Having a safe, secure home is a basic human need—and one that you can proudly say you provide as a landlord.
But securing your rental property today goes far beyond locking doors; it means doing everything within your means to protect your tenants, their belongings, and the value of your property.
For help vetting tenants, avoiding scams, fortifying your property with air-tight security measures, and giving both you and your tenants peace of mind, keep reading.
First, let’s look at an often neglected area of rental security: tenants.
Taking the time to vet and choose a reliable tenant isn’t always thought of as a security measure—but it certainly should be. To protect your home from nefarious tenants, consider taking the following steps.
A thorough vetting process significantly improves your chances of ending up with a trustworthy tenant. Here’s what that looks like:
Learn more about how to use this tenant screening checklist.
Beyond properly vetting tenants, it’s also important to stay current with what rental scams are happening in your area—and the rental market in general.
Common rental scams to watch out for include tenants who:
Learn more about these common tenant scams and how to avoid them.
Now, with your tenants covered, let’s look at how to secure your property, area by area. For each area, there is a checklist with various security measures fitting different situations, budgets, and preferences.
Many of the suggestions above can be implemented simultaneously by installing a home security system. These systems typically offer cameras, sensors, alarms, automated door access, and many other security features as an all-in-one package.
You can also often control certain features of your system remotely, such as watching the live stream of your cameras from your phone.
Not all security and safety incidents are intentional; accidents happen, and meeting your safety obligations as a landlord will help minimize the damage when they do.
For example, in Ontario, as a bare minimum, you must follow all fire safety laws set out in Ontario’s Fire Code, including:
Learn more about your maintenance responsibilities as a landlord.
Renters insurance benefits everyone; your tenants’ belongings, board, and health are covered in the event that theft or damage occurs, and your insurer takes care of the bill, not you or your tenants.
In this way, renters insurance is a powerful security and safety measure that you should probably require of your tenants.
If theft, damage, or injury affects you, your property, or your belongings (i.e. a piece of your own furniture breaks that you’re letting your tenant use), landlord insurance can be a saving grace. If you’re unsure what it covers or whether it’s right for your situation, read the differences between renters, landlord, and condo corporation insurance.
When welcoming a new tenant, give them a list of any contacts they may need in the future. This might include a direct line to you, your property manager, maintenance person, trustworthy neighbors, or even local law enforcement. This way, in the event of an emergency, your tenants know who to call for help.
Having a physical safe in your property can help your tenants feel safer about their belongings while renting from you. Not to mention, because so few landlords offer this, it’s an easy way to make your rental property stand out.
With your property safe and secure, it’s time to welcome your next tenant.
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The blog posts on this website are for the purpose of general introductory information. They can’t serve as an opinion or professional advice. Speak to a professional before making decisions related to your circumstances.
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