Smart Technology for Landlords – Real Estate

Owning a few rental units can be a great way to establish a passive income stream, but it can be hard to be a landlord on your own. You can’t be in several places at once, and even if you hire a property manager, you may still find that you’re being called out a lot more than you’d like. Fortunately, there are increasingly more technology solutions to help you better watch your properties while minimizing your time on-site.

Smart technology is gaining ground in rental units across the country. Although it may be easier to install in new construction, it still can have a huge benefit for properties that are older and even reduce their impact on the environment.

“In cities across the country, our buildings are getting older,” says Aki Karja, director of Proptech at Fairstead Ventures in New York City, New York. “When you are doing a ground-up new development, you can build it to the latest standards to make it sustainable and efficient. But what about the buildings that already exist? Smart technology interventions are key to reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings, especially as cities introduce new sustainability and carbon reduction benchmarks that real estate owners and operators need to meet over the next few years.”

Even if you’re not as concerned about how sustainable your building is, it’s hard to deny how useful some of these smart devices can be to helping solve common problems landlords experience.

“Smart technology can solve a lot of problems for property managers,” says Mike Branam, director of multifamily sales at PointCentral in Tysons, Virginia. “Water management solutions help identify leaks and issues, which can be resolved quickly through intelligent technology, stopping the problem before it becomes costly. Another example would be keyless locks that can help with access issues, allowing specific people like cleaners or maintenance to enter properties using a one-time code.”

Every rental unit is a little bit different, and some landlords offer far more amenities than others, but there are a few pieces of tech that can help every landlord. Although these things may require a little extra money to install initially, they can help save money over time. These are a few nearly universal smart technologies that will make your business run smoother:

Water leaks can cause thousands of dollars in repairs when they go unnoticed, so having a smart detector that can alert you as soon as it notices a drop in water pressure can be a budget saver.

“These are ideal for basements or under-sink cabinets where moisture can collect as a result of undetected leaks or ground-level flooding,” says Nathan Miller, founder and CEO of Rentec Direct in Grants Pass, Oregon. “These sensors are inexpensive and can send an alert allowing landlords to manage plumbing issues, broken pipes or damp basements before it becomes a costly problem that can displace tenants.”

If you count up the hours you spend letting people into properties to provide maintenance services, tour a vacant property, or simply have locked their keys inside, they’d probably add up to a lot of unpaid labor. Smart locks can save you time and a lot of driving.

“Remote access has always been a convenience for landlords, but after social distancing through the pandemic became necessary, remote access features became vital for many landlords,” says Miller. “Smart locks allow applicants to tour an empty property without having to coordinate schedules with the landlord for a walk-through or to get keys in person. They are also helpful by allowing landlords and tenants to provide access to approved maintenance personnel without the need for either the landlord or tenant to be on-site.”

Providing smart thermostats can mean attracting a tech-savvy tenant, but it can also provide some cost savings for you, especially when units are empty. While you’re trying to get repairs made or lease out a vacant unit, you’ll be fully in control of the energy costs involved.

“These do provide a larger benefit for tenants who will use the property day-to-day, but can also serve landlords when the property remains vacant,” says Miller. “Smart thermostats also make it easy for landlords to maintain an economical temperature during vacancy but can be remotely changed if a maintenance person or an applicant will be visiting the property.”

One of the most important questions that may come up, and certainly one you should consider, is what kind of smart tech is legal in your area and where you cross the line into privacy violations. Although smart technology can help you immensely, it can also lead to major problems if you overstep your tenant’s right to privacy.

“If landlords attempt to monitor leaks with the help of sensors that send notifications, no tenant would usually go against it because it shares only a limited amount of information,” says Donald Shurts, Realtor with Keller Williams Advisors Realty in Beavercreek, Ohio. “But it is illegal to set up security cameras inside the leased property for monitoring such leaks. Sensor-based technologies are completely fine to install inside the house but live monitoring is not at all and violates the lessee’s privacy.”

So how can you ensure that your smart tech isn’t crossing any lines and that your tenant is fully aware of how it’s being used? Simple: Check with a local lawyer, but also include a disclosure in your rental agreements.

“Always disclose them on leases,” says Shurts. “Or else you’ll be struck with legal claims for violating privacy. Whether the technology is for monitoring and security purposes or involves the landlord in the matter, it’s safe to spill it before tenants move in. Utility feature-based technologies like smart faucets or door locks aren’t as vital to disclose.“