As a rental property owner in Wake Forest, you are fully aware that personal safety is often the root of serious concerns for your residents. It is not surprising to be faced with new residents asking questions about changing the locks for their peace of mind. Doing so gives them an assurance that former residents or perhaps other people with keys to the property can no longer enter the residence. Local laws in some places do not require a landlord to change the locks between residents, and the reality is some property owners feel that it is an unneeded cost.
If the resident asks, do you need to change or re-key the locks?
The easy response is no, and you are reasonably not obliged to change the locks upon request. But it is essential to study the potential outcomes of neglecting to do so.
Being the owner of a rental property, you must provide your Wake Forest residents with the ways to secure the home. When residents sign a lease, you give them keys, garage door openers, or passcodes not only to provide them access to the property but also to give them the means to secure the property as well. Residents often tend to make numerous copies of their keys for family members or even neighbors. Problems start to arise when they move out, and they won’t always care to collect and properly discard of these copies.
If you don’t change or re-key the locks, and somebody gains unlawful access to the residence, you could find yourself fighting a lawsuit and be held answerable for compensations. Particularly in cases of domestic abuse, divorce, or family issues, or even if a former roommate is a concern, changing the locks between residents is an essential step in defending yourself against legal liability.
Of course, the locks are only one piece of a rental home’s system. Garage door openers, keypads, and other access devices are also potential risks. Residents may share entry codes with sitters, repairmen, or anybody who need access to the home when they are not around. Vigilant supervision of passcodes, remote controls, and so on should be part of your property management strategy, plus changing codes or replacing remote controls as needed to help certify the safety of your residents.
At Real Property Management Raleigh, we want to make certain that the only people who have access to your rental properties are your residents. That is why we include lock changes in residents as an important part of our property management services. Our style is meant to protect you and your properties with the best practices in the industry. To learn more, contact us online or call us at 919-481-0008 today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
