Smart Lock Installation in Chandler, AZ

Apartments and rentals

In Chandler, 20.8 percent of homes are in structures with five or more units, 9.3 percent in structures with 50 or more, and renters make up 36.8 percent of occupied homes. The city reports more than 8,400 multifamily units completed since 2013, and its development lists name Town Chandler, 420 units at Frye Road and Ellis Street; Alta Uptown, 425 units at Arizona Avenue and Corporate Place; and the 208-unit Encore Novo downtown. The first phase of DC Heights, 157 units, opened downtown in January 2024.

In a complex like these, a smart lock changes only the unit door. The gate, the corridor doors and the mail room usually belong to the building. Renters should get the landlord's approval in writing. A.R.S. 33-1343 lets a landlord enter without the tenant's consent in an emergency, so ask how the landlord would get in if your lock opens only by code or app.

Houses from the 1980s to the 2000s

Most of Chandler's homes, 73.1 percent, were built from 1980 through 2009, and two-thirds are detached houses. A motorized bolt pushes against the strike plate, so a door that drags on its frame or needs a shove to latch should be adjusted before any electronics go on. Photograph both faces of the door and its edge.

Valley summers and a backup key

Maricopa County says its temperatures frequently exceed 110°F in the summer months. An exterior keypad is exposed to that weather, so check the maker's stated operating range against a Valley summer before you buy. Choose hardware that still has a keyway, or some other way in for the day the batteries run low, and leave a spare key with someone you trust. A pool gate has its own city rules, including gates that latch themselves and no key needed to exit, so check them before putting any electronic lock on one.

Details to send

• what the door is made of, with photos of the inside face, the outside face and the edge
• the make of the deadbolt now on it, if it is stamped anywhere
• the style you have in mind: buttons on the door, a phone app, or both, and how well your router reaches the entrance
• in a rental or a complex, whatever approval the landlord or the building has already given

A conventional deadbolt is covered under lock replacement, electronic hardware under smart lock installation, and Chandler's housing mix on the Chandler page.