Why don't landlords like locks on bedroom doors? 6 October 2013 at 10:52PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in House Buying, Renting & Selling 19 replies 16.7K views

chuckley

Is it something to do with extra costs on insurance?

I've viewed numerous places from 2 beds to 4 and none have had locks.

Is it me or is this the norm?

Surely a flat share with strangers requires some sort of security? I asked one landlord in a 4 bed why there were no locks for any inside doors and was told 'well i've never needed them' baring in mind the room was the old lounge which was the only one with access to the garden.

I saw one today where they were 'fake locks'. tenants told me they're not real so bare that in mind...

and no none of them had live in landlords.

anselld

Some BTL mortgage companies don't like it because they consider it to imply individual room contracts rather than joint tenancy. Seems odd to though as I would have thought the tenancy agreement(s) define the type of tenancy, not the presence or otherwise of locks.

There is also fire regs, but that is easily catered for with thumb-turns on the inside.

moneyistooshorttomention

I certainly wouldn't dream of sharing a house with strangers without the necessary room locks in place. That's asking for trouble imo.

I imagine you could always install a lock yourself in lieu of one being missing, though a landlord might try and charge you to "put things right" when you move out. Sooner that though than risk theft or worse...

In that position, I would change the door handle to the room from (presumably) standard "silver" type door handle without a lock in it to the type with a lock in it. Then you have a perfectly normal doorhandle and no "lock" as such elsewhere on the door. That's what I did with all internal door handles on my own (previous) house, so that I could lock internal doors to rooms that lodgers weren't allowed access to and could lock stuff away from workmen in a room they wouldn't be working on.

towanda

I had this when I was looking for a room in central London! I'd always lived in whole properties before either alone or with a partner, and I just assumed that if you rent a room in a house full of assorted strangers that the bedrooms would come with locks. I think of about 15 rooms I viewed, only about 2 had locks on them. I guess some people aren't that bothered about privacy, but I can't understand it myself.

These were the sort of flats/ houses that are managed by a remote agent or landlord and where every conceivable room has been made into a bedroom, with people you don't know from adam coming and going, some of them contractors on short lets. I asked one of the agents showing me round if he would put a lock on the door and he said he found them 'ugly'. I asked another person why there were no locks and they said 'we don't want people who just sit in their room' err, that wasn't the question. Even if you are a trusting soul and trust the new people you move in with, it doesn't mean you trust all their friends/ visitors/ etc implicitly. I can't imagine the difficulties of claiming on insurance for things that have just been left open to all and sundry.It just seems so insecure - I was looking at en-suites, so the least of your worries would be paying a premium for your own bathroom but having people just walking in and using it and messing it up when the main bathroom is busy and you're not in to stop them. The medium concern would be theft, and the biggest concern would be sleeping safely at night - as if London isn't scary enough :P


If you do end up in a room with no lock in a house with people you don't know/ didn't choose to live with, search for 'Life Lock' on google. They only work on certain types of doors but they stop people coming in when you're inside (won't stop theft/ snooping when you're out though).

onlyroz

It is probably partly to do with fire regulations. Also a room with a lock might be classed as a separate dwelling and so each room would require its own TV license, council tax bill etc etc.

HappyMJ

chuckley wrote: »

Is it something to do with extra costs on insurance?

I've viewed numerous places from 2 beds to 4 and none have had locks.

Is it me or is this the norm?

Surely a flat share with strangers requires some sort of security? I asked one landlord in a 4 bed why there were no locks for any inside doors and was told 'well i've never needed them' baring in mind the room was the old lounge which was the only one with access to the garden.

I saw one today where they were 'fake locks'. tenants told me they're not real so bare that in mind...

and no none of them had live in landlords.

You can install your own locks and remove them when you leave. It's fairly easy to unscrew door handles and replace them with lockable ones. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Satin-Stainless-Steel-Door-Knob/dp/B004FJ0X1I

Fraise

You most definitely can NOT put locks on your rented room if there's none there already. It is illegal.

The reason landlords do not put locks on doors (especially when the landlord lives at the premises) is that a lodger becomes a tenant and has more legal rights, which could be problematic if the lodger was a nuisance. Removing door handles and fitting locks without the permission of the landlord will land you in big trouble.

RAS

Wrong.

The OP is looking for tenancies anyway. A lockable door would make no difference to their status.

HappyMJ

Fraise wrote: »

You most definitely can NOT put locks on your rented room if there's none there already. It is illegal.

The reason landlords do not put locks on doors (especially when the landlord lives at the premises) is that a lodger becomes a tenant and has more legal rights, which could be problematic if the lodger was a nuisance. Removing door handles and fitting locks without the permission of the landlord will land you in big trouble.

Illegal...interesting. What crime would that be then?

Brallaqueen

From my experience, it is because locakble rooms imply separate contracts and not a joint contract, which most landlords favor as it allows them the flexibility of chasing any individual for the whole rent. In addition many local authorities specify a specific type of lock that can be opened from inside without keys (not your bog standard regular lock) in case of fire, as you can't waste time looking for keys in that kind of circumstance.


Plus, once all doors have locks, it is harder for the property to appeal to families and that may limit possible tenants.

Conrad

This is usually down to the landlord wanting / having a mortgage that does not cater for HMO situations.

Having lockable rooms is a sign to a surveyor that the place is indeed an HMO and thus he would tell the lender and the mortgage would fail.

Furthermore this might be an illegal HMO, so the LL avoids locks as they would add to the evidence a council may use to categorise the property as an HMO.

Not sure about fire risks?

My betting it's an illegal HMO.