deadbolt requirement?

mr. met · January 2008

right now i only have one lock on my door (the one just above the knob). is it a requirement for my landlord to provide a deadbolt or is it on me to pay for one?

rtraindweller · January 2008

at my old apartment we had to pay for it. then we wanted to take it with us when we moved out (damn thing cost us $350!) but checked the lease which stated any improvements done to the apartment become property of the landlord. totally bunk.

rtraindweller · January 2008

at my old apartment we had to pay for it. then we wanted to take it with us when we moved out (damn thing cost us $350!) but checked the lease which stated any improvements done to the apartment become property of the landlord. totally bunk.

lilbangladesh · January 2008

It is bunk. However, he's right. The landlord is only responsible for providing one working lock on your door.

This is why I went for the $75 deadbolt. My neighborhood is bad enough that a deadbolt is necessary (especially with the dinky hotel-style locks that we have on our doors), but not so bad that I need the deluxe version. Deadbolts are pretty hard to crack in general. And I wasn't going to spend hundreds on a lock that I couldn't take with me.

caseopele · January 2008

That's one of the good things about having dogs, anyone comes near my doors or windows will get 2 barking dogs there in about 2 seconds. And they sound really tough when they bark, no one has to know they're big babies. Especially the pitbull!

carnivore · January 2008

lilbangladesh wrote: Deadbolts are pretty hard to crack in general.

It depends on the cylinder. If it's high-security (Mul-T-Lok, etc) it can be tough, but if your the cylinder is a basic 5 or 6-pin tumbler, it's going to be a breeze to open for anyone that knows what they're doing, regardless of whether it's hooked up to a deadbolt or a simple latch. The deadbolt is harder to force open, but it can be just as easy to pick if you don't have a quality lock.

If you put in the lock, you should definitely be able to take it with you (I did with my last apartment). A quality lock is worth the investment. It's almost as important as insurance.

carnivore · January 2008

Of course, nothing is foolproof. There's even a pick designed for the Mul-T-Lok (although I doubt many people have them).

paraderest · January 2008

They sell a cover that goes over the hole left behind after removing the deadbolt. They cost a couple of bucks and you get to take your lock with you.

As for defeating a deadbolt...It's not as hard as you think. Anybody can buy or even make a lockpick set. It's even easier with a cordless drill. All you have to do is drill out the pins and stick a flathead screwdriver in the slot to turn the cylinder. It's take about 7 seconds.

lilbangladesh · January 2008

Of course nothing is foolproof, which is why you need to do various things, such as not advertising your possessions, etc.

I know of a family who lived in PLG back when crime was really bad. They had eight deadbolts on their door, but it still didn't prevent their daughter from finding a burglar in their kitchen in the middle of the night.

If someone is that determined to get in, they will find a way in.

That's why I always leave my front hallway light on when I leave the house, so they think someone is home.

One time, a friend was walking me home on St. John's Place at night and we passed by a house that not only had its curtains open, but there was a HUGE flat screen TV in the living room. We just stood there looking at this rather stunned, particularly since there were no burglar deterrents that we could see, no bars on the windows, nothing.

"Wow," I said to my friend. "They're really looking to get burgled, aren't they?"

Such a conspicuous display in this neighborhood isn't smart.

daver · January 2008

lilbangladesh wrote: One time, a friend was walking me home on St. John's Place at night and we passed by a house that not only had its curtains open, but there was a HUGE flat screen TV in the living room. We just stood there looking at this rather stunned, particularly since there were no burglar deterrents that we could see, no bars on the windows, nothing.

"Wow," I said to my friend. "They're really looking to get burgled, aren't they?"

Such a conspicuous display in this neighborhood isn't smart.

Some here would argue that this is an example of blaming the victim.

I'm with you on this one, though.

mr. met · January 2008

also, is there any requirement that says buildings need to have trash bins outside? my super just drapes two garbage bags over the fence and the tenants throw everything in there. i think the super tries to change the bags regularly, but by the end of the night the bags are swarming with rats -- and it's right next to the front door.

carnivore · January 2008

ParadeRest wrote: They sell a cover that goes over the hole left behind after removing the deadbolt. They cost a couple of bucks and you get to take your lock with you.

As for defeating a deadbolt...It's not as hard as you think. Anybody can buy or even make a lockpick set. It's even easier with a cordless drill. All you have to do is drill out the pins and stick a flathead screwdriver in the slot to turn the cylinder. It's take about 7 seconds.

You can get a plate to protect the lock from most cordless drills, and it takes a lot of skill to pick some of these high-security locks (not the simple tumbler that LB likely has) even with professional tools. But I agree with your underlying point that any lock system can be defeated. That's why everyone that has stuff they wouldn't want to lose should get insurance.

paraderest · January 2008

Carnivore wrote: [quote=ParadeRest]They sell a cover that goes over the hole left behind after removing the deadbolt. They cost a couple of bucks and you get to take your lock with you.

As for defeating a deadbolt...It's not as hard as you think. Anybody can buy or even make a lockpick set. It's even easier with a cordless drill. All you have to do is drill out the pins and stick a flathead screwdriver in the slot to turn the cylinder. It's take about 7 seconds.

You can get a plate to protect the lock from most cordless drills, and it takes a lot of skill to pick some of these high-security locks (not the simple tumbler that LB likely has) even with professional tools. But I agree with your underlying point that any lock system can be defeated. That's why everyone that has stuff they wouldn't want to lose should get insurance.

Even high security locks are easily defeated with "bumpkeys". Google bumpkeys or check out youtube.

carnivore · January 2008

ParadeRest wrote: [quote=Carnivore][quote=ParadeRest]They sell a cover that goes over the hole left behind after removing the deadbolt. They cost a couple of bucks and you get to take your lock with you.

As for defeating a deadbolt...It's not as hard as you think. Anybody can buy or even make a lockpick set. It's even easier with a cordless drill. All you have to do is drill out the pins and stick a flathead screwdriver in the slot to turn the cylinder. It's take about 7 seconds.

You can get a plate to protect the lock from most cordless drills, and it takes a lot of skill to pick some of these high-security locks (not the simple tumbler that LB likely has) even with professional tools. But I agree with your underlying point that any lock system can be defeated. That's why everyone that has stuff they wouldn't want to lose should get insurance.

Even high security locks are easily defeated with "bumpkeys". Google bumpkeys or check out youtube.
I know about bumpkeys. But you need a blank to make one, and Mul-T-Lock blanks are hard to get.

deadbolt requirement?

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