As a landlord, one of your biggest responsibilities is keeping your rental highly secure. Your unit may have modern furnishings and impressive amenities, but if your renters feel unsafe living there, then they’re unlikely to stay for the long term.
To earn maximum returns from your investment, it’s important to focus on the security of your rental home. It’s stressful to face theft, burglary, and trespassing. To avoid these kinds of situations, the best thing to do is enhance the safety of your rental.
In this post, we are going over the practices you can do to increase your East Bay home’s safety.
1. Keep your Main Entrances Secure
Ensure you have strong and durable doors installed with solid locks attached. Go for deadbolts and make sure your door frames are sturdy enough to make it difficult for the intruders to enter.
We recommend that you have metal or solid wood doors. Intruders want to bypass access points as quickly as they can. If you install a tough barrier, then they’ll be discouraged in carrying out their plans.
It’s also crucial that you rekey your locks after a tenant moves out. This ensures that previous occupants can’t access the unit.
2. Don’t Forget Window Security
Given that windows are easy to break down, burglars normally focus on them. Make sure that your window locks are sturdy. Also, never open your windows too wide as intruders may be able to make their way through the gap.
Lock your windows to make it tough for trespassers to climb in and out. Breaking windows can cause disturbance so trespassers are unlikely to smash them down.
3. Protect your Unit with External Lighting
Placing more outside lighting is helpful in securing the premises of your rental. You can even select motion sensor lighting. Since intruders are prone to hiding in the shadows, sensor lighting can prevent them from getting some coverage.
Invest in external lighting in key areas of the rental unit such as entranceways. You can even put some in areas where trespassers are prone to hiding.
Burglars are likely to leave when a good lighting system is set up as it will expose their presence.
4. Invest in Security Systems
Deciding to invest in security systems from the outset leads to more peace of mind in the future.
You need to install good, functional security systems so your tenants feel safe living in your rental.
During orientation, it’s important to communicate to your renters the proper security procedures and how to use certain security systems. Some tenants may even be willing to pay extra for additional security system setups.
5. Advertise the Security of your Rental
To discourage trespassers from entering your unit, it’s vital to promote the existence of an active security system. You can place signs around the premises to advertise the presence of your security measures. Most burglars skip rental homes that have solid security systems in place.
When putting up signs, make sure they’re general and won’t contain specific models of the security system you’re using. Otherwise, wily intruders can research the weak points of your security system.
6. Eliminate Potential Hiding Places
Homes that have plenty of foliage can give trespassers a place to hide. Trim your shrubs, cut down extra long branches and keep decorative items minimal outside your rental.
You can also install motion lighting in garden sheds and your garage to deter trespassers.
By making it impossible for the intruders to wait in a hidden place, you can effectively reduce burglary incidences.
7. Document your Items
If theft occurs, having a copy of your important items makes reporting of the lost possessions easier. Note down the model, color, and serial number for proper identification. Taking photos can also be useful for a visual copy.
It’s typical that a report must be done for missing items after a rental break in. Having documentation of the appliances, furnishing, gadgets, and valuable items is very helpful. It makes the process quick and your file record is also accurate.
Considerations before Deciding to Upgrade Security Systems
Prior to updating the security systems around your rental unit, you should have a proper discussion with your tenants. Replacing locks without communicating the plan to the renter can result in a misunderstanding. It can even be marked as illegal without proper consent by the tenant. In fact, a landlord may be instructed to change security systems only when the tenant moves out or when the rental is vacant.
To ensure you can add more security measures, you can include an addendum in your rental agreement. The contract must mention the new security systems in place and show that both parties are in mutual agreement through the signed documents.
Bottom Line
When you upgrade your security systems, you promote more safety to the renters. It shows that you remain committed to delivering a well-protected property for their comfort.
Try the tips mentioned above to keep your home and investment safe!
If you need a trusted property manager to provide you with professional property management services, contact East Bay Property Management today!
