Latch’s Top 10: Commonly Asked Questions From Developers

As multifamily owners and developers, we know you have a lot of things to consider—and choosing the right smart access system is just one of the many decisions you’ll make. 

To help you determine if Latch is right for your building, here are the answers to the top 10 most frequently asked questions we receive from developers during the evaluation process. 

About Latch.

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‍1. What can Latch do for me?

As the first full-building access system for the modern apartment, Latch products help people open, manage, and share their spaces—making multifamily buildings better and smarter places to live.  

• What this means for residents: A more flexible, convenient, and secure way to unlock their doors and share access with the people that matter—from their friends and family, to their dog walker, to their house cleaner.  ‍
• What this means for property managers: A single solution that allows property management to oversee every access point in the building, anywhere or anytime.   ‍
• What this means for owners: A value-add investment that increases net operating income and future-proofs your property as smart homes and buildings drive demand. ‍

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‍2. How many buildings are you in, and who are your biggest customers?‍

More than 1 in 10 new apartments in the U.S. are being built with Latch. We’re proud to work with some of the industry’s leading developers, including Prometheus, Tishman Speyer, Toll Brothers, AMLI, and Brookfield Properties.‍

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‍3. How is Latch different from the other access companies out there?

• Latch is the first full-building solution for the modern apartment—providing owners and property managers with a single system to manage all the access points in a building. The result? Added cost-savings, operational efficiency, and building security.
• Latch is the only access solution that combines hardware, software, and services—helping owners to future-proof their properties by meeting residents’ expectations. With partnerships like UPS and Walmart’s Jet.com, Latch facilitates in-lobby unattended package deliveries in cities across the country to bring new possibilities and new experiences to residents. ‍
• Latch is the experience that residents expect. Latch offers more than just keyless entry—residents are won over by the flexibility, convenience, and security that smarter access brings by giving them control over their spaces.    ‍
• Latch puts resident privacy and security first. Since the beginning, we’ve committed to designing products and experiences that residents feel good about—like giving them the power to see who’s entered their apartment while keeping their unit access data private (even from property managers and landlords), as well as ensuring that their data is never compromised.

Latch Devices & Installation.

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4. Do the locks require Internet?‍

For individual units, we built our Latch devices so that they don’t require expensive electrical, Internet, or WiFi wiring. The Latch M and Latch C do not depend on persistent Internet connection to lock or unlock—although the new Latch M series can support built-in WiFi—which reduces the risk of data exposure to a resident’s most private space and reduces your project costs during construction and installation.

The Latch R was built to provide access to highly trafficked common areas—like the front door or amenity spaces—and requires either a WiFi or ethernet Internet connection. ‍‍

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‍5. How are the devices powered? ‍

Our unit entry locks, the Latch M and Latch C, operate on six AA batteries—providing owners with more flexible installation options that don’t rely on hardwired power and are built for all the demands of the UL10C fire safety standards.

The new Latch M series has the option to support hardwired power—eliminating the need for battery changes and providing property managers with the ability to receive real-time guest notifications and access updates when using Latch to facilitate services like short-term rental.  

To securely operate the common areas, the Latch R should be connected to 12 to 24V DC power. 

The Latch Intercom supports power over ethernet (PoE), and connects via ethernet, WiFi, or cellular LTE. ‍‍

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‍6. What’s the expected battery life? ‍

The Latch M and Latch C have an average battery life of 12 months based on four to five unlocks per day. Property managers can monitor battery life in the Latch Manager platform and will receive a notification when battery life drops below 20 percent. ‍

Specific Use Cases.

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‍7. Can property managers use Latch to restrict amenity access?‍

With Latch Manager, property managers can disable access sharing and turn off doorcodes for designated amenity spaces—keeping access to residents only. ‍

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‍8. Can Latch facilitate short-term rentals? ‍

Owners can use Latch to future-proof their properties and increase their net operating income by facilitating short-term rentals. With our partner, Airbnb’s Niido, residents and short-stay guests experience smarter access sharing and flexible living standards. Latch also enhances the guest and visitor experience at short-stay and co-living buildings like Lyric, Sonder, The Guild, and Common.   ‍

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‍9. Can Latch replace package lockers? ‍

Beyond facilitating smarter access, Latch unlocks a world of services and experiences by partnering with leading service providers, such as UPS and Jet.com, to facilitate unattended package delivery in building lobbies and secure package rooms of both non-doorman and doorman buildings. Read how Latch makes package security possible for residents at Z+G Property Group’s 12 buildings in this New York Times article.  ‍

Privacy & Security.

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‍‍10. What if the products get hacked?

‍We’ve approached security from every angle to reduce the risk of malicious activity. We continuously test our hardware and software against potential threat models and frameworks to get ahead of potential risks, and are committed to making software updates if and when vulnerabilities are detected. Additionally, we’ve taken steps to ensure that access information is protected: encrypting data on our devices as well as on our back-end servers, building in strong authentication and data leakage provisions, and more. 

To learn more about how our security program has been designed to meet commercial best practices, visit latch.com/security-privacy. ‍

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Have a question that isn’t answered or interested in speaking to a member of our sales team? Get in touch here. 

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