[mmetzger]

Guessing they want a local number because the apartment complex doesn't want to pay for long distance calling.

[sopooneo]

For us it was specifically because they didn't want people opening the door remotely. They wanted you to be local.

[anigbrowl]

I haven't paid for long distance calling since the 1990s. I think it's just people being lazy and choosing poor defaults.

[mcpherrinm]

How many of these buzzers have remained unchanged since the 1990s?

Also, long distance appears to be at least $20/month extra on a standard small business landline here (Bell Canada). That's not much, but I can see it happening for something the landlord would think of as a non-feature: Because why wouldn't you have a phone number in the area you live?

[anigbrowl]

I'm not sure a small business line is the best comparison for an apartment building, and I think most landlords are familiar with the existence of cellphones by now. But it's true that many buzzers like that have been in place for a long time - but I do think that that's the landlord's problem, like any other non-working fixture.