Hacker News Reader

Comment by danpalmer | Hacker News Reader

There are many issues with smart locks, but one thing I'm quite interested by are the entry policies you could set. As a renter, two things spring to mind: the ability to immediately remove previous tenants access to the home, and the ability to potentially enforce the legal notice period for the landlord entering the home (in the UK a landlord must provide 24 hours notice before entering).

View on HN

> the ability to immediately remove previous tenants access to the home

This doesn't really require a smart lock. In Germany it's common to replace the lock immediately once you rent a place and put the original lock back in when you move out. This prevents the landlord, previous tenants and whoever else might still have keys from entering without your permission.

Unless the landlord does it, this is actually illegal as far as I know. The locks are property of the landlord and they have a right to enter the apartment under certain circumstances (previously announced visit, danger, ...).

No it is not. The locks are the property of the landlord, but their usage is not. You can change the locks at the only condition that you put them back afterwards.

Replacing locks is typically very expensive unless you have the expertise to do it yourself though?

One can easily pay £500 ($700 USD) to change the locks on a home in the UK.

I think it would really depend on the type of the locks. Standard door handles and deadbolts cost on the order of $20 apiece, and only require a phillips screwdriver and maybe 10 minutes to change.

Seconding. In Poland, about the only issue changing a standard lock is the hassle of going to a shop and buying one. As far as I can tell, most anti-break-in doors here have a modular locks too, allowing you to replace just the auth and bolt-actuating mechanisms.

Typical apartment door locks are very easy to change yourself, at least the kind that's most common here. Requires some relatively simple measurements and screwing in/out a few screws. Hiring someone to do it costs ~150-200€ (130-175£), lock excluded.

This guide has an illustration: https://www.obi.de/magazin/bauen/tuerschloss-wechseln (text is German but the pictures show everything)

Perhaps in the UK different kinds of locks that are harder to change are more common?

That is very expensive. In NYC I paid less than $700 to have a high-quality lock drilled out and replaced with a new high-quality lock after hours when I locked myself out. The technician broke two drill bits removing the old lock and it took an hour.

When I replaced my locks at a previous apartment I paid $40 for the new lock and installed it with a single screwdriver in 15 minutes. Multiply that by 2 if you have a house with two exterior doors. Multiply again by 2 if you want nicer locks.

A new lock core costs about $25 and can be replaced (from the inside) by a locksmith or slightly handy super/landlord in no time flat.

For typical residential locks there's no specific expertise required, just two screws.

It depends entirely on the type of locks involved.

The majority of residential homes in the US have semi-standardized lock bore and setback sizes so most anything you pick up for dirt cheap at your local home improvement retailer will bolt right on. I'm not sure if there's the same level of standardization in the UK, but in most of Europe locks are of a design that allows you to replace the cylinder with a couple of screws from the inside. The locks themselves typically cost more but the labor is pretty much nonexistent.

The only way you'd need to pay that much to have locks changed is if you're needing to do actual physical work on the door or jamb itself.

Or if your locksmith is overcharging you because you don't know any better.

Most locks are very easy to replace... with the help of YouTube anyone could change a standard lock. I’ve done it everywhere I’ve lived at a cost of £3-10 a lock.

You don't need a smart lock for the second one, a cheap indoor camera that can send you alerts achieves the same. An even simpler solution is a spare Android running Haven[0] (I don't know if Edward Snowden actually created it, but he's usually associated with it).

As a tenant (and a hotel guest) I've used both of these methods over the years. Granted, I've never lived in a home that has a smart lock, but I know I would feel much safer using my own hardware for the purpose.

[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.havenapp.m...

> the ability to immediately remove previous tenants access to the home

This has a massive potential for abuse. Imagine if your landlord could just take away access to your appartment remotely whenever they want.

But that would be managed by the letting agent who would have to impose access limits on themselves and people just aren't good at imposing limits that apply to themselves.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com