How to Make Your Complex Safe for Your Tenants

Do you own or manage an apartment block? If you do, then you should be taking proactive steps to ensure a safe environment for your tenants to live in.

In many areas, it is the owner of the property’s responsibility to make your complex safe. If you fail to meet the required safeguards and put the right security measures in place, you could even face legal action.

So, how do you make a safe complex for tenants?

Let’s take a look at some of the ways that you can make your complex safer.

Screen Your Tenants Carefully

You should always make sure that you screen your tenants as carefully as you possibly can. By using a fair and thorough screening process, you will be able to weed out any potential troublemakers.

Very often, when a landlord carries out a screening process, they will be solely focused on finding out whether a tenant is someone who will pay their rent on time. It is equally important to check the background of any potential tenant.

You will need to bear in mind that it is illegal to run a background check on someone without first getting their signed consent. Make sure that you get this signature when you are taking in their application.

If your application doesn’t refer to a background check, you will need to provide a separate form.

By hiring a property management company, you will be able to ensure that proper background checks are made.

Change Locks and Passcodes Frequently

It is always a good idea that you change your locks in the apartment block frequently. Tenants who have moved out may still have copies of keys, increasing the chances of there being a burglary.

It is your responsibility as the landlord to ensure that this happens. The same also goes for passcodes if you have a door or gate system that uses them.

Codes will often get shared, and previous tenants will also know them, so it is essential that you change these on a regular basis.

Install an Alarm System

Install an alarm system in your units. This will give your tenants the chance to enable their alarm and secure their apartment.

Burglars are more likely to be attracted to homes that don’t have any form of security alarm as these are easy pickings.

Install Video Surveillance Cameras

One of the best ways to protect your tenants against the threat of crime is by putting in place the necessary tools to deter and catch criminals.

If you want to secure your complex, you can do so by installing video surveillance. If criminals see a video surveillance camera, they are more likely to think twice about what they were about to do.

In addition to deterring crimes from happening, video surveillance is also useful as it serves as a witness. It makes it far easier to catch and prosecute any criminals when there is video footage of them committing the crime.

For maximum complex security, you can install video cameras at entry points to your apartment complex. You should also fit them in hallways, in common areas such as laundry rooms, in parking lots and parking garages, in storage rooms, and around the perimeter of your buildings.

Ensure Parking Lots are Well-Lit

Lighting is essential for security. When there is not sufficient lighting, it can create the perfect places for criminals to hide.

It is important that, as a landlord, you replace any dead lightbulbs when they blow. If there are any areas of your complex that are poorly lit, you should install additional lighting.

To make sure that your tenants feel safe in the apartment complex, you should also ensure those common areas such as laundry rooms, storage areas, and parking garages are all well-lit too.

Install Security Gates

One of the simplest ways of making a safe complex is to have a security gate. While this may not be entirely fool-proof, it will dramatically reduce the chances of you having a break-in.

A security gate will typically consist of a fence that goes around the outside of the apartment complex with a gate at the front.

When a tenant or a visitor reaches the gate, they will need to scan an identifier or type in a passcode. This may come in the form of a card or an RFID device.

Access control systems such as this are a very effective way of reducing the chances of burglary or vandalism from occurring in your apartment complex.

Hire a Security Guard

If you have a large apartment complex with many tenants, it might be worth your while to hire an attendant security guard.

Having a physical presence at the door or gate of your apartment is likely to deter criminals and make them think twice about trying to gain entry.

Not only will a security guard act as a deterrent, but they will also offer peace of mind for anyone living in the apartment complex.

Make Your Complex Safe

If you want to ensure that you can easily make your complex safe, then you can do this with the assistance of a property management company.

Genuine Property Management is here to help landlords with every aspect of their property management journey, including taking steps to ensure the safety and security of all of their tenants.

To learn more about the services that we offer, get in touch today.