The safety of residents is paramount, and property managers know the monumental risks associated with a misplaced or stolen key. Last month, with the support of the statewide apartment industry, Florida began implementing Miya's Law (Senate Bill 898), to strengthen tenant safety. The legislation requires communities to establish written access policies and procedures for keys and to maintain a log that accounts for the issuance and return of keys.

Property managers must now be prepared to provide their policy to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation during annual inspections. Additionally, they must be able to provide a log detailing when keys were issued and when keys were returned.

Sitting down to draft a key management policy may seem overwhelming. However, this template can serve as a starting point for property managers.

Tracking each key within a community is both challenging and cumbersome. Without complete control and visibility over the use of keys, it is difficult to know when there is a problem. With traditional paper systems, it is also difficult to oversee key inventory and implementing procedures and systems that are both effective and efficient while making it easier to comply to the new guidelines that regulators are now actively enforcing across Florida and under consideration in other states.

Rather than maintaining paper systems for tracking the issuance and return of unit keys, property managers should consider installing electronic systems to protect their properties and keep their communities safe. These solutions reduce time spent on administrative tasks and allow employees to focus on resident-facing aspects within an apartment community.

Electronic key cabinet systems offer property managers customized solutions, such as the ability to:

• Assign access levels and curfews for keys
• Create scheduling triggers that limit checkouts to specific days, hours, or actions
• Tag a key to its unit and receive a notification when the key is accessed and by whom
• Accommodate high-capacity key storage and expandability to meet the needs of various property sizes

With the latest legislation in Florida, we expect to see these types of regulations in a growing number of states. So, it's important to get a head start and gather information on helping property managers stay compliant in the most efficient way before the need becomes urgent.