Top 5 Reasons to Rekey Your Locks After Moving

Most people moving into a new house are thinking about boxes, furniture, and whether the previous owners left the refrigerator. The locks are an afterthought. They should not be.

1. You have no idea who has keys. The seller gave copies to family members, their cleaners, their dog walker, a contractor who did work two years ago. None of those people gave the keys back. Rekeying means none of those keys work anymore — end of story.

2. It is cheap. People assume it is expensive because it sounds like replacing the lock. It is not. Rekeying changes the pins inside the existing lock so only new keys work. On a typical house with four exterior locks, it is one trip, less than an hour, and a lot less money than new hardware.

3. New construction does not get you off the hook. Builder locks are often identical across every unit in a development — same keyway, sometimes literally the same key. I have seen it. If your neighbor built six months before you and never changed their locks, your new home may have more copies of its key floating around than a rental.

4. After a breakup, roommate change, or letting go of someone with key access, you are not rekeying because you think something bad will happen. You are rekeying because you should not have to think about it at all.

5. I can usually do it the same day you call. If you just moved in and want to handle it before you are even fully unpacked, call (689) 221-7352.