do i legally have to give my new owners of the house keys?

Question

i dont know who they are they just sent me a letter saying they need a key to the house. i have 5 kids and i dont think its a good idea. i dont see why they would need a key there is no reason they need to come into my home. i know usually apartments ask cause of emergency purposes, but if there was an emergency here i dont think they would know till after unless they are spying on me. please can i get serious answers only. i need to know. thanks

Answer 1

sounds to that you are a renter.i have a key to all of my house's.you ask why,what if something breaks and you want it fixed.a service man needs in if you are at work or out of town.he doesn't work on your schedule all the people i know that have rentals have a key to their house's. what if you moved out in the middle of the night and you might not but it happens a lot,

Answer 2

If you are saying these people are the new owners of the house you are renting, they should have gotten the keys from the former owners.

If the former owners didn't have a key, they might not have been able to do that so are asking you. If they are really the owners, then they have a right to a key to the property, but make sure of who they are before you give it to them.

Answer 3

yes you do. they are the rightful owners of the premisise and have a right to the keys. u witholding this is not a good way to start off ur new relationship. just ask them that if they need to go inside they contact you beforehand and they need the keys in case they want to make repairs, provisions, in case of floods or emergencies. i sincerely doubt they want to snoop on you but they are the legal owners so they need to have the keys.

Answer 4

If you are renting, then the owners are allowed to have a key. They are not, however, allowed to just use it whenever they want, but only in the case of an emergency.

Answer 5

Are you renting from the new owners? If you are, then you may need to in case of an emergency only. They are not allowed to go in, that is considered trespassing.

Answer 6

Just make sure that they are the rightful New owners of the property. But if they are the owners then they are intitled to a key to THEIR house.

Answer 7

I'm not entirely sure that the situation is so I can only guess at an answer.

If you are selling your home, the new owners will get a set of keys at closing. They have no legal entitlement to them prior to closing.

If you are living in a rented home and it was sold to a new owner, the previous owner should have turned over a set of keys to the new owers.

Landlords are entitled to a full set of keys to their properties. However, I would NOT just hand over a set of keys to anyone who claims to be the the new owner! I would contact the previous owner and ask them to turn over the keys to the new owner.

If the previous owner doesn't have a set of keys to hand over, ask them for a copy of the HUD-1 settlement sheet from the sale's closing as well as the full name and street address of the new owner. Then I'd ask the person who claims to be the new owner to send you a copy of the HUD-1 settlement sheet and a copy of the deed as proof of their claim that they actually own the property. Both copies of the HUD-1 settlement sheet should match EXACTLY at the top of the sheet where the buyer and seller details are recorded. The amounts in the columns may not be repeated on both copies as it's common to not provide unneeded financial information to the parties to the sale but the personal information at the top must match exactly.

As an added caution, ask the new owner to provide you with a copy of the lease that you signed with the previous owner. That should have been handed over to them at closing so they should be able to provide that easily enough. I'd also ask for a copy of their driver's license or state-issued photo ID to prove who they say they are.

If you are then satisfied that the new owner is who they claim to be, tell them you'd be happy to provide a copy of the keys if they cover the cost of having them made. Ask them if they wish for you to deduct the cost from your next rent check or if they would prefer to pay you in advance for the costs. You may wish to include an "inconvenience fee" to cover the value of your time in dealing with this.

You should address any communication with the new owner to the address shown on the HUD-1 settlement sheet, by the way. The reason that I recommend this level of caution is that real property transfers are a matter of public record. It would be possible for a scam artist to use that information to acquire a set of keys to your home by claiming to be the new owner. I haven't heard of that type of scam personally but it would be entirely plausible and the dirtbags of the world are always looking for an easy mark.

If the new owner is legitimate they'll understand your level of caution and will have NO problem with handling the situation as I have recommended above.

If they give you ANY grief or raise ANY objection at all then I'd be highly suspicious of their claim and would not have any further contact with them. I might even contact the Fraud Squad at the local Police Department in that case. They would love to put that type of fraudster out of business even before they start.

Here's an example of the letter I'd write in response for the request for a set of keys:

Dear Mr Jones,

I have received your letter of requesting a set of keys for my home at . For security reasons, I must insist that you provide the following by return mail:

1. A copy of the first page of the HUD-1 settlement sheet from the sale.

2. A copy of the deed as recorded.

3. A copy of the lease that I executed with Mr & Mrs Smith. (Don't list the date of the lease!)

4. A copy of your state issued driver's license or photo ID.

Once I receive the above items I'll advise you of how to secure a set of keys to the home, as well of what the costs will be. I expect you to cover the duplication costs, plus an inconvenience fee of ($25.00 would be reasonable) to cover the value of my time in handling this for you.

Regards,