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“The secret is to devise a system which enables you,
but nobody else, to access your keys”, says
Thurloe.
It has to be impressed on tenants, he adds, that they
must never change the locks themselves, and that they
must return all sets of keys on check-out. If they fail
to do this, the locks must be changed, instantly, by
the landlord.
“At Leaders, we’ve had instances where tenants say
they have lost keys, and then broken back into the
property after checking out. Once they are back in, as
squatters, it can be difficult to remove them right
away. Another point is that if any of your properties
use electronic keys, the batteries only last for two
years, then go instantly, as with a watch. So spare
batteries are essential.”
How many sets of keys?
Super landlord Greg Shackleton owns fifty
properties and has five sets of keys for each unit.
He reckons this is the absolute minimum necessary. “I
give three sets to the agent and keep two sets spare,”
he says. “People do lose keys, and you may need them at
short notice for an electrician or plumber.”
Greg puts a code number on each fob, then transfers
this to his key book. “For instance, 42 London Road may
be coded ‘Ia’, 28 Brighton Road coded ‘1b’ and so on. I
can’t guarantee to remember all the codes, so they have
to be written down. Then I keep the actual keys in a
key safe which is always locked.”
Agents will only keep keys if you have signed up
for full management. Even so, they are only open during
office hours, so absentee landlords should nominate
at least one keyholder, preferably somebody in the
building, and give this information to both the tenant
and the managing agents.
Alternatively, there may be a company that will hold
keys for you. The London Keyholder Company will hold
keys for landlords.
“We have a facility room where we keep hundreds of
keys under secure conditions which we can release,
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, on
quoting the password,” says director Geoff Davies.
The London Keyholder Company: 0800 587
7091
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