How to Amp up Security at Your Rentals
Every tenant wants to feel safe in their home and rentals. Therefore, tenants look to the landlord to make the property safe. For this reason, every landlord has to take measures that ensure his/her property is safe. As a landlord, here are some tips that you can use to increase security in your apartments:
Lighting
One of the most straightforward measures to expel crime is to put in place proper lighting. Ensure you have adequate lighting in and out of your property. On indoor lights, ensure that the stairwells and hallways are lit brightly. The lights should also be on always. Ensure that you replace any bulbs that burn out promptly. As for the outdoor lights, your property should have lighting in the front and the back. You can choose to have the lights always on, or you can have them motion activated. You can also combine both of these. You can have the front porch always lit while the light on the driveway being motion activated.
Secure Doors
The entrances and exit doors to your property should be properly secured as well as the doors to the tenants’ units. When settling for the doors at the entrance and exit, they should be made out of solid and heavy-duty material like wood or steel. Keep off doors made of glass as criminals can easily break them to gain access into your property. On the doors, besides the standard lock, you should equip the entrance and exit doors with a deadbolt lock. This will make it a tad difficult for criminals to gain access into your property. You can go a notch higher by installing chain locks on the doors leading to the tenants’ units. This will also ensure that even when the tenant cracks the door open, they will still have some extra protection.
You can also have peepholes on the tenants’ doors. This will enable them to see the person outside their door without the risk of opening the door. Finally, an intercom system would be ideal for the multifamily property. This will enable the tenants to speak with a person on the front door and not have to let them in the building. Upon establishing the identity of the person, the tenant can let them in.
Windows
Criminals not only use doors to gain access into the property but also windows. As such, you should ensure they are secured too. Have working locks in the windows, regardless of whether they are high up on the fourth floor. Working locks will prevent anyone from entering the property using the fire escape. You could also opt to have security bars fitted on the first-floor windows. This might affect how aesthetic your property is, thus it is up to you to make the decision.
Tenant Screening
Tenants are not only under threat from outsiders. Sometimes, other tenants may be responsible for the criminal acts. To avoid this, ensure you perform a thorough background check on potential tenants as it will help discover any criminal past they may have had. You will be able to establish whether they pose a threat to other tenants in the property.
Alarm System
You can choose to wire the apartments with an alarm system, but make it optional for the tenants to foot the monthly fee or to subscribe to this service.
Security Cameras
To amp up your security measures, install security cameras in your rental property. This is a good option for multi-family rental property as they will be able to meet the additional cost. You can place them in common areas, the front entrance, back entrance, hallways and stairwells and anywhere else you think suitable.
If your rentals are secure, you will experience less vacancies due to security reasons, so it’s a win in the long end. If you are looking to have your property managed, look no further. At lapmg, we offer property management services and leave you to other pursuits. Check us out here.
