When you buy or rent a home, you receive some keys. You do not receive a list of everyone else who had them.
Who might have a key
- Previous owners and their family.
- Previous tenants.
- Real estate agents and stagers, via lockboxes.
- Contractors, cleaners and dog walkers.
- For new builds, site staff and trades.
Why rekeying is the answer
Rekeying changes each lock's internal pins so only your new keys work. It keeps the hardware, costs less than new locks, and can put every exterior door on one key.
Which doors
Front, side, back, garage-to-house and basement entrances, plus any mailbox, shed or gate locks you control. Change garage opener codes and alarm codes too.
When
On the day you get the keys, before you move in your belongings.
The keys you cannot count
When you buy or rent a home you cannot know how many keys exist. Previous owners, agents, contractors, cleaners, relatives and neighbours may all have had copies over the years. Even with good intentions, some of those keys were probably duplicated, and you have no record of where they went.
What rekeying does
Rekeying changes the internal parts of the cylinder so the old keys no longer fit. It costs less than replacing hardware and keeps the same locks in the door, so it works well when the lock is in good condition. If a lock is worn or damaged, replacement makes more sense.
Doing it right on the first day
Schedule the work before you move belongings in. Include garage door codes and alarm codes in the same visit, and keep a written record of how many keys were made. See rekeying versus replacing for help deciding.
Questions to ask the previous owner or landlord
Ask how many keys were made, whether any were given to cleaners or contractors and whether the garage remotes have been reset. Get the answers in writing if possible. Even if the answers are reassuring, rekeying removes the uncertainty and takes little time compared with the peace of mind it provides.
For a move-in rekey in Toronto, see lock rekeying.