Think security before you sign with landlord

Room with a view. Check. Kitchen. Check.

Safety. Wait, how do I check that?

It may not… Room with a view. Check. Kitchen. Check.

Safety. Wait, how do I check that?

It may not be as difficult as you think.

One of the first things you should do before you move into an apartment is check out your landlord.

According to Ron Bennett, Pitt police community relations officer, University officials are working with local landlords to encourage them to make apartments more livable. But for the time being, students are responsible for making sure that the apartments they’re living in are safe, and the key to this is having a good landlord.

Bennett says students should look at the rental company name because it “stands for itself,” or for a landlord in the area.

“When you have Ron Bennett’s apartment building you’re just stuck with one person who may live in Florida and doesn’t care about the building,” Bennett said. “If they’re established in the city, it makes it a lot better.”

Bennett also suggested talking to the building’s current tenants, who can provide first-hand accounts of what the landlord is really like.

Next, look at the apartment to spot places where people can enter it. Check the locks. Do they work? Check the windows. Do they lock? Can someone climb in?

“If multiple people are living in the apartment, try to make an agreement that, if they leave, the door is locked,” Bennett said, adding that many robberies occur when one roommate thinks the other is just around the corner or quickly returning and thus leaves the door unlocked.

It’s also essential to know how many people should be in the room.

“Know who’s in your apartment and get to know the guests,” Bennett said. “Make sure [your roommates] really know who these people are because [if they don’t] they start putting their items in jeopardy.”

According to Bennett, the most commonly stolen items are small, lightweight electronics – phones, iPods, cameras and laptops. These items usually disappear over breaks, so take them home with you or designate someone to check in on the apartment. Odds are your landlord won’t.

It’s also important to know who lives in the other apartments in the building.

“If you get to know the neighbors, they will start to look out for your stuff,” Bennett said. “Knock on their door. Say who you are and introduce yourself. Explain who’s in the apartment so they know how many people [live there].”

But don’t stop at introducing yourself. Befriend your neighbor.

“Some people have lived here for years,” Bennett said. “They don’t mind students living here as long as they’re respectful.”

If your neighbors get along with you, Bennett said, they will be more likely to report anything out of the ordinary.

According to Bennett, this last step is especially crucial. If your neighbors don’t know the people who live in your apartment, they can’t distinguish them from a burglar. This is a contributing factor in a lot of successful robberies.

During the day, people float in and out of the area surrounding apartment buildings for multiple reasons. According to Bennett, it’s harder to judge who is out of place if you don’t know who’s supposed to be there in the first place.