Access Control for the Modern Multi-Dwelling Unit: How ProdataKey Elevates Residential Security
- ProdataKey
- Jul 7
- 9 min read
In today’s rapidly-evolving housing landscape, multi-dwelling units (MDUs) play an increasingly vital role in how people live. As urban populations rise and renting becomes more prevalent, these types of residences are not only becoming more common, but also more sophisticated in their design, amenities, and security needs. Protecting residents is a key objective for any manager of an MDU–and as a provider of cloud-based access control, ProdataKey (PDK) is equipped with solutions that make residential security reliable and easy.
The following white paper delves into the role that ProdataKey plays in protecting the residents and property of multi-dwelling units. This article will explore the prominence and characteristics of MDUs, the unique security threats that these spaces face, and how PDK’s cloud-based and integrated access control technologies stand out as an exceptional solution for this industry.
What Are Multi-Dwelling Units (MDUs)?
Multi-dwelling units (MDUs), also referred to as multifamily housing, is a type of residential space where multiple separate dwelling units are contained in one larger building or complex. This section delves into the various types of MDUs seen today, the evolution of these residential constructs, and the common characteristics of modern MDUs.
The Evolution and Types of MDUs
In the report “Quick Facts: New Construction” from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), researchers tracked the trends of multifamily housing construction over a period of 56 years (1968 to 2024). This research reveals that multifamily construction experienced large upticks in the early 1970s and the mid-to-late 1980s, reaching peaks of 779,800 units constructed in 1973 and 550,200 units constructed in 1986. Trends of multifamily construction then decreased going into the 1990s, and maintained quite stable until the early 2010s. Beginning in 2011, multifamily construction numbers have consistently increased, eventually reaching a new peak in 2024 with a total of 593,300 new units built.
The “Quick Facts: New Construction” report reveals that, while multifamily construction has ebbed and flowed over this 50+ year period, the United States is currently experiencing a notable growth in multi-dwelling residences. And with the increase in multi-dwelling construction comes a subsequent increase in demand for proper residential security in these spaces.
The “2023 Household Characteristics” survey from the NMHC explores the characteristics of rental households across the United States, and sheds further light on this recent increase in demand for multifamily structures. In particular, this research highlights the prominence of different housing types across the country, wherein structures ranging from 2 to 5+ units make up a majority of rental households.
Structures of 2-4 units and 5 or more units come together to make up the households of roughly 56% of American renters today–in contrast with the 39% of structures that are used as single-family residences. This illustrates a very high demand for multi-dwelling units across the nation today, in line with the increasing number of multifamily constructions.
Types and Characteristics of MDUs Today
While a majority of American rental structures contain multiple units catered towards multifamily housing, the very structures themselves can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Multifamily housing structures can take the form of apartment buildings, dormitories, townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, condominiums, and more. Additional factors like location, age-restrictions, and housing markets can also influence the nature of multifamily residences, from the individual size of units to the types of amenities available.
The 2024 Design Survey Report from Greystar, a global real estate company, reveals the main amenities desired by residents of multifamily properties. Garages/covered parking, fitness centers, pools, and on-site clubhouses were the top four communal amenities in demand, with various renters reporting that they would not consider living in a multi-dwelling unit lacking these amenities.
In addition to amenity preferences, the survey from Greystar also revealed that 51% of multifamily renters reported that they were interested in controlled community access, and an additional 27% of renters would not consider renting in a space without controlled community access. With a total of 78% of multifamily housing renters reflecting an interest in and/or desire for controlled access in their space, it’s clear that heightened residential security measures are a notable feature of multi-dwelling units today.
Residential Security Concerns and Threats
Multi-dwelling units are home to countless individuals and families around the world. A large aspect of creating comfortable living spaces for renters is implementing security measures that allow residents to feel safe in their homes. MDUs face a unique set of security threats and concerns that can be effectively addressed through products from an access control provider such as ProdataKey. The following section will delve into the security threats facing both the private and communal spaces in MDUs today.
Unauthorized Access to Residences: The Threat of Burglary
A survey of security professionals arranged by PDK revealed that unauthorized access stands as the top security risk in most buildings today (59%), followed by lost/shared keycards (19%), lack of monitoring (16%), and weak passwords (6%). The entrance of unauthorized individuals puts the lives and property of people at risk in any building; but this risk is especially poignant when it comes to unauthorized entry into people’s personal living spaces.
Reports from the FBI Crime Data Explorer (CDE) database reveal that one of the largest residential security threats today is burglary, or forced entry into a building with the intent to commit a crime. The FBI CDE reports that in 2023 alone, an estimated 815,400 burglaries occurred across the United States; and of these 815,400 burglaries, 56.1% specifically targeted residences and homes.
In their “Surprising Home Burglary Facts and Stats” article, Forbes reports that the average cost to a homeowner per burglary is nearly $2,700–an unexpected financial burden that very few people are equipped to handle. Alongside posing a significant financial threat to renters and homeowners alike, burglaries can also place victims under notable mental and emotional strain.
In the 2000 study “The Psychological Impact of Burglary”, the researchers Alan Beaton, Mark Cook, Mark Kavanagh, and Carla Herrington evaluated the impacts of residential burglary on the mental wellbeing of victims. Their research revealed that victims exhibit increased signs of anxiety, hostility, depression, distress, and confusion directly after experiencing a burglary in their homes. Furthermore, in the months following the event of the burglary, the victims continued to exhibit long-term signs of depression, neurotic fatigue, and an overall diminution of their mental health.
Controlled Access to Communal Spaces
In addition to the threat that burglary poses to personal living spaces, unauthorized access continues to threaten communal spaces in multi-dwelling units–like garages, fitness centers, pools, and other shared amenities. The intention of communal amenities in MDUs is to have shared spaces that can be utilized by the residents of that location. However, this means that mechanisms need to be in place that can effectively provide access for a specific group of people, while simultaneously limiting access to people outside of that group.
Additionally, in many cases, there is high demand for these shared amenities to be accessible to residents at all times. For example, Greystar’s 2024 survey reported that 80% of renters want a fitness center with guaranteed 24/7 access. The demand for 24/7 communal amenities places considerable pressure on property managers to not only monitor and control who can enter certain shared spaces, but to do so at hours that are often inconvenient or hard to manage.
Addressing Residential Security Concerns for MDUs
In order to address the various security concerns faced by multi-dwelling units today, managers of these spaces must implement intuitive and reliable security measures that allow residents to feel safe, whether they are in the personal or shared spaces of their community. ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control is the perfect example of a system that can be implemented in residential spaces and not only keep residents safe, but simultaneously provide a simple and seamless administrative experience for all building managers.
Cloud-Based and Mobile-First: The Key to Convenient Access Control
78% of renters in multi-dwelling units exhibit a desire for controlled access in their buildings, according to the 2024 Design Survey Report from Greystar. By implementing an access control system, installers can counter the threat of burglary and secure entry points by only granting access to people with valid credentials. However, access control itself can come in many shapes and forms, and it’s important for every installer to consider what type of access control system will be the best fit for each unique space.
Access control today exists primarily in two forms: on-premise and cloud-based. While on-premise systems require on-site hosting and management, cloud-based access control allows your security system to be hosted, configured, monitored, and managed remotely. Because of this, ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control solutions offer increased flexibility and convenience for system managers. In fact, a majority of access control professionals surveyed by ProdataKey identify this remote management capability as the #1 benefit of cloud-based access control. With the ability to manage a system at any time and from any place, PDK allows MDU managers to have complete control over their residents’ security at all times.
Alongside cloud-based systems, a key feature of PDK’s security solutions is a mobile-first focus. This focus ensures that managers not only have control anytime and anywhere, but from any device. In addition to mobile management capabilities, PDK’s mobile-first approach to access control allows end-users to use their personal mobile device as an access control credential.
A recent poll of ProdataKey dealers revealed that 68% of installers find mobile credentials the most convenient option. This convenience comes from a variety of factors, such as the ability to assign or revoke credentials remotely, and the ability to open doors remotely via the push-to-open feature. Additionally, mobile credentials are a higher security option, due to enhanced encryption and the decreased likelihood for individuals to share or lose their personal mobile device, compared to a physical credential.
Integrated Access Control for Residential Spaces
A major benefit of ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control is the ability to easily integrate third-party tools into your security system. Dedicated to creating the best access control solutions possible, PDK is always enthusiastic about working with other security providers who specialize in unique solutions, like video surveillance cameras or alarm systems. MDUs are an industry in particular that benefit highly from the integration of third-party systems.
In the study “Understanding Decisions to Burglarize from the Offender's Perspective”, the researcher Joseph B. Kuhns revealed the most effective methods of burglary threat deterrence. 53.3% of convicted burglars studied in Kuhns’ research reported that the simple indication of an alarm system was enough to deter them from robbing a residence altogether. Similarly, 50.3% of these convicted burglars said that they would avoid targeting residences with outdoor camera systems.
As two of the most successful threat deterrence measures, the effectiveness of cameras and alarms suggests that integrations are a key aspect of bolstering the security system of any residential space. In addition to integrations like surveillance and alarm systems, Greystar’s renter survey also points towards video doorbells and wireless/smart locks as ideal access control integrations, with a respective 64% and 73% of renters requesting these technologies.
Furthermore, there are various access control integrations that help managers directly address the complications that come with securing communal spaces and amenities. By integrating third-party reservation softwares into a PDK system, managers can guarantee that certain communal amenities are only accessible to people who are 1) approved residents of the MDU and 2) possess a valid reservation for that space.
Coworks, for example, is a software that streamlines the management of shared working areas–an amenity that many MDUs provide for their residents. By tying Coworks into PDK, users can easily create a reservation for a given workspace and rest assured that only they will be able to access that space during their time of booking. PDK also integrates with athletic facility booking softwares like Registry and Playbypoint, as well as the thousands of additional software-based tools available through Zapier, the powerful no-code integration builder.
Through the power of integrations, managers of MDUs can incorporate unique security tools into their ProdataKey access control system, allowing them to bolster their security and streamline their everyday management and operations at the same time.
ProdataKey: Residential Access Control Made Easy
As multi-dwelling residential spaces grow in popularity and complexity, so too does the demand for comprehensive security solutions that protect both private and communal living areas. Cloud-based, mobile-first systems like ProdataKey’s offer powerful, intuitive tools for managing access control–ensuring safety while simultaneously delivering the convenience that residents expect. From preventing unauthorized entry to seamlessly integrating with third-party tools, ProdataKey provides the smart, scalable solutions that MDUs need to thrive.
About ProdataKey
ProdataKey (PDK) is a team of security integrators with decades of hands-on, in-the-field experience. PDK believes that the best technology is created by professionals who know what it takes to secure a facility properly and provide the end-user with a solution that instills confidence and safety.
PDK is passionate about creating technology to enhance the security, safety, and overall experience of both the professionals installing electronic access control and those that live with and use the system. PDK continues to create technology every day to enhance its products and the products of its technology partners.
