4 Best Smart Locks for Rental Properties

With a rental property, you often had to change locks or hand out new copies of keys. Smart locks are must-haves for rental property owners since they make it convenient to operate the locks. Besides providing the needed security, smart locks for rental properties bring the advantage of guest PINs, temporary access codes, and an easy installation process. More importantly, you can manage the handover of keys and PINs through the app.

Besides, you get to keep the original key with you (if it applies) and monitor the history through the companion app. More importantly, installing smart locks for rentals is not challenging. As long as you have a working Wi-Fi network in the vicinity, things should work out smoothly.

So if you want to upgrade the good old lock in your rental or lakeside cabin, here are the best smart locks for rental properties. Without further ado, let’s get started.

• Up your home security with these best window sensors
• Here are the best renter-friendly smart home gadgets that you can buy
• Check out these smart sprinkler controllers with Alexa control

1. Hornbill 7-in-1 Keyless Entry

It’s the timed keys that help out for your rental property. The guests can use them to open the lock. With timed keys, no one can take advantage of your property.

Features like Cyclic PINs will ensure that caretakers (gardener, cleaner, helper) can access to your house. Apart from that, there are helpful features like One Time codes and Permanent codes that you can use depending on the scenario at hand. It does support locking/unlocking via physical keys and IC cards.

The Hornbill smart lock is compatible with the TTLock smartphone app. However, it doesn’t support Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant directly. So, you won’t be able to ask these assistants to open the door.

The batteries for these smart locks last typically for about 5-6 months. If you see plenty of guests moving in and out frequently, the battery will die sooner. Installation is not challenging, but you will need to go through the instruction manual.

The low price tag means that Hornbill has cut some corners, in this case, it’s the overall performance. While PINs and codes work flawlessly, fingerprint recognition takes a little time and isn’t 100% precise.

2. ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro + Bridge

Sure, guests will use the fingerprint feature sometimes. However, you can use it to open the door whenever you are home. As noted earlier, the app is intuitive and gives you ample features to explore. Interestingly, you can see the status of the door lock (Open/ Closed and Locked/Unlocked). Plus, you can see the history of when the door was unlocked. The app shows a neat timeline of all the activities. And in the unfortunate event, you can use this timeline as evidence.

Four AA batteries power this smart lock. The good news is that it doesn’t need any home base or connect module. It connects to your home Wi-Fi directly. So no worries about someone switching off the connect module accidentally.

You can create PINs for up to 50 users. And like the one above, you can also set the schedule on these or the number of times they can be used. The latter comes into the picture for temporary workers.

In short, the ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro is a versatile lock and is an excellent choice for rentals. It’s less expensive than some of its counterparts on this list. The buttons are easy to press, and the app gives you plenty of control. Do note that it works only over the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band.

3. Google Nest x Yale Smart Lock

It’s the activity log that comes into the picture if you want to see who has accessed your property over the course of time. This Nest Yale smart lock has several clever features like visitor passcodes, remote locking, and time-specific passcodes, among others. The app alerts you when a guest code is used. If we talk numbers, Yale lets you create up to 20 passcodes.

Using the lock is easy. As soon as you or your guests touch the Yale logo, the keypad will light up and allow you to enter the passcode. As long as the lock is connected to your home Wi-Fi, you should be able to create short-term guest passcodes with ease. And like most smart door locks, you can also set an automatic door time limit and be alerted when someone enters the wrong password many times.

But at the end of the day, the Yale smart lock is not an independent device and needs a Connect Module or the Nest Guard module to connect to your home Wi-Fi. And since this is a Google home device, it works solely with Google Assistant and is not compatible with Alexa, HomeKit, IFTTT, or SmartThings.

Another feature that renters will like is that they can disable the outer keypad of the lock for privacy. After enabling it, you can operate the lock only from the inside.

The Nest smart lock may not carry a ton of features. However, it does a brilliant job of locking/unlocking doors and keeping a tab of the unlocks, especially when it comes to rental properties. The folks at PC Mag tested this lock to share that it never failed to lock the door. Make sure that no one disconnects the power line to the Connect module. 

Alternatively, you can also try the popular August Smart Lock Pro. The lack of a keypad means you will need to ask your guest to download the app to unlock it. But if that’s not much of a concern, you can consider it.

Buy August Smart Lock Pro

4. Schlage Encode Smart Wi-Fi Deadbolt

This Schlage lock is versatile and pairs well with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Ring, and even Key by Amazon. Plus, it’s an independent device and doesn’t depend on a connect module to connect to the internet.

You can create temporary or permanent guest codes, depending on the scenario at hand in your rental property. For one, if you have a helper clean the house regularly, you can set up permanent guest codes. You can create time-sensitive guest codes, as you deem fit. Moreover, if you have some close friends and family staying over, you can create virtual keys through the Schlage app.

It’s a well-liked smart lock and has more than 11,000 user ratings. It’s one of the most popular locks among Airbnb hosts for its easy-to-use nature and the fact that you can create guest codes without difficulty. Plus, the absence of a connect module means you do not have to worry about someone switching off the power supply to it.

Lock the Door, But Smartly

These were some of the smart locks for rental properties. All these locks exhibit one common property—they let you and your guest lock and unlock the door without worrying about physical keys. The apps are simple and once you know your way around them, you can use them like a pro.