Access Control Systems for Apartment Complexes

The practice of tapping a card reader to get through the front door of an office building is an everyday occurrence for many businesspeople. Such physical access control is less commonly found in apartment complexes. However, for safety and security purposes, access control is becoming increasingly important for apartment buildings across the Mid-South. If you own or manage a residential building, you may be keen on installing an access control system.

Here at State Systems, we offer the latest in access control and card reader systems to give you maximum security and complete control over who enters your building or has access to your apartment complex. Here are the top ways to use access control systems for apartment complexes.

Secure Building Entry

Tenants want to feel safe where they live. By keeping the doors to your apartment building perpetually locked, you ensure no unwanted visitors can make their way inside. At the same time, building residents need only to swipe their access card to unlock the door. Proximity key fobs make entry even more convenient, allowing residents who simply have an access card on them to open the door – no need to dig through a purse or wallet to physically swipe the card.

Permit Residents Access to Specific Floors/Wings

Sometimes, apartment complexes share the same main entrance with retail space. In this case, you want visitors off the street to have access to shopping and dining, but only residents should be able to enter the apartment floors.

To solve this dilemma, you should keep the main entrance doors unlocked during business hours. Then, any doors leading to residential wings or elevators leading to private apartments on upper floors must require an access card for entry. You can even program cards to only grant access to the floor on which the apartment is located. These measures maximize security for residents while still catering to the general public’s need for unimpeded access to the retail space.

Control Entry into the Parking Area

If your apartment complex is located in a big city, parking is probably an issue, especially on weekends and during special events. Even in a more suburban setting, creating a gated community feeling makes your apartment complex more secure.

To ensure building tenants always have a place to park, you can gate off the parking lot or garage, denying access to the general public in the process. Clear signage helps to avoid confusion and card readers give tenants temporary access to the parking area until the gate closes behind them.

Allow Residents to Enter Common Areas

You might provide added benefits to your tenants by offering access to certain common areas, such as a community pool, fitness facility, or lounge area. To keep these areas exclusive to your tenants and their guests, an access control system is vital. If you wish, you can automatically program resident cards for access to all common areas, or you can leave certain areas off limits most of the time.

For example, perhaps you’ve set up a rentable lounge area. Key cards only grant access to this area on the dates and times a tenant rents the room for a party. This added security measure helps keep the lounge space in good condition.

If an incident occurs in any common area, you can check the access control history to see when residents entered certain rooms. This helps you pinpoint who was responsible so you can revoke their access and take legal action if necessary.

Provide Communication for Guests to Identify Themselves to Residents

Intercoms are one of our low voltage communications services. Two-way communication from the lobby directly to individual apartments allows residents and visitors to converse easily.  Paired with access control at the front entrance of your apartment building, an intercom gives guests the ability to announce their arrival without impairing building security.

Manage Your Access Control System

With just a web browser, you can make modifications to your access control system from anywhere with an internet connection. Add and remove resident access cards as tenants move in and out. Revoke or reinstate access to common areas as needed. Enable or disable doors during emergency situations. Activate or deactivate relay-controlled equipment. These changes are easy to make, and having full control of your apartment’s access and security features is empowering.

Install an Access Control System for Your Apartment Complex

Do the capabilities of an access control system sound like the perfect solution for your apartment complex? State Systems is the right company to handle the installation for you. We offer our customers the benefits of an experienced life safety contractor with the advantages of local service. If you’re based in the Mid-South, contact us today to learn more about access control systems for apartment complexes.