Putting the safety of one’s home should be one of the top priorities of every property owner. The same is true even for tenants who are simply renting an abode. A good landlord should not only be concerned about his business as a structure, but to the tenants and staff who keep his business going as well…and that includes their safety while they are inside the property.

Maintaining the property to ensure all structural damages that may cause accidents gets repaired is one way to keep tenants safe, but when it comes to security, it’s an entirely different story.

Securing a property involves putting up security measures so that no intruder or criminal can secretly enter the property and cause harm to the occupants or steal their possessions.

There are a lot of security measures that can be put in place, but we will be specifically discussing one that is popular nowadays: keyless and automated entry system and its pros and cons.

Advantages

No Searching for Keys

At one point, we have all experienced struggling to find our keys; fumbling our pockets or the inside of our purse. Sometimes it even happens in times when we are in a hurry to get inside or we are carrying home bags of our groceries. It can be very frustrating.

It’s also often the root cause of being tardy for work or school because you forget where you placed your keys so you spend a lot of time looking for it around the house.

With keyless locks, you can avoid these time-consuming circumstances because all you need to do is enter the code to unlock.

You won’t get locked out

With locks that require keys, there’s a possibility of being locked out if you left your keys inside or lost it. So you either have to break down the door, or if someone you live with has a spare key, you have to wait around for them to come home before you could enter. As a landlord, this could also be inconvenient for you if a tenant lost their key and you have to drive to your rental property just to bring the spare.

Leaving a spare key under a mat or a pot outside may also be an option, but it’s easily accessible to home intruders who would try to get inside.

It’s easier to monitor who enters your property

Automated locks nowadays have a feature that can send notifications to your smartphone whenever someone enters.

You can also give unique codes to different individuals, and temporary codes for the ones who will enter for one-time reasons such as the plumber who needs to perform repairs or your rental agent who needs to conduct a property showing to a prospective tenant.

Easy turnover

Tenants come and go, so when a unit becomes vacant, you’ll need to find new tenants. Preparing your unit for new occupants include changing locks and keys. But with keyless locks, all you need to do is change the code.

So if interested home hunters found your vacancy listing after you publish it on Padleads, turning your unit over to the applicant who gets selected after the screening process will be faster.

Disadvantages

Keeping track of codes

As a landlord, you still need to be able to access all rental units in case of an emergency. And you also have to know the codes if you want to conduct inspections for vacant units or enter if a tenant goes AWOL.

However, it requires extra work to keep track of different codes and deactivating temporary codes you’ve issued to non-tenants.

Changing codes frequently

Frequently used numbers on a keypad lock can sometimes show signs of wearing, so it can give a potential intruder an idea of code combinations. You have to make sure that you change codes frequently and make sure that your tenants won’t disclose such information to their friends or family who don’t live in the unit.

You can opt for fingerprint-activated locks as well, but that would cost more. Which brings me to the next disadvantage…

It’s more expensive

An automated locking system can bring a lot of convenience and an extra level of security, but it may come with a hefty price tag. Although it’s a worthy investment, a frugal landlord may have second thoughts.

In a nutshell…

Securing your property with keyless locks is a good upgrade because it provides convenience and protection. It may also attract more tenants who are looking for a home that is safe for them.

If you think you will greatly benefit from it and your budget permits, go ahead. Go keyless.