Lafayette, LA Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Sec. 26-260(s) sits inside the PMC's exterior-structure article and applies specifically to any dwelling unit that is rented, leased or let, owner-occupied homes aren't covered by this particular subsection. The deadbolt on the entry door must be operable from the egress side without keys, special knowledge, or effort, must throw at least one inch, must be installed to the manufacturer's specifications, and must be kept in good working order; a sliding bolt is expressly disqualified as a substitute. The same subsection extends to windows: any operable window located wholly or partly within six feet of ground level or a walking surface below, the kind an intruder could reach without climbing, must have a working window sash locking device if it serves a rented, leased, or let unit.

Both requirements sit alongside the rest of Sec. 26-260's exterior-structure rules covering doors, glazing, screens, and gates, all enforced by the building official under the PMC's inspection authority in Sec. 26-257 and correction-order power in Sec. 26-258(e) when a security defect rises to a hazard. Because the rule turns on tenancy status rather than construction date, a home converted from owner-occupied to rented picks up the deadbolt and window-lock duty the moment it starts being rented, leased, or let, regardless of when the structure was originally built.