Letting near the campus without keys changing hands
For a landlord who does not live locally, handing over and recovering keys sets the rhythm of every new academic year: appointments to arrange, copies to cut, a key set never returned in September. Digital access changes the mechanics: a code specific to each occupant, opened on the move-in date and closed on the move-out date, with no journey to make and no key to cut. In a house share, the same logic makes it possible to withdraw one person's access when a room changes tenant, without changing anything for the others.
Maintenance and viewings follow the same principle. Temporary access for a tradesperson, for a re-letting or for an inventory check can be created and cancelled on request, with a time-stamped record of who came in and when. In a rental portfolio where several people are involved at the same point in the year, that traceability is often worth as much as the convenience of opening: it heads off arguments about keys that cannot be found when the property is handed back.
What a smart lock does not replace in a Pessac apartment block
In the blocks in the centre and near the tram, access to the building goes through an entrance hall with access control that is not yours to manage: fitting a smart lock to your landing door does away with neither the building fob nor the letterbox key. A tenant you have given a code to will find themselves outside the hall with no way in if that question has not been settled beforehand with the building managing agent (syndic) or the residence manager.
The second point concerns the door itself. Motorising a cylinder does nothing to strengthen the mechanical resistance of the whole: on a suburban house door still original from the 1970s, the gain lies in managing access, not in protection. The two subjects are dealt with separately, and in that order: first what holds the door, then what decides who can open it. That is precisely what the on-site diagnosis looks at, before any quote.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our smart lock page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Pessac.