Quote Originally Posted by DarthEnderX View Post
Would that make him unable to lock the door when he left the apartment?
You lock the door from the inside before you pull on the door to latch it (thus leaving it locked). It is a bathroom doorknob with a key instead of the tiny hole to release the push button.
Quote Originally Posted by Buffalobiian View Post
What shinta said, you press the button to "pre-lock" the door (press button, knob will be non-rotatable), then you just shut the door without turning the knob (because you can't, it's locked).
It's pretty easy to have only a doorknob (like for closets) with no locking mechanism on the doorknob, but one that secures the door with a deadbolt right above it. I've seen that at a number of apartment complexes. The important part is that you engage the deadbolt with a key from the outside, not with a push button (and invariably forgetting your keys inside).

Then again, I have proper door locks and deadbolts, but I still have a combination device that holds my spare key. I cannot get locked out of my place.