Key control: the cheapest security fix most landlords skip

The problem with untracked keys

Keys accumulate. Former staff, past tenants, contractors, and cleaners all get copies, and almost no one collects them back. Over a few years a property can have dozens of working keys in unknown hands.

Insurers and police both look for forced entry. Losses through an unlocked or properly keyed door are harder to claim and harder to investigate.

Build a key register

List every lock on the property. For each one, record every key issued, who holds it, and the date it was issued.

Require a signature on issue and return. Treat an unreturned key as a rekey trigger, not an inconvenience.

Rekey after any turnover in a role that held exterior access, and after any incident where a key cannot be accounted for.