Off Campus Housing Guide                          Back to Table of Contents

Chapter 9
Common Sense Tips for Personal Safety                                        
Basic Security for rental Property   

Section Nine: Common Sense Tips for Personal Safety

• List only your first initial and last name in the directory, especially if you are a woman living alone.

• Get to know your neighbors so that can identify unwanted strangers and have people to call for help if you need it.

• Negotiate with the management of your rental unit or the other neighbors to list only initials and last names on the mailboxes or other central tenant registers.

• Do not leave your keys in an outside hiding place, such as under a mat or in the mailbox.

• Keep draperies and shades drawn at night especially if your unit is accessible from the street. A potential assailant is more likely to enter your housing if her or she sees you alone.

• Keep lights on in more than one room when you are home alone.

• Never interview for a potential roommate or sub-letter alone. Ask a friend to help. Do not advertise for a roommate by listing your street address. Leave a phone number.

• Keep a list of important phone numbers including the police\’92s near the telephone for emergencies.

• Make sure your landlord changed the lock to your unit before you moved in. The previous tenant could still have a key.

• Keep windows uncluttered by trees and bushes.

• Reinforce sliding glass doors and windows by placing a solid strip of wood or a broom handle in the track.

• Never put identification tags on your key ring or holder.

• Make sure all entryways such as doors and sidewalks are well lit. Report lighting problems to your landlord immediately.

• Check the crime rate and the types of crimes that occurred in the neighborhood when looking at housing.

• Park as close as possible to the entrance of your building when returning at night.

• Keep valuables in a safe deposit box or permanently mark them with your driver’s license number to make them easy to identify if they are stolen.

• Keep doors and windows securely locked when they are not in use. Lock your door even if you leave the house for just a few minutes.

• Notify your landlord if you will be gone from your unit for a while so that he or she may watch for suspicious activity.

• Never open your front door unless you know who is on the other side. Do not let people in to use your telephone; dial the number for them.

• Always ask for identification for service men or women who want entry into your apartment, no matter how respectable he or she may look.

• If you suspect you are being followed, do not go home. Go to the nearest business or house and call the police. Do not let the person following you know where you live.

• Avoid short cuts and wooded areas if you must walk alone. Walk towards the curb or street and away from buildings, trees, or alleys.

• Leave an inside light and a porch light on when you leave your unit at night.

• Have your front door key ready when you approach your unit at night.

• Report any streetlights that are not working to the city immediately.

• If you return home and find any doors or windows open or suspect a burglary, do not go in. Call the police from a neighbor’s house.

• Do not take your security lightly.

SAFETY SCORE

BASIC SECURITY FOR RENTAL PROPERTIES

When you are trying to evaluate the safety of the place you are planning to rent or you are already living in you should take the following elements into consideration:

OUTDOOR LIGITHING

• Is the street well lit?

• Does your property have lights ___ in front, ___ on the side, ___ in the back?

• Are the lights in working order?

LANDSCAPING

Are shrubs trimmed low enough not to obstruct view?  

EXTERIOR DOOR SYSTEM 

• Is the exterior door solid core or metal?

• Is the door support frame tight fitting?

• Is there a solid deadbolt lock on the front door?

• Are hinges mounted on the interior side?

• Is there a viewing device that gives you 180 degrees viewing of the entrance area?

WINDOWS

• Are all windowpanes intact?

• Are there operable interior window locks on all windows?

• Are all the windows accessible from the ground protected?

• If bars are installed, are they fastened to the masonry ?

• Do you have at least one window per room where the bar is operable from inside, in case of fire?

FIRE EXITS

• Are all fire exits protected to prevent unauthorized entry yet allow exit?

INTERCOM BUZZER SYSTEM 

• Is your intercom buzzer system working properly?

FIRE SAFETY

• Are there functioning smoke detectors in your building/apartment?

• Are there fire extinguishers in your building/apartment?

• Are there fire exits and appropriate signage?

INTERIOR SAFETY 

• Is the door to your apartment secure, solid and tight in its frame?

• Do you have a good working lock?

• Is there a peephole viewer on your doors?

• Are the hallways well-lit?

• Are all the electric bulbs working?

• Are there mirrors at bends, to prevent someone waiting unseen?

• Are mailboxes appropriately placed to prevent tampering by outsiders?

RENTSAFE PRACTICES

• Does the company you rent from practice an effective key control system?

• (How are keys duplicated and handled)

• Are apartment doors re-keyed between tenancies?

• Are you notified of landlord/agent/maintenance person’s intent to enter premises?

• Does your property owner/manager routinely check and maintain all security features of the property?

• Do you know your neighbors and communicate with them?

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