Teaching Landlords to Find Their Quality Tenant!

                Providing Tenant Security

by Don Conrad

Today’s subject is about tenant security. (I do cover landlord safety in another article. If interested, go to the articles page on my website at http://www.findthatqualitytenant.com). If you are landlord, security needs to be a top priority when preparing your rental for market.  Tenants want security and they need to know the home they chose to rent can go a long way in supplying them with that need.  Actually, they have a right to a safe dwelling, and this right is protected by law.

Let’s begin outside the dwelling.  One of the biggest outside safety issues happens to do with overgrown bushes.  Often times these bushes become so overgrown and so thick, that they cover the windows, thus providing a hiding space for a perpetrator to hide behind as they break into the dwelling.  The best way to solve this problem is to keep bushes and hedges well trimmed and away from the building.  Since intruders thrive on the ability to do their thing undetected, by keeping these bushes well trimmed and thinned out, you may force them to look elsewhere to do their crime.

Basement windows are also an issue when it comes to home security.  Since these basement windows are ground level, it is easy for any intruder to lay on their stomachs and break the glass, then slide down through the broken window.  This issue can be resolved by installing bars across the windows in the basement, or by replacing the original windows with glass block windows.  The one main problem with either of these solutions is the fact that if someone is in the basement when a fire breaks out, they cannot escape through these windows.  You can help decrease this problem by making sure there are good smoke detectors in the basement, and that no one uses the basement as a bedroom, although many people do.  There are pros and cons to the decision of using glass block windows and security bars in a basement and it is you who must make and live with the choice. Please weigh this decision carefully.

Good dusk to dawn lighting, or good motion sensor lighting also go a long way toward preventing break-ins.  With the increasing popularity of do-it-yourself home improvement stores, installing this type of lighting is actually very simple.  You will find, if you have any electrical abilities at all, you will probably be able to install these items yourself in a matter of an hour or so.

Once you check the outside of your house for security issues, it is time to step inside.  First, let's talk about the entry doors.  For starters, all entry doors need to be a solid core design. These can be either wood or steel.  Next, the doors need to be secured in their opening.  When doors are preassembled at a factory, the screws that hold the hinges to the door jam are generally less than 1 inch long.  One of the first things I recommend you do is to remove two or three of the screws per hinge and replace them with 3 1/2 inch or longer screws.  This ensures not only that the hinges are screwed into the door jam, but it's screwed well into the framing of the house as well.  Attaching the door this way will go a long way to preventing a breakdown from an intruder.

On the locking side jam, in other words, where the lock actually goes into the jam of the door, those lock faceplates also need extra long screws.  Generally, when an intruder busts down a door, they break the side where the door lock is.  What happens is the pressure of the break splitters the wood of the door jam where the wood is the thinnest, by the lock.  By inserting 3 1/2 in screws in the lock’s faceplate, you give extra strength to the jam and faceplates, because you are screwed into the wood frame of the house.

Onto the subjects of locks themselves. It is important to try to have a regular lock and a deadbolt lock in each door.  Please do not buy the cheap locks that are available at most discount stores.  The locks you choose must be of high quality. They must be strong, heavy-duty, and tamperproof.  My recommendation is Schlage or Quickset, who puts out a very decent lock for the average homeowner.

The deadbolt on the inside of the house is best when you can latch it without a key.  Some deadbolt locks require a key in the inside of the house to lock the door, you would rather not have this.  The reason being, if a fire was to break out, and that key was not in the deadbolt lock, your occupants cannot escape the house.  By having a deadbolt lock with a flip type of lock on the inside, an emergency escape is still possible.

The remaining issues involving entry doors, security wise, are these:

• Always install a safety chain.  Make sure it is high quality, and has a thick, hard to cut chain.
  

• Install a quality peephole.  These peepholes should be installed around 52 inches or so high, and have a wide-angle view.  Do not install a peephole so high that short people or children cannot use them.  If you wish to install peepholes rather high, because maybe you have tall people for tenants, think about installing a second peephole at a shorter height.  These people generally cost under five dollars or so and are easy install.
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• Be aware of lock placement and chain placement when you have windows in the door or near the door that can easily be broken.  Extra precautions need to be taking in these instances, because of the ease in which an intruder can break a window, reach in and unlatch the door.  In these cases, you may need to add steel bars, an out-of-the-way lock, or some other safety precaution which can't be easily reached.

Just like doors, windows also need to be secure.  This is of course done by having good working locks on all windows.  If these windows are side-to-side sliders or large patio type doors, you would be wise to add a steel bar in their tracks to prevent someone from sliding the window in the case a lock does not work properly or is left on locked.

You also may wish to make sure that you have good screens on all windows. Now I'm sure you're wondering what good screens have to do with security.  As far as I am concerned, screens in no way offer any type of security.  Why am bringing this subject up, is because there has been case law involving landlords who had missing screens for windows in their rentals and  intruders  broke in though those windows.  The courts ruled that the landlords did not supply adequate security because of the missing screens, and therefore were partly responsible for the break-in from the intruder.  Even though I do not agree with this verdict, I take the lesson in stride, and recommend keeping screens and all windows.

And of course, if you feel the need to, you may wish to add iron bars to low-lying windows.  Although keep in mind this could be a safety hazard, especially in case of fire.

There are other things you may do for added safety in your rental dwelling. 

• You may choose to offer a security system, and then just charge the tenants for that system by an increase in rent.
   
• Another idea is to give the illusion of a dog living on the premises.  This can be done with the dog dish and dog toy outside in plain view.  Also a “Be aware of dog “sign can add some impact.  Understand that this is just an illusion, and may do nothing to protect against an intruder, but might offer a tenant a bit of psychological security.
   
• You may want to start a neighborhood watch group. Many locales, with the help of local law enforcement, are using such groups as an added security measure for their neighborhoods.

Even though no one can guarantee someone else’s security, you as a landlord can do many things that will improve the security standards of your rentals. Take the time, provide the most secure environment that you can. courtesy of www.findthatqualitytenant.com

Read more landlording and real estate investment articles

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If you would like further infomation on this topic, please purchase my book "How to Find That Quality Tenant". Ask your locale bookstore or see my website at :www.findthatqualitytenant.com

I am not a lawyer, therefore, if you have any legal concerns with anything in this article, please contact the appropriate legal counsel.

The above article may be reproduced without my permission under the following conditions: author name, website, and contact information must accompany article and be prominently displayed, and the article must be reproduced in it's entirety.

Thank You. Don Conrad

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