One of the main questions that appear when a tenant moves out is whether the landlord should change the locks. In some states this is a law in order to rent to another tenant, but in most cases landlords do change the locks anyway.
The main reason for changing the locks is undoubtedly security of the new tenants. When a tenant moves in, they should feel that their new home is safe. And that’s totally fair because if you consider yourself from the perspective of a new tenant, you can clearly understand how precious the security is. It seems so horrible to assume that someone you don’t know might have a copy of your key and could easily get in, especially when they know exactly where you live.
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Yes, when moving out tenants are required to hand over their keys back to landlord or property manager, but no one can ever be sure that they don’t have copies of the key.
What are your options
According to the most recent tenancy laws (which vary state-by-state), landlords must provide and maintain locks or other security devices for their rentals to keep them “reasonably” secure. That’s why a good landlord always pays attention to the lock. If it is damaged after the previous tenant moved out, then the landlord should buy a new one. If the lock is not damaged, then the landlord should replace it. Remember, the only way to ensure security for the new tenants is by changing the locks. You can either buy a new one or rekey it.
What is “Rekeying” and why it’s the best option for you
“Rekeying” means changing the locks between rentals. This is a much more cost-effective solution than buying a new one, which brings the same benefits.
Rekeying in your TenantCloud profile
The Specs tab allows landlords/ property managers to add and assign the keys.
Besides, landlords should always have an extra key to each unit in case of an emergency. But when a tenant loses their key, they should immediately inform the landlord about it. Then the landlord should rekey the locks. Usually, landlords charge tenants for this rekey service.
To get step-by-step instructions, go to:
How to assign a key to a property?
How to unassign a key from a property?
How to assign a key to the unit?
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