All About Locks and Keys

Locks and keys are important parts of any home. In rental situations, landlords and tenants must obey certain rules and laws concerning the use of keys and locks. Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, you should familiarise yourself with your obligations and responsibilities when it comes to using keys and locks. Otherwise, you could find yourself in hot legal water. Learn a few of the basics about using keys and locks below.

The Basics About Keys

Under law, a landlord must supply keys for every lock on the premises to at least one tenant. This means that the keys to locks for everything from the front door to random doors throughout the house must be provided. If the house includes lockboxes of any kind, keys must be supplied for them, too. If more than one tenant is on the lease, though, the landlord is under no obligation to supply two sets of every single key.

If there is more than one tenant, the landlord has to supply each person with keys for the front door. This makes sense; after all, without a front door key, people won’t be able to access their home. The same goes for locks that block access to the road leading up to a home. Each tenant must receive keys to such locks. You can always double-check this information with a qualified property management Brisbane firm if you have any doubts or confusion about what your obligations are when it comes to supplying or receiving keys.

The Basics About Locks

Locks can present a few tricky situations when it comes to rental properties. From time to time, disputes arise over changed locks. You can avoid this situation by knowing the laws and rules about locks in landlord-tenant situations. The landlord is obligated to make sure that the premises are safe and secure through the use of locks. This is a basic fact about renting Brisbane real estate, and it is part of your job as a landlord. If the tenant feels that the premises are not secure, he can ask for additional locks – within reason.

If the locks need to be changed, both parties have to agree about it. At the same time, one party or the other cannot unreasonably withhold their consent. In other words, one person cannot just arbitrarily say that they don’t want the locks to be changed – they have to have a compelling reason for disagreeing. If the locks are changed, the tenant must receive a new key unless a Tribunal says otherwise – or if the tenant agrees not to receive one. In emergency situations, the landlord can change the lock; the same is true if a Tribunal orders it to be done.