How We Helped a Fort Lauderdale Landlord Replace Deadbolts on 8 Units After a Break-In — and Upgraded to Mul-T-Lock

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Easy Keys 4 Cars provides automotive locksmith services.

What We Found

Fort Lauderdale rental buildings built or last renovated in the 1990s and 2000s almost always carry a mix of hardware. This one was no exception. Six of the eight units still had the original builder-grade Kwikset cylinders. Two had been swapped at some point for standard Schlage single-cylinder deadbolts, likely after a lockout, with no record of who did the work or who kept a key.

Easy Keys 4 Cars provides automotive locksmith services.

Honestly, the bigger finding wasn’t the broken door – it was the key control problem across the other seven units. No master key system existed. Maintenance staff, a former super, and at least one prior tenant could plausibly still open units they no longer had any business entering. If you’re a property manager in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, or Coral Gables juggling multiple buildings, this is the scenario that should worry you more than the broken door itself: a single break-in exposes how loose your key control already was.

How We Solved It

The plan wasn’t just “swap eight locks.” It was a coordinated hardware upgrade plus a documented master key hierarchy the property manager could actually hand to a new hire without re-keying the whole building again.

“The lock is rarely the weak point on a rental property after a break-in – the missing key log is. We’ve walked into buildings where nobody could say who had a working key, and that’s a harder problem to fix than any single deadbolt.” – Easy Keys 4 Cars Team

We tried skipping a written key log on a smaller job once, years back, trusting the manager to remember who got what. It cost us a callback and an awkward conversation when a tenant swore they never got a key and clearly had. That was a mistake. We don’t skip the log anymore.

What This Means for Fort Lauderdale Landlords and Property Managers

If you manage a multi-unit rental property anywhere from Fort Lauderdale down through Hollywood, Aventura, or Brickell, a single break-in should trigger a building-wide review, not a one-door fix. Replacing only the damaged unit’s lock leaves the other seven exactly as exposed as they were the day before – same worn cylinders, same untracked keys, same risk.

Just like a used-car buyer who skips having a spare key made and later pays a premium to replace a lost original, a property manager who inherits a building without re-keying it inherits every key that was ever cut for it – contractors, former tenants, past maintenance staff, all of it. Re-keying on ownership transfer or management turnover, not just after a break-in, is the cheaper habit long-term.

This is for landlords managing multiple doors under one roof – not for a single-family homeowner who just needs one deadbolt swapped. For that scenario, a standard residential deadbolt replacement on one door is a different, simpler job. But once you’re coordinating five, eight, or twenty units, the math changes: a master key system pays for itself the first time you avoid re-keying the entire building because one key went missing.

Mul-T-Lock is part of the ASSA ABLOY group, which also produces Medeco and Yale hardware under separate lines – so the choice between them isn’t about one brand being universally better. It’s about matching the keyway control and rating to how many doors, and how many hands touching keys, you actually have.

FAQ

How much does it cost to replace deadbolts on multiple rental units in Fort Lauderdale?

Easy Keys 4 Cars provides automotive locksmith services.

Why upgrade to Mul-T-Lock instead of keeping standard Schlage or Kwikset deadbolts after a break-in?

Mul-T-Lock’s MT5+ cylinder uses a patented, restricted keyway that blocks unauthorized duplication at a hardware store, unlike standard Kwikset or builder-grade Schlage keys that can be copied almost anywhere. For a rental property that just had a break-in, that restriction is what actually prevents the next unauthorized key from existing in the first place.

Can a locksmith set up a master key system on an 8-unit building without letting tenants access each other’s units?

Yes. A hierarchical master key system gives each tenant a key that opens only their own unit, while a separate master key held by the property manager opens all eight. This is the same structure used across multi-unit buildings in Miami, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale and it’s a core part of any commercial locksmith rekeying job.

What should a Fort Lauderdale landlord do immediately after a break-in at a rental property?

Secure the damaged door temporarily, photograph the pry marks and frame damage for the police report and insurance claim, and call an emergency locksmith for same-day deadbolt replacement rather than waiting days for a scheduled appointment. Florida landlords also carry maintenance obligations under Florida Statutes Chapter 83, which is a good reason to document the repair timeline in writing.

Sources

1. Mul-T-Lock MT5+ restricted keyway and high-security cylinder specifications – Mul-T-Lock
2. ANSI/BHMA grading standards for deadbolt hardware – American National Standards Institute
3. Florida landlord maintenance obligations under the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Chapter 83 – Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes
4. Mul-T-Lock as a brand within the ASSA ABLOY group – ASSA ABLOY