Updated
Apartment building security systems for multifamily property
Multifamily is the only commercial building type where the people you are securing against and the people you are securing for are the same population, and where both hold leases. That changes the design. Cameras go in common areas and never inside units. Credentials have to work for a 78-year-old resident and a DoorDash driver at 11pm. And the entry system is the piece residents touch every single day, which is why it is the piece that generates the complaints, the service calls and, in New York, the statute.
The fact that sets the spec
In New York, a majority of tenants can require their landlord to install self-locking entrance doors and an intercom, and the clock is six months.
Multiple Dwelling Law section 50-a requires Class A multiple dwellings with eight or more apartments erected or converted after January 1, 1968 to have automatic self-closing and self-locking entrance doors, kept locked at all times except when an attendant is actually on duty, plus an intercommunication system at that door allowing voice communication between the occupant of each apartment and a person outside, and allowing the occupant to release the door lock from the apartment. For buildings from before 1968, the same obligation is triggered by a written request from a majority of tenants: installation must begin within 90 days and be completed within six months, or within one year for a municipal housing authority building. That is a capital project with a statutory deadline attached, which is not how most owners budget an intercom.
The systems
What a multifamily properties security system needs
System by system, and why. Each links to the buying guide with the questions that separate a sound quote from a cheap one.
Doors, not units, and a credential residents will actually carry
The controlled openings are the lobby or vestibule, the garage or gate, the stair and elevator lobbies on each floor if the building is secured vertically, the package room, the fitness room, the pool gate, the roof deck, the mail room, the trash room and the leasing office. Unit doors stay on mechanical keys in most properties. Budget roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per door installed with hardware, labor and first-year software, and expect the amenity doors to cost more than you think because half of them are glass storefront or exterior gates.
Access Control Systems guideCommon areas only, and the entrance is the camera that matters
Cameras belong at every building entrance from both sides, the garage entry and drive aisles, the mail and package room, elevator cabs and lobbies, amenity spaces, the trash enclosure and the perimeter walkways. They do not belong inside units, and pointing one at a unit door in a way that captures who enters and when is a fight you do not want. Prioritize pixels per foot at the entry doors: the only camera that reliably resolves a claim is the one that identified the person who came through the door, and that requires a sightline at face height, not a corner wide shot.
Video Surveillance & CCTV guideMonitor the amenity and back-of-house doors, not the apartments
Resident units generally carry their own arrangements if they want them. What the property monitors is the back of house: the leasing office, the maintenance shop where the tools and the master keys live, the pool gate after hours, the roof access door, and the package room. Held-open and forced-door alerts from the access system are usually more useful here than a traditional burglar alarm, because the failure mode in an apartment building is a door propped with a brick, not a smashed window.
Business Alarm Monitoring guideUsually a small back-of-house scope, not a building-wide system
Most garden-style and mid-rise properties do not need a conventional intrusion alarm across the whole building, because the common areas are occupied at unpredictable hours and the alarm would be false-alarming nightly. Where it earns its place is a handful of specific rooms: the leasing office safe and cash drawer, the maintenance shop, and the mechanical or electrical rooms on a property that has had copper theft.
Commercial Alarm Systems guideRequired, and it constrains the access control design
Fire alarm is the one system the building is legally required to have, and in multifamily it is designed under NFPA 72 and your local code with its own inspection and testing cycle. The overlap with security is the egress interlock: every electrified lock on a path of egress has to release when the fire alarm activates, and the access control contractor and the fire alarm contractor have to agree in writing about who is wiring that relay. Confirm the AHJ's position before anyone orders locks.
Commercial Fire Alarm guide
The rules
The rules that set the spec for multifamily properties
Every claim below was checked against a named source on the date shown. Rules change and vary by jurisdiction, so confirm the current version with the regulator or your AHJ before you sign a scope.
New York: self-locking entrance doors and an intercom
Multiple Dwelling Law section 50-a requires that every entrance from the street, passageway, court, yard or cellar of a Class A multiple dwelling with eight or more apartments erected or converted after January 1, 1968 be equipped with automatic self-closing and self-locking doors, locked at all times except when an attendant is actually on duty. An intercommunication system must be located at the self-locking door giving public access to the main entrance hall or lobby, permitting voice communication between the occupant of each apartment and a person outside the door, and permitting the occupant to release the door's locking mechanism from the apartment.
What it does to the spec. This is a per-unit cost, not a per-door cost, because the system has to reach every apartment. It is also the reason the entry system is the largest single line on many New York multifamily bids. Ask whether the quote is per unit or per building, what happens to the wiring in a building with no existing riser, and what the cost is to add a unit later.
Source:New York Multiple Dwelling Law section 50-a, New York State Senate· checked 2026-09-18
Older New York buildings: a tenant majority starts a six-month clock
Section 50-a extends the same self-locking door and intercom obligation to Class A multiple dwellings erected or converted before January 1, 1968 where a majority of the tenants request it in writing. Once that request is made, installation must begin within 90 days and be completed within six months, extended to one year where the building is operated by a municipal housing authority.
What it does to the spec. Owners of pre-1968 New York stock should price this before they are asked, not after. A six-month deadline removes your ability to phase the work, bid it slowly, or wait for a capital cycle, and a rushed intercom retrofit in a building with no riser pathway is where the cost overruns live.
Source:New York Multiple Dwelling Law section 50-a, New York State Senate· checked 2026-09-18
Fair Housing Act: reasonable modifications, at the resident's expense
42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(A) makes it discrimination to refuse to permit, at the expense of the person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by that person where the modification may be necessary to afford full enjoyment of the premises. In a rental, the landlord may where reasonable condition permission on the renter agreeing to restore the interior to its prior condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted.
What it does to the spec. This is the provision that governs a resident asking for a physical change to an opening, such as a powered door operator. The cost sits with the resident, but the property has to permit it, which means your access control system needs to be able to accept a third-party device on a door without voiding a warranty or breaking the fire alarm interlock. Ask bidders how a powered operator gets integrated before you need one.
Source:42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(A), Fair Housing Act, Cornell Legal Information Institute· checked 2026-09-18
Fair Housing Act: reasonable accommodations in rules and policies
42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B) makes it discrimination to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
What it does to the spec. Policy, not hardware, and it is where smartphone-only access systems get a property in trouble. If your credential policy is app-only, you need an answer for a resident who cannot use one. Specify a system that supports fobs or cards alongside mobile credentials, and keep a written policy for issuing an alternative credential without a fee or a delay.
Source:42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B), Fair Housing Act, Cornell Legal Information Institute· checked 2026-09-18
Ballpark pricing
What a multifamily properties security system costs
Labeled ballparks for planning, not quotes. They use the same per-unit ranges as the rest of this site: roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per door for access control including hardware, labor and first-year software, and $9,000 to $35,000 for an 8 to 24 camera commercial video system. Two multifamily-specific warnings. Video intercom is usually priced per unit rather than per door, so it scales with the unit count and not with the number of entrances, and in a building with no existing riser the pathway can cost more than the hardware. And amenity doors are disproportionately expensive because so many of them are glass storefront, gates or exterior openings.
| Building | Typical scope | Installed | Recurring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden-style, under 50 units | 8 – 16 cameras · 2 – 4 controlled common doors · video intercom at one entry · package room · gate or garage | $15,000 – $45,000 | $150 – $600/mo |
| Mid-rise, 50 to 200 units | 20 – 50 cameras · 8 – 20 controlled doors · lobby video intercom to every unit · amenity scheduling · elevator lobbies | $45,000 – $150,000 | $400 – $1,800/mo |
| High-rise or multi-property portfolio | 50+ cameras · floor-by-floor and elevator control · multiple entries · one credential database across properties | $150,000 – $500,000+ | $1,500 – $6,000+/mo |
Labeled ballparks for planning, built from the site’s per-system cost guides. A quote comes from a contractor who has walked the building.
Before you sign
What to ask a multifamily properties security bidder
The questions that are specific to this building type. A bidder who has done this work before will have answers; one who has not will have a brochure.
- 01
Is the intercom priced per unit or per building, and what does unit 41 cost?
Get the per-unit hardware and per-unit monthly software cost separately, plus the cost to add or change a unit after handover. Then ask what happens if a resident has no smartphone: does the system still call a handset, a landline, or nothing? This is the number that quietly doubles on a 200-unit building.
- 02
What does a fob or credential cost to replace, and who pays?
Turnover is the recurring cost nobody models. Ask for the price per fob or card at volume, whether the property can issue credentials itself or has to order them through the vendor, how long a reissue takes, and whether deactivating a credential is instant. On a 150-unit property with normal turnover you are reissuing credentials constantly, and a vendor-gated process becomes a staffing cost.
- 03
How do package and amenity spaces get controlled and scheduled?
Ask whether the system can put hours on a door, so the fitness room opens at 5am and the pool gate locks at dusk without anybody walking over, and whether courier access to the package room can be granted without handing out a permanent credential. Then ask what the audit log shows after a package goes missing.
- 04
Where exactly are the cameras, and is any of them looking at a unit door?
Walk the camera plan and confirm coverage is common-area only, that nothing looks into a window, a unit or a private patio, and that no camera is framed so it logs who enters a specific apartment and when. Ask who can view live video, who can export it, and whether that access is logged.
- 05
What happens to egress locks when the fire alarm goes off?
Every electrified lock on a path of egress has to release on fire alarm. Ask who is wiring that interlock, whether the fire alarm contractor has signed off, and what the AHJ requires for the specific hardware being proposed. Get it in writing before locks are ordered, because the fix afterward is a door replacement.
- 06
What is the accessible path if a resident cannot use a phone app?
Ask the bidder to demonstrate issuing a physical credential on a system they are selling as mobile-first, and to state the cost and turnaround. The Fair Housing Act requires reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, and an access system that only works one way makes that harder than it needs to be.
Straight answers
Multifamily Properties security, FAQ
How much does an apartment building security system cost?
Roughly $15,000 to $45,000 installed for a garden-style property under 50 units with 8 to 16 cameras, a video intercom at one entry and two to four controlled doors, plus $150 to $600 a month. A 50 to 200 unit mid-rise generally runs $45,000 to $150,000 installed. High-rise and portfolio work starts around $150,000. These are planning ballparks. The intercom is usually the biggest single variable, because it is priced per unit rather than per entrance.
Are landlords required to have security cameras in apartment buildings?
Generally no, and there is no national requirement. What some jurisdictions do require is entry security. New York's Multiple Dwelling Law section 50-a requires self-closing, self-locking entrance doors and a two-way intercom that lets a resident release the lock from their apartment, for Class A multiple dwellings of eight or more apartments built or converted after January 1, 1968. Check your own state and city landlord obligations, because the entry system, not the camera, is what tends to be mandated.
Can apartment cameras be placed in hallways?
Common-area hallways are generally acceptable; inside units never is. The line to watch is framing. A camera that covers a corridor for general safety is different from one positioned so it logs exactly who enters one apartment and when, and the second one invites a privacy complaint. Keep coverage to entrances, elevators, lobbies, mail and package rooms, amenity spaces, garages and perimeter walkways, document the camera plan, and control and log who can view and export footage.
What is the best access control system for an apartment building?
The one that supports both mobile credentials and physical fobs or cards, because you will need both. The Fair Housing Act requires reasonable accommodations in rules, policies and practices, and an app-only credential policy leaves you without an answer for residents who cannot use one. Beyond that, prioritize instant credential deactivation, door-held-open and forced-door alerts, scheduling on amenity doors, and the ability for your own staff to issue credentials without going through the vendor.
How much does a video intercom cost per unit?
Ask for it broken out, because it is the number bidders bury. Get the per-unit hardware cost, the per-unit monthly software or cloud cost, the cost to add a unit later, and separately the pathway cost, which is what actually varies. In a building with an existing intercom riser the retrofit is straightforward. In a building with none, the cabling or wireless design can cost more than all the hardware combined, and that is where two bids for the same building diverge.
Who is liable if a resident is assaulted in a common area?
That is a question for your attorney and your insurer, not for a security vendor, and it turns on your state's premises liability law and what you knew about prior incidents. The practical point is that maintaining what you installed matters as much as installing it. A propped door, a dead camera or a broken lobby lock that maintenance knew about is a worse position than never having had the system. Keep the service records, and treat door-held-open alerts as a work order rather than noise.
Do I need cameras in the parking garage?
Usually yes, and it is often where the incidents actually are. Cover the vehicle entry from both directions, the pedestrian doors between the garage and the building, the elevator lobby, and the drive aisles. The entry camera is the one worth spending on, because a plate capture at the ramp is the single most useful image in a vehicle break-in claim, and it requires a dedicated camera at the right angle rather than a general overview shot.
Other building types
The systems are the same. The rules they operate under are not.
Cost guides
Dated, sourced ranges for each system, with per-unit prices.
What commercial security systems cost in 2026Get your multifamily properties priced.
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