Looking for security in an apartment? You might trying kicking the front door, the way car shoppers kick tires. Not a hard kick. Nothing that will knock the door off the hinges, but something stiff enough to see if the lock stays on the door.
Of course, the landlord may not take kindly to this, but security professionals like to point out that what looks secure may not always be secure. A one-inch deadbolt lock may look tough enough to stop a charging rhinoceros but, unless it’s installed properly (and is kept locked by the tenant) it may not stop a charging chipmunk.
Both you and, presumably, the landlord want a secure building. (Burglaries don’t exactly promote lease renewals or support rent increases.) And as a wise apartment shopper-or current tenant-you will want to know just who is responsible for the various aspects of security-you or the landlord. Would you have to pay the freight to upgrade the door locks, for instance, or would he have to pay?
This requires some understanding of building codes, an ability to negotiate and possibly a willingness to invest time and cash.
One way to assess an apartment’s security is to consider the “risk factors”-features that deter access to the apartment. These include the building’s location; exterior lighting; proximity of the apartment to the street, rooftops, stairwells and fire escapes; the number of entry points through doors and windows; the number of people with access to the building and to your floor; and locks and alarm systems.
Municipal building codes can require specific security measures in apartments and in Chicago, they define certain structural features that must be provided. For example, the entry door to Chicago apartment buildings must have a dead-latching lock, which automatically locks when closed, requires a key to enter from the outside but can be opened from the inside.
Entry doors to each apartment must have a viewing device (peep hole) and be secured with a one-inch deadbolt lock.
Windows within 20 feet of the ground or those accessible from the ground floor, from a stairway or a porch must have ventilation locks. These locks allow the window to be open a few inches while staying locked. (Screens must be provided from April 15 to Nov. 15.)
One smoke detector must be provided for each unit but the tenant is required to provide batteries.
If an apartment does not have these security features, tenants have a few options. “We recommend notifying the landlord in writing and cite the ordinance that requires the work you want done,” says Tim Carpenter of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, which operates a free tenant hotline. If that doesn’t get results, you can use the repair and deduct provisions of Chicago’s Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, he says. They allow tenants to make necessary repairs and deduct the cost from their rent.
“Locks are the most common problem we hear about. A lot of apartments simply don’t have the right locks,” says George Hausen, the staff attorney for the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, which provides free legal advice on landlord-tenant issues.
For specific information about lock requirements or other building codes, Hausen recommends calling the Chicago Department of Buildings at 312-744-3400. The department can also address more serious security concerns, such as missing windows, obstructed escape routes, large holes in floors and ceilings, or broken door jambs. Free inspections can be provided and landlords can be cited for any code violations.
For renters outside Chicago, call the local municipality and ask for the building code enforcement agency.
A matter of liability
Some of the most popular security features in apartments are optional, provided by the landlord or the tenant. But with the extra security comes some liability. Anything installed by the landlord must be maintained in good working order. So, even though a buzzer entry system to the building is not required by law, if it is in place the law requires that it works.
Anything installed by the tenant may be considered a “fixture,” which makes the tenant liable for the cost of taking it down, either after he moves out or even before.
For instance, if a tenant installs window bars and the landlord determines they are an eyesore, they can be taken down at the tenant’s expense. “We recommend that a tenant get prior approval, in writing, before installing any security devices. Try to get it put in the lease and possibly convince the landlord to pay for it, especially if it is something that will add value to the apartment after you move out,” Hausen says. “It’s important to understand that the landlord may not want the liability for security systems.”
According to Alan Gold, president of A.P. Gold Realty and Management, which manages more than 500 apartments in Chicago, “We try to comply with any request that a tenant would have for additional security. If they want the cylinders on the locks changed before they move in or want key locks on the windows, we can do that.”
Of course, there is also a host of security products on the market that don’t have to be “mounted” and therefore can be installed without landlord’s permission. They’re portable; so if you move, they move with you.
Increasingly popular are home security kits, which include such items as motion detectors, window stickers and electronic “barking dogs.” But Mike Diaz, president of M&M Security Service in Evanston, warns against devices that “just make a lot of noise.” “How many people stop for a car alarm?” he asks. “Most of the security you buy at a store and install yourself can be put out of commission with a good kick.”
A major factor in preventing problems is the behavior of the tenant. Leaving an apartment unlocked, letting people know when you will and will not be home and not taking precautions to guard valuables greatly contribute to making an apartment an easy target for burglars and other intruders.
Cooperation
If you have problems with the building security, you may need the help of other tenants to get them corrected.
According to Hausen of the Lawyers Committee, “We try to organize tenants in the building to address common security concerns and provide information about how issues can be addressed. It’s important to work as a group and with the landlord.”
At one South Side apartment building with 34 units, Shirley Robinson has organized tenants with the assistance of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization. The tenants group is working with the landlord to address such problems as gang activity in the neighborhood and domestic problems that escalate into violence. She is even confronting the improper advances of janitors toward residents.
“They have keys to the apartments and it makes people very uncomfortable,” Robinson explains. “In most cases the landlord has been very helpful about problems, but we have to let them know when there is a problem.”
Paul Cleveland, a tenant organizer with the Kenwood-Oakland Organization who has been working with Robinson, says that tenants often need to work together to address security issues. “Keeping strangers from the building is one issue that comes up a lot, and that usually means having a working buzzer entry system and people not admitting people they don’t know,” says Cleveland. “Sometimes we need to get petitions to get the landlord to take an issue seriously. If (only) one person complains, they may not get any action.”
