Smart Lock Installation in Chicago, IL

Do Chicago doors suit a smart lock?

Chicago's housing runs older than Aurora's or Naperville's. Census estimates say 39.0 percent of Chicago's homes predate 1940, while 39.3 percent of Aurora's date from 1990 to 2009 and nearly half of Naperville's (49.2 percent) went up in the 1980s and 1990s. A smart lock generally has to fit the existing deadbolt hole and the door's thickness, so check both against the lock's specifications before you buy, especially on an older door. For newer suburban housing, see Naperville or Aurora.

Approvals in flats and larger buildings

Start with the lease: check which locks it lets you change. A keypad on a greystone's shared street door changes access for every household, so it likely needs the owner's or management's agreement. The city's ordinance summary advises tenants to notify the landlord before changing a lock, emergencies aside, and to hand the landlord a key afterward, so favor a lock that still takes a physical key.

Chicago's code for existing buildings also calls for a unit-door deadbolt that a person inside can open without a key; owner-occupied units are exempt (14X-4-403.1 and 14X-4-403.3.1.1). Confirm that any smart lock you choose still works that way from inside. This is general information, not legal advice.

Cold, snow and batteries

NOAA puts average snowfall above 40 inches in northeastern Illinois and below 10 inches in the far south, so a Chicago lock goes through real winters. Cold shortens battery life and can make a keypad or touchscreen slow to respond. Check the batteries before winter, replace them when the lock warns you, and keep a working key as a backup, stored somewhere other than the home you might be locked out of. A dead battery on a bitter morning is a poor time to find the key is missing.

Before you order the lock

• Which door: porch, side or unit door.
• The door's thickness and the current deadbolt, if you know them. A photo helps.
• Owner or tenant, and whether the landlord has approved the change.
• Whether you want a keypad, an app-controlled lock or both, and whether a key override must stay.

See smart lock installation for the install work and Chicago for local housing.