Is the landlord allowed to install this new type of lock? How does The smart-lock maker's website says thatĪny use of their product constitutes agreement to their terms of My landlord hasĪnnounced that the doors of all apartments will shortly be converted I am in the middle of my current fixed-term lease and have always hadĪ mechanical key-based lock on my apartment door. The seller might impose an obligation on the buyer and the landlord might hope to pass those terms on to the tenant via a lease term, but that can't be done unilaterally in the middle of a lease. The landlord, as purchaser, must comply with the terms of the contract since he is a party to the contract. Since you have no choice and you are not a party in this transaction (the landlord is not acting as your agent, he is satisfying a legal obligation that he has), the question of 'agreeing' to someone else's transaction and contract is irrelevant.

You also do not take on the obligation to acquire the tools needed for installation, and so on. Failing such a concern, you don't have a legal right to refuse the landlord's choice of lock. If the landlord replaces the lock with a no-security $10 entry door knob that yields to a screwdriver, they probably failed in their obligation to provide entry security. Providing a functioning lock on the door is a statutory obligation of the landlord, and the landlord gets to say what kind of lock is installed as long as the device functions, and isn't impossible for the tenant to operate. Your lease states what your rights and obligations are: you cannot unilaterally change those terms, nor can the landlord. What are my rights and how can I assert them? If I cannot prevent the smart-lock installation, can I somehow establish that I am not bound by the terms of service despite what the smart-lock maker's website says? Would I simply wait until such time (if ever) that I have a dispute with the smart-lock maker, and then use my non-consent to argue that the terms neither protect them nor bind me? How strong would that argument be, and what if anything should I do now to document that non-consent? The landlord cannot require me to take on additional obligations to a third party in order to continue the enjoyment of the apartment promised by my already-signed lease, so the landlord must indemnify me from any such obligations. The obligations imposed on me (and limitations on their liability) in the terms of service are void for lack of consideration because the ability to access my apartment, which the lock provides, is something I am already entitled to by my lease, i.e., it is being used to fulfill an existing obligation of the landlord.Ĭ. There is no meeting of the minds because I have no desire to use their product.ī. If the terms of service are viewed as a contract, I see a few possible arguments:Ī. It seems unfair for me to be bound by the smart-lock maker's terms of service when my use of their product is non-consensual. When the smart lock is installed, I will have no choice but to use it in order to access my apartment for the remainder of my lease. See this article on tenants who have objected to installation of smart locks. When I agreed to rent the apartment, mechanical locks were in use and no indication was given that they would be replaced. Smart locks raise new reliability, security, and privacy risks versus mechanical locks. Is the landlord allowed to install this new type of lock? How does responsibility divide among myself, the landlord, and the smart-lock maker? My concerns are: The smart-lock maker's website says that any use of their product constitutes agreement to their terms of service. My landlord has announced that the doors of all apartments will shortly be converted to electronic 'smart locks'. I am in the middle of my current fixed-term lease and have always had a mechanical key-based lock on my apartment door.

August lock app