how to manage keys for 5 rental houses?

[luv2liv]

i have 5 rental houses. they are nothing fancy. small enough for 2 people to live comfortably. these houses are occupied by singles, so 1 occupants per houses.

as of now, i use keys. so each person have 2 keys.
myself, i have another in case they lost their keys. each time someone moves out, i get my 2 keys back. obviously, nothing stops them from making duplicates and this worries me. makes no sense for me to change locks each time either.

i would love to use smart locks and thinking of using anything with key fobs. no passcodes as that can be shared...meaning i dont want 6 people living per rental.
i understand key fobs can be copied too but i am 90% sure my renters are not high tech enough to do that....
if a renter lost their fobs, i can always delete and add new fobs. i know Unifi Access system can easily manage 5 houses and access but it seems overkill.
is there anything within $300 per door?

 

[Hans Gruber]

Stop thinking like that. You are trying to make money off people. To make money you need to spend money. Put in new locks in after the renters move out. Stop being cheap. Or you can change the locks between the units.

 

[drnickriviera]

Just learn how to rekey locks. Schlage are pretty simple to learn. For my rentals I have 1 master key that can open all locks and 3 change keys. When someone moves out I rekey the locks to one of the other change keys so that I don't have to waste keys that are still good.

 

[crashtech]

I used to change the locks myself back when I rented houses. A lot of renters are scary, and I'd never have taken the chance that one would come back with a key and do who knows what with my family or my stuff.

 

[lxskllr]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kwikset-Venetian-Bronze-Single-Cylinder-Deadbolt-featuring-SmartKey-Security-with-Microban-Antimicrobial-Technology-98011PSMTCPK4V1/309567382

 

[sdifox]

Yeah just have like seven kwikset and rotate when someone moves out

 

[TheELF]

as of now, i use keys. so each person have 2 keys.
myself, i have another in case they lost their keys. each time someone moves out, i get my 2 keys back. obviously, nothing stops them from making duplicates and this worries me. makes no sense for me to change locks each time either.

Why does it worry you?! If anything ever happens the previous renters will be the main suspects anyway, and you do keep records of them right?!
Having the keys doesn't change anything for the breaking and entering charges so it have to be crazy people (or dumb enough to be at the same level) to do anything.

Check with your lawyer/insurance agent though, the laws or your insurance might force you to change locks.