Can A Tenant Change The Locks Without A Landlord's Permission?
Do you keep locking yourself out of the house? Are you fed up and just want to change your locks? Our guide has all the do's and don't when it comes to landlords.
When you rent out a property to a tenant, you’re essentially allowing them to enjoy the property free from interference for the term stated in their lease.
But as the property owner, you also have rights. Naturally, you’ll need access in emergencies, or to carry out requested repairs.
If the tenant changes the locks, are they exercising their rights to privacy, or denying you your rights of access? This isn’t a clear-cut issue, and - naturally - you need to try to remain on good terms with your tenant when discussing it to avoid more problems later.
Changing the locks
On a basic level, a tenant should not change the locks unless they have a good reason.
Concepts like ‘a good reason’ can be open to interpretation. If the landlord has a habit of letting himself into the property while they’re asleep and didn’t respond to reason, that would probably be considered a good reason for changing the locks. Just changing them on a whim might not be acceptable in court.
Why? Because landlords still own their properties, and they are expected to maintain them. They can’t do that if they can’t get in.
There are simple exceptions where common sense is required. For example, the tenant’s lost their keys, or there’s been a break-in, or they suspect someone else has a copy of the keys and they feel unsafe because of that.
My tenant changed the locks
First off, check the wording of the tenancy agreement you gave to your tenant when they moved in. The wording of these agreements can be confusing or inconsistent, so it’s worth just double-checking that changing the locks is mentioned -- and it’s prohibited.
Assuming the agreement says the tenant can’t change the locks, your next step is to speak with them and try to understand why they’ve done it. Perhaps they were broken into and their insurance company fitted new locks for them. If they have a good reason, they won’t mind giving you a key!
If the tenant won’t discuss the matter or appears to have changed the locks specifically to prevent you from accessing the property, you have the right to take them to court. Before things get to that stage, it really is worth having a discussion with them about their reasons.
Be honest: if you are taking liberties with access, then perhaps a court will see their point of view over yours.
What About Damage and Costs?
In general, tenants don’t have the right to change locks, and they certainly therefore wouldn’t have the right to damage your property in the course of doing so. Any damage could be deducted from the deposit; take photos as proof.
If they remove a lock, that lock still belongs to you, and you have a right to get it back from them. If they’ve disposed of it, you could bill them for a new one.
And, naturally, if they’ve changed the locks without permission you could also bill them for the cost of changing them when they leave.
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