A communal front door works harder than any other door in the building: dozens of people through it daily, deliveries, visitors, and a new set of tenants every year or two. Get the entry system right and you stop thinking about it. Get it wrong and you're changing locks after every tenancy, chasing keys, and fielding calls about who buzzed in a stranger. This guide covers the options for landlords, HMO operators and property managers.
The problem with keys (and key codes)
Traditional keys fail landlords on turnover: every unreturned key at the end of a tenancy is a security question mark, and re-keying a communal door means cutting new keys for every remaining tenant. Keypad codes have the same weakness in shared buildings — codes get passed to friends, delivery drivers and ex-partners, and changing the code means notifying everyone at once.
That's why the standard for shared buildings is individual credentials: each tenant gets their own fob or card. When someone moves out and doesn't return it, you delete that one fob in seconds. No locksmith, no new keys, no disruption to other tenants.
Your three main options
1. Fob entry on the communal door
A reader on the outside, a maglock or electric strike on the door, an exit button inside. Tenants tap in; everyone else stays out. This is the baseline for any shared building, and the whole setup is more affordable than most landlords expect.
2. Audio door entry
Adds a panel with call buttons per flat and a handset inside each one, so tenants can speak to visitors and release the door remotely. The classic intercom — reliable, familiar to tenants, and cost-effective for smaller blocks.
3. Video door entry
Video entry systems let tenants see who's calling before they release the door — a meaningful safety upgrade, especially in HMOs where tenants don't know each other's visitors. Modern app-connected systems go further: tenants answer the door from their phone, wherever they are, and some let you grant temporary access for contractors without issuing a fob.
HMO-specific considerations
- Turnover is your design constraint. HMO tenancies change more often than anywhere else — individual, revocable credentials aren't a luxury, they're the point.
- Bedroom doors count too. Many HMO operators fit keypads or fob readers on individual room doors, ending the master-key juggling act entirely.
- Fire safety comes first. Anything you fit on an escape route must let people leave freely and release in an emergency — fail-safe locks with proper exit provisions. Your fire risk assessment governs what's acceptable, so check it before speccing hardware.
- Keep evidence of control. Systems that log entries help with disputes, and being able to show you control access to the building reflects well in licensing inspections.
What a complete communal door setup includes
Whatever entry method you choose, the door itself needs the same four things: the lock (maglock or strike), a reliable power supply — ideally with battery backup so the door works through a power cut — an exit device on the inside, and the entry panel or reader outside. Our complete locking kits bundle the door hardware in one matched box.
Managing multiple properties?
If you run several buildings, a trade account gets you discounted pricing across the range, VAT invoices on every order and priority support — worth setting up before your next refurb rather than after.
Upgrading a communal door? Start with our door entry systems and fob entry range, all with free next-day UK delivery when ordered before 4pm. Tell us about your building — email hello@securemydoor.co.uk for free advice, 7 days a week.