Is it good practice to switch/change locks when you change tenants?
I understand it may be a bit of a faff - but the new incoming tenant might want it done to feel more secure.
My last tenants were there for a good >3 years so have never had to consider it for a while.
(The reason why I ask is that I hear a of an incident from a fellow landlord who experienced an ex tenant who made copy of the keys and came back to the property a good 9 months after he had left and new tenants moved in. He got caught by a webcam that was installed by the existing tenant…)
Definitely. After any trades have been in to do repairs etc. and after any viewings if done for you by sn agent. When you move in a new place yourself wouldnt you change the locks? A basic security measure
Needed for insurance so you are sure no spare keys you dont know about
Dont forget to check and if needed change the CO and fire alarms too
(I had a former tenant of my flat come and ‘retrieve’ post from.a common hallway. As soon as we realized we changed the common front door locks and told former agent. Tenant had to have explained to them that they had been trespassing…)
Wow!!! I hope LL called the police about trespassing and unlawful entering. Knowing the identity of the intruder will hopefully move police to at least give them a warning.
We had the same problem with the T we evicted. He lied about losing the keys, then, after eviction, he came back and tried to unlock the door and enter. But we changed the locks, LOL! Then he left the “lost” keys in the mailbox ))
Well as we couldn’t actually prove the ex tenant had entered (no ring doorbell recording etc) we didnt bother reporting to the police (not sure they could have done anything as we didnt have ex tenant’s new address). Agents told us ex tenant was trying to get a letter about a fine to avoid going to court and having to pay extra - so we handed all the mail addressed to her to agents for her to collect
Lots of bills and debt collection letters kept coming for ex tenant, still get them sometimes…
Yes well I have had local community police visit as my neighbour went to court for damages against the former LL because he failed to control and take enough action against the previous tenants before this one - they chanted monkey noises at her. Horrible to have racial abuse anywhere but in your own home where you should feel safe is awful. Felt a little sorry for him too - how can you know in advance your prospective tenants will be racist like that, and how do you deal with it…
So changing the locks so we could all feel safe and move on was the priority …
I managed to pick up a new Yale lock cylinder - but the problem is it only comes with 2 keys.
Given that it is a Sunday - most tradespeople are not available - but luckily, my local ASDA has a Timpson automated self-service key-cutting machine - and it handled my Yale deadlock with speed and precision (although I noted quite a few online users complained that their experience wasn’t great)
£7 per key or 3 for the price of 2 at £14
Saved me waiting till tomorrow!