Streamlining Maintenance with Remote Keyless Entry

By: Amelia Woolard

Keyless entry systems make maintenance work orders easier to manage.Keyless entry systems make maintenance work orders easier to manage.
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Have you ever wanted to share access to your home with a friend or family member, without having to hand over a physical key?

Is there ever a time when you wish you could let a maintenance team into your home without having to meet them and show them your leaky tap?

If so, you would find remote keyless entry to be helpful.

What is Remote Keyless Entry?

Remote keyless entry allows operators to manage access without overseeing in-person who enters and exits certain areas. Residents can say goodbye to handling physical keys while being able to keep track of who is visiting their apartments, whether it is a babysitter, a friend, or maintenance personnel.

Remote Keyless Entry for Maintenance Teams

Remote keyless entry automates access to unit doors so that only authorised users can access these spaces. When combined with smart apartment technology, maintenance teams can access areas of the building pertinent to maintenance work orders.

A remote keyless entry system can take many forms. It is common for operators to use a cloud-based, wireless keypad that “talks” to a door’s smart lock, granting access when a personalised access code is punched in a keypad or entered into a smartphone app connected to the smart lock.


Remote keyless entry has countless applications, but one of the most useful is for maintenance workers visiting a private residence. A keyless entry system can simplify maintenance requests for the following reasons:

Streamline the Work Order Process

Maintenance teams must deal with both planned and unplanned issues. Even for planned maintenance, work order management without keyless entry in place can be a hassle.

A traditional scenario would involve a property management team alerting maintenance personnel to the problem and coordinating when to resolve it. Those team members then coordinate when appropriate keys need to be distributed and collected.

With remote keyless entry, work orders can be managed remotely with a few taps of a button. Work orders for maintenance personnel are assigned via an app that manages entry. Apart from notifying the resident before access to their unit is granted, there is no additional employee handling required.

For each affected residence, the maintenance team receives a one-time access code. Upon completion, the work order is marked accordingly, triggering a notification to the building operator and the resident.

No one has to meet the maintenance provider at the property to drop off a key or lock up after the order is complete. Traveling to and from the building is reduced, as are the emissions generated from the vehicle. Maintenance is streamlined, convenient, and more environmentally friendly from start to finish.

Update Residents at Every Step

When residential homes undergo maintenance, renters can be more than a little curious about how work order fulfillment is going. They may wonder how long the order will take to complete or worry about returning to their homes too early, disrupting the work order in the process. They may fear that service personnel will enter their homes at odd hours, igniting security concerns.

Fear surrounding manual keys is understandable. Keys can be lost or easily duplicated, and their whereabouts cannot be traced. Today, approximately 6% of burglars gain entry using a key. That means that a key was used in over 16,000 burglaries across England and Wales from 2002 to 2021.

One-time access codes are much more secure because they are controlled by the housing operator. Activity logs document who is using the code and at what time. Keyless access codes can be deleted and re-assigned at any time which helps to mitigate residents’ concerns.

Additionally, using a remote keyless entry system when completing maintenance work orders makes it easy to provide residents with notifications and real-time updates, which goes a long way in providing peace of mind to the resident and helping them plan their days around scheduled maintenance.

Get Started with Keyless Entry

Remote keyless entry is a fantastic way to manage maintenance teams without having to be physically present anytime they are fulfilling work orders. Plus, the SmartRent system provides insight into the process for residents, heightening their comfortability with maintenance teams working in their homes.

SmartRent offers a keyless entry and work order management platform perfectly suited to maintenance teams’ needs. Want to take advantage of these benefits at your asset? Request a SmartRent demo and we will be happy to discuss the best options for your portfolio.

If you’re curious to learn more about SmartRent’s other property technology (“proptech”) solutions, check out What is Proptech?: What You Need to Know in 2022.