Topic: Lock Change after Move Out

We have 328 apartments, 2 full time maintenance people. We are about 85% occupied, with an average of 15-20 move outs/move ins per month. Right now, we do not change locks between each tenant move in/move out. The only time we change locks is if the old tenant did not return all their keys, or if there was an eviction.
I'm looking for feedback from properties that do change all locks after each move out. How do you do this? Swap with another apartment, buy a whole new lockset, etc.. How do you organize all your keys, and make sure that the current keys stay with the new locks (don't give old keys to new lock)
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I try to figure out a new organizational system for our keys/locks on the property.

thanks!!

I think not changing the locks between residents opens yourself up to a HUGE liability. It's too easy for the old resident to make a copy at the hardware store and come back later to burglarize the new place.

We slowly upgrade all our locks to "smart locks" so we can change the locks in seconds, and it can be done without tools. Leasing can even change the locks if they're doing a walk through. The locks are changed to a temporary "vacant" key. Then the last thing that's done before the new resident moves in is changing the locks to the new key. This way no vendor has had the keys to the apartment.

Our buildings are secured entry, the doors are only opened with an electronic fob. If the old resident doesn't return their fob, we deactivate it. So, old residents who still have copies of the apartment key would still need to find a way into the building. This is why we have not, historically,changed the apartment door locks between each tenant.
I do have a question about the "smart locks". Do you just need to keep a supply of keys, ready to be programmed? how does that actually work, when getting ready for a new tenant? Just program one key for each resident? Do they all sync with a master key for maintenance?

Courtney is correct. Changing locks is extremely important to safety of future tenants, since anyone can go to Walmart and make a copy of a key, even if it is stamped no copy.
We change the lock with every move. Our maintenance team keeps the old locks and switch them around, and it is their duty to maintain the keys on the keyboard in an orderly fashion.
While the units are being turned, the guys install a temporary master lock. All of our employees are given a master lock key which will get them into all of the units that have a master lock installed. I'm sorry to say I'm not sure how they obtain the master locks, or if they are just buying several of one kind. I'm sure there are websites where you can find more details.
Hope my minors bits of information have been helpful. ^_^

Thanks for the feedback! One of my concerns is the time this will take on our maintenance staff. With only 2 maintenance techs, changing locks/organizing keys on around 15 move outs in a month, on top of doing the complete turnover (we do everything in house except carpet shampoo) is going to be a huge strain on their time. What do you do when maintenance needs to enter an occupied apartment for a service request, if the master key only works while the apartment is vacant? I'd say about 80% of our service work is done when residents are not home. We get permission to enter when they call in their request, but maintenance has a master which unlocks all apartment doors.

Just a thought - you do not have enough maintenance techs for that size property unless it is brand mew construction. Second, de-master your property. Having a mastered property is a liability. Third, your Maintenance Supervisor (if you have one) or the person designated as the "Key Master" if you don't have a supervisor, keeps up with the lock changes. It should be acceptable to change between units. If you don't have Smart Locks, then use the locks where you just re-key them. This is done as the last step in the turn process.

One of my techs forgot to change the locks on a vacant. The new tenant got a big surprise one night when an old friend of the former tenant popped in with his key.

He traveled and didn't know they had moved.

I threw my last master key in the ocean at Myrtle Beach about 9 years ago. I guess you live in a really nice area.

My last maintenance guy stole a ton of my maintenance tools and is still occupying the apartment we gave him and hasn't paid rent.

Change the locks!!!!!!

Mindy - I absolutely agree that we need more maintenance staff - we're 7 years old, and while 2 were ok at first, now we need more. Unfortunately, that aspect is out of my hands, as ownership has not yet shown an interest in increasing payroll budget for more staff members.

I really do appreciate everyone's feedback. My remaining question is in handling service requests without a master key. Do you just keep a spare for each apartment, that maintenance takes when they go to do the request? I think that will be my hardest sale for maintenance - the extra time to come down the office every work order just to get a key, particularly if they're already working elsewhere in that same building, whereas now, they can just go right over with their master.

Julia wrote:

Mindy - My remaining question is in handling service requests without a master key. Do you just keep a spare for each apartment, that maintenance takes when they go to do the request?

We have two copies of every key. One copy goes on the maintenance hook board down in their workshop. THe other goes on the office hook board, which we use during occupied showings. That way everyone has a copy to use if needed.

Thank you!

Maintaining only one Key Box is optimal as it cuts down on the issue of who has access. Of course, keeping a key box in the maintenance shop area means the On-Call tech can easily get a pass key for the unit; it also means whoever is making keys has to remember to update both boxes, etc. I think this can be confusing and the potential for mismatched keys could occur per box (one box contains correct key; the other does not.) That will frustrate your Leasing Team to no end. It doesn't sound like your company would like to invest in a systemized tracking system, but there are a couple of good ones out there (expensive!) Add that to your Wish List for next year's budget! As to after-hours calls, educate your residents to understand if they call in for emergency maintenance, they must provide their contact information as well as remain HOME until the On-Call Tech arrives to assess the situation. If the emergency requires entry into another unit, then the tech will only have to deal with going to get one key.

We use a system call KeyTrak and it works great. We keep all of our keys in this locked box and the only way for a key to be removed is by fingerprint. Reports can be ran at any time to see who took or has keys currently taken out. We can also run reports at the end of the day to show what keys are missing from the inventory.

www.keytrak.com/

I hope this helps!

Don't worry about issuing keys again! A KEYper is so smart, it will send your manager a text message should a maintenance tech keep a key out of the cabinet longer than a duration you can prescribe. It will even alert you should someone pull a key they didn't request or if they pull a key beyond a prescribed key limit.

www.keypersystems.com

I buy new locks sometimes to replace the old faded ones. I master the new locks and replace the old ones. I sometimes switch locks with other vacant. Mastering locks isn't hard once you get the hang of it. We use schlage locks. Kwickset locks are easier to master. We keep all of our tenant keys in for key boxes, they don't have the addresses on them. They have a specific number code. You have to look in the key binder, look at the building number and apartment number and they code number its next to it so then you go get that key from the key box. Pretty simple