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Tenant FAQ

Can I get regular keys for my smart lock rental house?


We are slowly converting all of our properties over to a "smart lock" keyless entry system using Rently Blue BlueTooth locks that just require you to punch in a code to enter. This reduces the landlord's costs in the long run and also provides added convenience for the renter of not needing keys to enter the property.

However, we do sometimes get tenants requesting old fashioned keys either for the main entry door or the other doors of the home. There are a couple of reasons that we don't provide regular keys on these houses:

  • Any time regular keys are handed out, that means they can be copied, and for liability and security reasons, we would have to physically change the locks between each tenant. That eliminates the cost-benefit to the landlord of providing the smart lock, so we wouldn't be able to offer the convenience of smart locks if we did that.
  • For security reasons, we don't want anybody to have access to the home other than you and our office. Even the landlord doesn't have access to the home while we're managing it. If we handed out regular keys and didn't change the locks between each tenant, then there would always be a risk that someone else could access your home. The major benefit of the smart lock is that we can change the code electronically for maximum security and minimal cost. Handing out physical keys would eliminate the benefits of that, and we could no longer provide smart locks at all. 

For these reasons, we don't give out physical keys for the properties with smart locks. However, if you would like to have them, we can accommodate that, but you would have to pay the cost of our vendor changing the locks when you move out. You would have to pay this cost upfront, not at the time of move-out. But this is always an option for you if you really must have physical keys.

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