Geez... Who would have ever thought that would be the outcome??? 
( Residents Sue Landlord Over New Smart Locks )
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LOL. OK, thanks for "reporting" the last post.
Here is the link again in case anyone simply wants to know how this ended up in the courts.
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Doesn't surprise me coming from NYS, the state where tenants have more rights than the taxpaying property owners.
Although I do agree that any solution requiring a smart phone and a privacy-invading app is not acceptable. But I digress, it's time to move on from thinking of a key in terms of a piece of metal.. A key in my opinion can be any of these; a piece of metal, numeric digit code, fingerprint, or other uniquely indentifying instrument or characteristic used to gain access to a secured environment.
I use smart locks with 4 digit PINs on my rental. I installed them when I was between tenants and actually wrote a key code provision into the lease they signed so I'm covered even if they decide to change their mind.
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Nice of you to eat cost and not pass it onto your tenants.
Though, the lock rule must be a metal physical key is stupid and I'm not shocked the article had the people complaining are as being 60+
Of course I do.. Every time property taxes go up I have to eat that cost since tenant leases almost never follow tax years. Plus I can't necessarily force those costs during lease renewal if it would push the cost of the unit above market average for the area.
Your comment makes me laugh because I hear similar comments all the time.. Theres a misconception that landlords are making money hand over fist from their properties. They may be true for large MDU's, but most of the time the margins are so small after mortgages, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and losses, that we have to make it up on volume.
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I've rented and done rentals (you haven't lived till you empty a 2 gallon bucket of stale pee a renter left behind and at that point you learn cleaning up poop isn't that bad). There is a big misconception landlord equals moneybags but there is also a large myth by landlords that they pay for everything. You're just the guy on the hook for most things.
Landlords don't eat any cost and it's your tenants paying the property taxes since you are not losing money. Who actually cuts the check doesn't change that fact. Most it does is lower your margins if the market rate won't let you raise your rate.
Also, while margins are not great, that's what your tax returns show at least, it doesn't realistically reflect the truth as your equity rises with every new purchase. Then payday comes when you sell it and the land has appreciated in value. It's like complaining my dividends on my MS stock I bought at $26 is pennies but I leave out the part it is now 230%ish higher in value now and can sell for a nice increase.
Basically, if it wasn't worth it you wouldn't be doing it.
Elderly tenants shouldn't be forced to use a smartphone just to get into their flats or apartments. Most have no clue how they work or have bad eyesight or worse have limited movement in hand/fingers or arms due to arthritis or other physical issues.
Completely untrue, and I certainly hope that you don't prepare your own taxes or you missed out. A couple months of vacancy between tenants can be enough to cause an annual loss. The mortgage, taxes, utilities, and insurance all still need to be paid. For last year, I quite easily and honestly showed a loss last year on one property, due in part to a couple months of vacancy and repairs from a past tenant.
But this is getting very much off topic so I'm gonna stop now. 
As taxes are concerned yes because you don't take income on capital gains till you sell. Unless you also had your land also see depreciation or it appreciated too slowly you still made money but you probably would sell it if you thought that was going to keep happening.
I have to put in a plug for the type of smart lock that I have from Kwikset the SmartCode 888.
Key + code = the key to happy tenants.
(I have the zwave plus model. I put it in,and have not had an issue.)
This works in hubitat ?
Gizmodo: After Smart Lock Allegedly Traps Senior in Apartment, Tenants Sue for Physical Keys and Win.
So the problem is not only trapping people out but trapping them in. Thank God there wasn't a fire.
That article is much better but still has FUD. No one was trapped in their apartment as they didn't need a phone to use the system. They could use supplied key cards.
HOWEVER
"We are relieved that something as simple as entering our home is not controlled by an internet surveillance system”
If you read the privacy policy Latch is in fact collecting, at the time, device history and access history for advertising so that's a legitimate concern and this statement is in fact true and makes Latch unlike any other keyless entry system I ever used.
But
"because we will now have a mechanical key they will not be tracking our friends and our family,”
They can still slip an RFID tag into the key and use a nonstandard key and the system is still there recording access via video. It's probably better if some reasonable laws were enacted that made collecting data in this case toxic.
PERFECTLY!
(excuse me for yelling)
The trapped man was a 93 year old. Having helped many elderly people, this doesn't surprise me. They don't do well with change.
My 99 year old Grandma hated cell phones. She like the tactile feel of the land line phone. It was what she knew and understood. It didn't matter if we showed her press this big button to auto dail your daughter. She still wanted the land line.
So I'm not surprised that the 93 year old got stuck in his apartment. It is also amazing how the elderly can completely bonk something when trying to use it.
90% of the time or more that's just pure stubbornness to learn something and I seriously doubt this man is living alone without supervision and he is unable to process something new. This though seems like legitimate stubbornness if you go read their privacy policy that was up at the time.
I know this is old, but I can relate. I have a three apartment unit in the San Bernardino mountains of Southern California. When we bought the unit (mother, brother, and I), we did not expect to make a lot of money, we figured it's an investment property that we can sell in 10, 20 maybe even 30 years. It has been over 15 years now, and it isn't really worth much more today than back then. But the cost of ownership keeps climbing. I must now pay a registration fee for permission to rent. My rent is based on market value, so that doesn't go up, and maintenance costs keep piling on. Even though we make very little profit from the rent, my tax bracket has shot up, and I actually pay each year in the form of income taxes. If I did not own this property, I would get some money back at the end of the year, but with this property, I end up owing a lot each year. and every year I say I am going to get rid of the property.. Thankfully I am lucky that my tenants keep their unit immaculate and are always on-time with rent.
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