Should landlord do eviction for tenant change lock and refuse to change back and give excuses?

Consult an attorney about how to draft your lease properly.

You may not be able to evict, circumstances may result in a ruling that the breach of the lease is not material.

You're not the King, you know, only the landlord. If you give yourself the right via the lease to enter by any means necessary under the law including appropriate notice, then you will not have been materially damaged by tenant's breach. Since you drafted the lease, responsibility for its adequacy is your responsibility. You are responsible for management of the landlord-tenant relationship, so be a manager.

CJ,

This should be covered by any proper lease.

My lease is clear: Resident may not change or add locks. If the resident has a need to change the locks such as divorce or lost keys, management will change them fro $5 per lock. These are stronger and safer than locks purchased in a store.

For me, the non-cooperation is the beginning of their end.

"No additional locks shall be placed upon doors of the premises. Changing of the lock by residents is strictly prohibited" is in the lease.

I'd send them a five-day notice that quotes the line in your lease that they are violating. Do you want your original locks back on, or do you just want a key to the new locks?

I'd include the following too:

"It is essential that the landlord have access to the property at all times to allow us to respond in case of emergency. If the (key is not provided/original locks are not reinstalled) within 5 days of this notice, new locks will be installed under the landlord's direction and you will be billed $XX."

She said it was my fault that I only give her one key. We always give two keys and I do not remember she never asked for extra key and ask for proof, but she said she said with her mouth. I said we need any request in writing and It is her fault.

We also do not allow lock changes. But in today's' society, people give out keys to BFs/GFs they hardly know, then want to change the locks when they break up 5 minutes later. (I am not saying I agree, but I acknowledge this happens.) All they have to do is tell the judge their BF was abusive, and the tenant will get a free pass.

Since it takes me all of 10 minutes to change the one door lock/ deadbolts on the apartments, I have told the tenants that we will change their locks for free, anytime they ask. We have standardized our locks to one brand, so it is easy. The outgoing door lock then will get recycled after a period of lying fallow.

Lock changes are much harder and more expensive on SFHs with multiple exterior doors.

Only one key? Excuses. Keys are couple bucks to get copies at a hardware store, versus the cost of changing the whole set.

Robin's got the right idea. Either you get the key or have a locksmith change the locks and bill them.

I think something is up.

if I evicted every time something minor like this occurs, I'd have no tenants. Yes, I understand they are breaking this rule, and probably others, but in my tenant pool, that's common. I have learned to "roll with the punches".

I'd tell her I'll be there to change locks tomorrow and to be there to get a new key/s. If you have good communication and rapport with your tenants (which everyone should have) this would be a nonissue. If for some reason she couldn't be there (such as you know she works 7 to 3), make arrangements for her to pick the key up on her way home from work.

Landlord has a clear interest and need to be able to enter under specific allowable circumstances and courts recognize this interest. But courts also recognize tenants' interest in their personal privacy. so they note that landlord's lack of a key does not necessarily deprive landlord from being able to accomplish his needed access, and thus a judge will frequently rule that the mere absence of a key does not constitute a material breach of a lease that says that tenant must not change locks.

A good lease will specify what happens if tenant DOES protect his privacy by changing locks, and provides for alternatives that allow tenant privacy under circumstances where he (tenant) requires it, and also provides access by landlord when he requires it. When the law permits landlord access, he can gain that access by a locksmith or other means, if tenant insists on his privacy and does not provide a key or cooperate to facilitate the entry.

Moshe, I sure am glad not a single judge I've met puts tenants first like you. CJ you can make it financial. Serve notice with lots of documentation for a key and for access to unit in emergencies and with notice as your Lease requires. In true emergencies you do not have time for a locksmith. When they do not provide keys, then have locks changed at their expense,and immediately provide them two keys so they have full access and bill them for the locksmith. When Feb 1 arrives, take the monies for lock replacement first and apply what's left to rent. You should have a:"All monies received shall be applied to outstanding expenses such as late fees, repairs, unpaid deposits, etc before applied to rents."Clause

We put a clause in our lease that the tenant acknowledges the receipt of keys and specify the number right on the lease, and have them initial that they did receive "x" keys at the time of the lease signing. We use the specialized locks for landlords.

We also have a provision in the lease they may not change the locks.

They have to initial every page of the lease when signing that they accept the terms on every page, in addition to signing the lease.

Also, if they lose the keys to the locks, or do not turn in the keys at the end of the lease, we charge $75 to change the locks.

I let a lot of things slide but changing the locks where I cannot enter the property is a definite no no. Seems to be an easy fix though. Give me a working key or I serve you. It is covered in my lease, I do enforce it and I would serve/file for eviction if it did come to that. You have to be able to enter the property.

If your lease contains language forbidding lock changing, and the resident did it anyway, I would consider that a breach of the lease and act accordingly, which is to say, send them a 10-day notice. I go over my agreement pretty thoroughly at the lease-up, and specifically point out the lock change provision.

"She said it was my fault that I only give her one key. We always give two keys and I do not remember she never asked for extra key and ask for proof, but she said she said with her mouth. I said we need any request in writing and It is her fault."

Record the number of keys issued at the lease-up and make the resident sign for them.

" If your lease contains language forbidding lock changing, and the resident did it anyway, I would consider that a breach of the lease "

But you're not the judge. You need HIM (or her) to consider it not only "a breach" but a MATERIAL breach, which would rise to the level of granting an eviction.