As a rental property owner in Orem, you know that your tenants are worried about their personal safety. As new tenants move into a rental home, they may ask about changing the locks to ensure that outgoing tenants or other individuals with keys to the property will not be able to come into the residence. In many places, local laws do not ask for a landlord to change the locks between tenants, and quite a few property owners may consider changing the locks costly and nonessential.
If the tenant asks, are you required to change or re-key the locks?
The direct response is no, you are not warranted to change the locks upon request. However, it is key to weigh the likely ramifications of not doing so.
As the property owner, you are responsible for providing your Orem tenants with the procedures to strengthen the safety of the home. When tenants sign a lease, you give them the keys, garage door openers, or passcodes so they can enter the property. Tenants often make copies of their keys for family members or even neighbors, and when they leave a rental home, they may not collect and dispose of these copies.
If you don’t change or re-key the locks, and someone attains an illegal way to come into the residence, you could face prosecution and be held amenable for damages, especially in cases of domestic abuse, divorce, or family issues, or even if a bygone roommate is a stress. Changing the locks between tenants is a very important step in protecting yourself from legal liability.
To be sure, the locks are only one feature of a rental home’s system. Garage door openers, keypads, and other access devices are also possible risks to look out for. Tenants may give entry codes to babysitters, repairmen, or others who ask for entry to the home when they are somewhere else. Meticulous management of passcodes, remote controls, and so on should be a part of your property management strategy, in addition to changing codes or replacing remote controls as necessitated to help warrant the safety of your tenants.
At Real Property Management Utah County, we hope to ensure that the only people who can enter your rental properties are your tenants. In this regard, we offer lock changes between tenants as an imperative part of our property management services. We will protect you and your properties with the best practices in the industry. Please contact us online or call us at 801-224-0033 to learn more.
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.
