Ohio landlord installs smart locks without asking tenants, then starts charging them $9.99 a month to access their own apartments: 'I'm paying to unlock my own door?'

Can landlords charge tenants extra to access features they never asked for?

An Ohio landlord decided it was a good idea to increase safety for all his tenants. He replaced all the traditional locks with a smart lock, and then announced that the tenants had to pay a monthly fee of $9.99 to access the apartment. Needless to say, no one requested this upgrade…

I'm all for safety here. You can never be too careful when it comes to safety measures, and I truly believe that a smart lock can be a good idea for keeping everyone in check. However, the problem comes when landlords decide to make these changes and later demand a mandatory monthly fee to maintain this upgrade.

I've never encountered a situation like this where tenants have to pay to enter their home, apart from the monthly rent they are obligated to pay. In essence, they're paying double rent: one for living in the unit, and one for accessing it. Isn't that totally strange? Most renters feel that accessing their house should already be covered by the rent. Although we can all agree that the smart lock offers some cool benefits, not everyone feels that those are necessary. Especially for renters who are on a tight budget and can only afford the rent, and not these accessories. 

The community in r/Rentersinteresting rapidly shares some interesting advice to see how u/Creative_Gur_4097 could potentially fix this problem. Of course, when a landlord introduces a new expense without asking the renters, it can certainly create a big tension and leave all the tenants wondering if this is a justified cost or not.