Does anyone know a way to put a lock over a door knob to lock off a closet? We are moving and will be keeping some things in the old house which will need to be off limits if we have tennants. The door does not have a lock now, but I'm looking for an innovative way to secure off an area.
Thanks for your concern, but Sallye gave me what I needed...That "kee block" is perfect. Just what I needed.
I know these tenants and keeping a few things there in a closet is perfectly fine with them. I just don't want kids etc. getting into our stuff. Nothing terribly valuable...just don't want to haul it all out.
What are you going to be storing?
If someone is determined enough, there's nothing that could keep them out.
It's easy enough to pop the door hinges or unscrew things with a screw driver.
Better to store it off site or take it with you.
Storage unit.
When you rent a house, your rent the whole house. Including the closets. The right thing to do as a landlord is to remove all of your stuff and store it elsewhere. I'm also about 90% sure that your stuff will not be covered under their renter's insurance, and since your homeowner's policy is required to reflect that you have renters, your policy might not cover you storing things there either. Look into this.
J.,
Get a storage locker. Do NOT take space away from your tenants. That's not cool.
Locks can be picked.
Doors can be removed.
If you are adamant about keeping the items? Get a storage locker and pay rent on it. What bothers me? It sounds like you don't "NEED" the stuff...if you did - you would take it with you.
Don't hang on to stuff you don't need.
Don't take space away from a tenant.
Closet doors are not that sturdy. I have often locked myself out of my house by accidently having my door from laundry room to garage locked and I can easily get in with a credit card. Same goes for closet doors.
I simple credit card, screwdriver or pen tip can easily work depending on the lock.
I would not store anything of mine in a house where I had tenants. Tenants lease the whole house, not part of it.
Get a storage unit and you will have peace of mind.
I ditto the storage unit. If I were renting a house, I would be very concerned if my landlord said, "You MAY NOT use this closet or even open the door to it." What would be in there?? My imagination would go haywire!
Take your things with you, please. Store them somewhere away from the property you're renting to others!
I would not store stuff in a house I was renting, that is what storage units are for. JMO
Buy a device that you can put a padlock through. You can tell the tenants that you just have whatever stored in there and even show them. Unless you really are hiding a dead body. In that case, just tell them it's a rug.
The cleanest way is to change the lockset to one that locks. Regardless of how you do it though any locksmith will be able to gain them access if they want it.
Looking at B's answer, yes, most closets open out therefore have the pins on the outside. Simple screwdriver and you are in.
When we have stayed at "time share" condos, the owners always had a closet in the hallway that had a deadbolt. It took a key to open it. It was not creepy.
Just make sure if in some way a person gets locked in there, there is a "Thumb Turn on the inside".
Can you just get a storage unit? They're really not that expensive. I would think less than $100 a month.
another vote for a storage locker.
If I were renting a place from you, I wouldn't want to have your stuff stored in my area. I'm paying for it, right? So I would want access to all the storage space.
I know you want a product to lock your door - I think if it were me, and that was the only option, I'd just go ahead and change the knob! They don't cost that much - you'll probably pay more to find a device that will actually work.
Better yet, though, would be to either take your stuff with you or get a storage unit, like others have suggested. I would NEVER rent a house or an apt. with a "Monica closet" and feel comfortable about it.
Kee-blok, fits over knob
I'm with the others who say it's a bad idea for a lot of reasons. I know when we first moved back to the states, the home my parents rented was next door to the owners and it was one of their parents homes. The parents had passed and they didn't want to sell just yet. However, the basement was all of their storage. It was WEIRD and creepy as hell. I never went down there. If we wanted to though, we could have. And the area where we lived was fairly affluent, I'm sure there was some great stuff down there - if I weren't so freaked out by it.
Before you consider leaving any belongings in a home occupied by renters, and especially if any value, how is it going to be insured? If renters don't have "renters" insurance, do you have insurance on your house and contents? Fire, flood, theft?
I would find out what the coverage is if you are not living with your belongings.
I would think a storage unit would be a better option unless you really know the renters. What if you need to come back and get your stuff and the renters won't let you in?
