It can stressful at the best of times, and one thing you learn early on is that you will need to seek the services of a solid team of professionals to help you along the way. Anything from roof repair to plumbing will require the services of a professional and the same can certainly be said for using a locksmith. As a landlord, it is in our best interest to make sure that you are using a reliable service. You never know what you might encounter on a daily basis, anything from changing locks or cutting keys. You should have a trusty locksmith in your contact list before you experience any problem with your locks. If your tenants have just moved in, it is advisable to work with a renowned locksmith in your area.
With this in mind, in this blog, we will outline to you a few of the ways as a landlord, you can benefit from locksmith services. Read on to discover more!
First and foremost, it’s important as a landlord that you fully understand the work that a locksmith does and can, in turn, do for you.
What does a locksmith do?
Locksmiths are in most cases the first person you will think to call if you’ve lost your keys and don’t have access to your home, or you’re locked out of your house! In turn, locksmiths also carry out lots of non-emergency tasks.
Lots of general locksmith services include:
• Key cutting (including keys for garage door locks, window locks, and padlocks)
• Fitting and repairing locks
• Cutting, programming, and repairing car keys
• Fitting, opening, and repairing safes
• Installing access control systems
How a locksmith and a landlord - work together?
There are countless things that a locksmith is capable of doing for a landlord. Following, we include a few of them:
Re-keying
Regardless of if you have misplaced keys or have tenants moving into a new property, a locksmith will be the most suitable person to call on for your re-keying services. A quality locksmith brings the necessary tools and equipment to design new keys for any kind of locks, even old ones. They can also change the whole lock on any door of your house. Moreover, you can call the nearest key duplication service for your car or home keys as well.
Installing Security Systems
You can get in touch with a locksmith for installation, replacement, or recommendation services if your security system at your property is giving you problems. Plenty of locksmiths are experts in their field in regards to building security and that is why they are also ideal at recommending the security systems that best suit your requirements. They can also put in place surveillance cameras and alarm systems to protect your tenant's home or business from the threat of intruders and thieves.
Lock Repairs
Any kind of issue with locks or keys can be repaired by an expert locksmith. An experienced locksmith has the ability to repair your keys or locks without causing damage to the door of your property.
Master Keys
Contacting a locksmith to design master keys for your locks is the ideal way to stop your building’s security from being compromised. Master keys work on all locks of a home or whatever property you own.
Safes
Safes are utilized by businesses and homeowners to keep important documents, files, and other valuables safeguarded. If you wish to purchase a safe, get new keys for its lock, or repair the old one, a good locksmith can help you in this regard. Apart from recommending high-security safes, a locksmith can also put them in place with a guarantee of high quality.
Landlord access legalities
It is very much the case that when someone puts pen to paper for a tenancy agreement, they then own the property for a period of time. A can be regarded as the estate in the land and varies legally from having a lodger situation where the lodger just has the right to using a room.
If the tenant owns the land he also has the right to change the locks if they wish to. Under common law, there is nothing to stop a tenant from doing this, and he is under zero legal obligations to give a set of the new keys to the landlord but often, a tenant will do so for assurance or safety. What’s more, lots of tenancy agreements now cover this situation and specify that the tenant must not change the locks without the landlord’s permission. If as a landlord, you do give permission, this will often be on the condition that the tenant gives you a set of the new keys to the landlord.
Locks and keys: What are tenants' rights?
As a landlord, you are not able to enter properties without permission and locks and keys. Leading locksmiths for rental properties can often cause issues. Landlords understandably like to have control over their properties and this includes having sets of keys so they can gain access appropriately. Tenants, in turn, don’t often like the idea of their landlord, or indeed anyone else, being able to enter their property when they are not there but of course this is a safety measure and only called for when totally necessary.
Changing the locks and keys?
This can only be on the condition that the tenant gives a set of the new keys to the landlord. What is the situation therefore where the tenancy agreement prohibits changing the locks without permission. However, this may not always be the case. Landlords are not entitled to enter the property without the tenant’s permission. This is fundamental right tenants have which is included in all tenancy agreements by implication, even if not specifically stated in the tenancy agreement. So if landlords start entering the property without the tenant’s knowledge or consent, the landlord is in breach of the terms of the tenancy agreement. Even if the tenancy agreement says that the landlord can go in when he likes. Any clause like this will be void and unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.
A benefit to landlords of not holding keys
Incidentally, there may also be an advantage to the landlord in not having a set of keys. If a landlord has keys, particularly if he is known to enter the property from time to time, they may be in a tricky position if the tenant accuses them of damage or any other misdemeanors, it is very much your prerogative as a landlord if you wish to have a set of keys and access, either way, you will want to make yourself aware of a good reliable locksmith, not just for the benefit of your tenants but also yourself as a landlord.
Here at Leading Locksmith, we are a professional and affordable key cutting services, you needn’t look further than us. Included in our team of specialists are highly qualified locksmiths that are able to reach your property in no time at all, whether it’s to replace a lock following a break-in or to unlock the door when you’ve forgotten the keys. The next time you require security services that are always on hand to provide assistance in your time of need, look no further than Leading Locksmith.
Whether you choose to pop into our shop in Kansas City or our head office in Kansas, our skilled and experienced team can duplicate your key for you while you wait. We take huge pride in our reasonable key cutting services and we never compromise on our high quality. To find out more, or for a car locksmith near me, please get in touch.
