide maximum security for your tenants.
