Thief broke locks in my tenant door- how soon it should be fixed

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Thief broke locks in my tenant door- how soon it should be fixed

Lena S.
Landlord from Addison, IL · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 5 votes

Hi, 

As a landlords, do we have to  fix their doors immediately or  we still  have 24 hrs time to come and make this repair? 

We got a call at about 6 pm from these tenants and according to them there was a thief and their doors are broken and not in working condition, luckily nothing disappeared from  their apartment, and they need our immediate action to fix a door.  We told them to file police report and they did it.  Honestly, there are the only tenants with problems, and I don't really believe them, on top of it they don't even pay their rent on time. The are inherited tenants from previous owner and now I feel we did mistake to extend contract with them for the next year of April 2019. If I could I would get ride of them today.

Thank you for all your advice

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Dick RosenPro Member
Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 451 votes
8y

I wouldn't worry about it until the next morning. You are probably guessing correctly, they probably locked themselves out and broke in themselves but you can't prove it. That's why I chose many years ago to remove all locking door knobs and use deadbolts only, that way they have to have a key to lock the door from the outside. I've not had a mysterious break in since and that was about 10 years ago that my locksmith advised me of this.

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  • Caleb Heimsoth
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y
    Unless it’s something like a furnace not working and it’s -35 below out you have at least 24 hours normally
    0Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    8y

    They can easily jam the door with a chair or something for the night. Change the locks the following day. Use this as an excuse to inspect and be sure to investigate the door to see if something looks amiss. They may have locked themselves out and tried to break in.

    If they are bad tenants, that's a separate issue. Do the right thing then deal with their bad behavior later.

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    1Reply
  • Michael Plante
    Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    Their Door S are busted 

    Hmmm not sure if burglars would break two doors and not steal anything 

    My guess the woman locked the man out and he broke in while drunk 

    4Reply
  • Lena S.
    OP
    Landlord from Addison, IL · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 5 votes
    8y

    thank you for advice. I agree. To compare with all our inherited tenants, those are very "unique" ones.

    0Reply
  • Ray Harrell
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 930 votes
    8y

    I would think immediately as this is a safety and security issue.

    0Reply
  • Dick RosenPro Member
    Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 451 votes
    8y

    I wouldn't worry about it until the next morning. You are probably guessing correctly, they probably locked themselves out and broke in themselves but you can't prove it. That's why I chose many years ago to remove all locking door knobs and use deadbolts only, that way they have to have a key to lock the door from the outside. I've not had a mysterious break in since and that was about 10 years ago that my locksmith advised me of this.

    5Reply
  • Dennis M.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    8y
    Papa was out gettin his drink on .. momma got tired of his crap and locks him out like the dog he is . Papa stumbles home tries to kick front door in to no avail then rushes to back and does the same to the other door . Like sands through the hour glass ,these are the days of the average c class tenant
    1Reply
  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    Broken door and nothing stolen....yeah.

    I'd try and do it same day, but wouldn't think twice about doing it the next day

    0Reply
  • Lena S.
    OP
    Landlord from Addison, IL · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 5 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Dick Rosen:

    I wouldn't worry about it until the next morning. You are probably guessing correctly, they probably locked themselves out and broke in themselves but you can't prove it. That's why I chose many years ago to remove all locking door knobs and use deadbolts only, that way they have to have a key to lock the door from the outside. I've not had a mysterious break in since and that was about 10 years ago that my locksmith advised me of this.

    Thanks. I have to check with my rental city code.

    0Reply
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