Change the locks the day you get the keys

They gave you all the keys they had. Many people say change or rekey the locks the day you take possession, because the people who could still hold a key are not exotic: the previous owners, their relatives, the last tenant and whoever the tenant lent one to, the estate agent, the builder or the trades who worked on the place, the cleaner, a neighbour. Many separate notes here carry accounts of exactly that — some people of a former owner trying an old key on a sold house, one of a management company that never updated its records, and one of a spare key hidden forty years earlier that still turned. One person describes a former owner walking in with a pest-control worker; one says a flipper or a landlord may keep a key and treat the place as still theirs. None of this needs a villain: one person says keys to old addresses stay in circulation for decades, and one says common lock brands cut keys from a short list of patterns, so a key from a street away may fit. The cheap version, some people say, is rekeying — a locksmith, or a rekeying kit, changes the pins so the old keys stop working and you keep the hardware — and others say swapping a cylinder yourself is a screwdriver job if you have the original key; people argue whether doing it yourself or paying is cheaper once travel and callout are counted, and one person says a house with better-than-average locks is a job for a locksmith rather than a pinning kit. Some people say some agents hand over a gift card meant for exactly this, and one says theirs did not. Accounts with homeowners’ associations warn that the finish of the new hardware may be regulated; one person cannot see why an association would care. Costs, and how to vet a locksmith beyond the price, are not covered here.

The garage, first. Some people say the door locks are only part of it: the opener remotes and keypad codes that came with the house still work for whoever holds the old remotes, and one person warns the fix is to clear the memory in the motor unit itself and pair your own remotes afterwards — replacing the handsets does nothing while the motor still knows the old ones. One person adds that anyone who worked on the house during construction could have paired a universal remote to it. Some people widen the list: keypad codes, a ceiling-fan remote, anything electronic that grants entry without a key gets reset, and one person adds parking fobs. One person in a block of flats says the original key sometimes opens more than one unit, which is a reason to rekey even where no former owner is in the picture. The exact steps to reset a given opener are not covered here; the model number is on the motor and the maker publishes them.

Sometimes, and the answer is in your agreement before it is in any tip. Some people say tenants can change locks with notice to the landlord, and one person says management and cleaning staff may hold keys the tenant never knew about until something goes missing; one person objects that a lock change may breach a lease. This page checked one country: in England a tenant can usually change the locks unless the tenancy agreement says otherwise, must keep the original locks and put them back at the end, and may have to give the landlord a key, because a change of lock does not remove the landlord’s right to agreed access. In the United States the rules differ by state and by lease, and people carry a single notice period as if it were general; this page does not, and names it as a gap. What works everywhere: read the agreement, then ask the landlord in writing to rekey or to let you rekey at your cost and hand over a key. If they refuse and you are frightened rather than merely cautious, the last question on this page is yours.

Some people say the shut-offs and the alarms, and both are in the safety line above; people add the rest. Others say look for what a previous occupant may have left: cameras or microphones in a house that came with smart devices, broken latches, and one person checks closets, attics and crawl spaces before the first night. Some people say a new home can carry hidden faults — a slow toilet leak, a smell from something buried in the garden — and one person warns smart-home devices left behind have inconsistent security and can be reached remotely, so resetting or removing them is the cautious move. One person puts a real, rated fire extinguisher in the house and makes sure the household knows how to use it; the linked first-aid page carries what to buy. One person says the street water valve is easy to reach yourself and one person says it is a call to the water company; one person points out in cold places it sits far below the frost line and needs a long key; one person says find the main valve inside the house. Utilities, HVAC and plumbing checklists beyond that are not covered here, and the linked inspection page is the one for a purchase.

Some people give the habit that costs nothing: the key is in your hand before the door closes — lock from outside with the key, or hold it while you pull the door — so a latch that catches unexpectedly never leaves you on the step. Some people say keep a backup plan in place before you need it: a spare with a trusted person nearby, or a hidden spare somewhere secure, rather than trusting the one key on your ring. One person paints the underside of the sliding-door latch white so it can be read as locked from across the room; one person says saying a phrase or looking at the lock as you leave fixes it in memory, and one person says the ritual blurs with repetition. Keypad or keyless locks divide people: one says they end the lost-key problem and let you give a code to a house-sitter instead of a key, some people say the batteries die and lock you out, and one person warns a pet door beside one undoes it. Automatic latching doors, one person says, trade forgetting to lock for forgetting the key, and that person found the second worse. If you do get locked out: some people say emergency locksmith prices are high partly to deter non-urgent calls, one person’s locksmith picked the lock in seconds when the same trade was accused of dragging the job out, one person warns forcing your own door may cost you an insurance claim later, and one person keeps the old locks from a previous house so a broken one can be swapped without a callout. What to do in a lockout with no spare and no locksmith within reach is not covered here.

Some people say latch it, and the reasons they give are not the ones you might expect. People argue whether the main reason to lock is criminals or accidents, and the accidents side has the stories: delivery drivers, paramedics, a drunk from the party next door, a neighbour at the wrong house, a dog that has learned the handle, and raccoons, which others say can open a latched screen door — one person warns they will spend the night trying if they smell food; wind blows an unlatched door open too. The criminal side says an unlocked door reads as an invitation and that isolated houses are targets because no one is watching; one person warns an accidental intruder can turn dangerous if either of you reacts badly, so the point of the latch is to keep the encounter from happening at all. People argue whether a locked door matters at the end of a long private drive behind a fence, and the people for locking say the habit is the point. One person says standard door screws are too short to reach the frame stud and longer ones in the strike plate make a kicked door far harder to open; one says kicking a door in is harder than films suggest. One person says a bedroom lock is worth having in a shared house. And people argue whether to accept a spare key from a neighbour at all: one person for it had a neighbour with a key put out a fire the homeowner had started.

Change the locks, one person says, whether the parting was kind or not, because a key can be copied and lent; some people say a former partner of a previous occupant tried the door. If a former owner or occupant has let themselves in, one person says call the police at once and one person says tell the person firmly that the house is yours; one person warns a confrontation can escalate quickly to violence or weapons, so do not confront alone. Entering a home you no longer have a right to is illegal even with a key, one person warns, and what you can do about it in law differs by place — the legal recourse is asked for and is not answered here. If the person with the key is someone you are afraid of, a new lock is one step and not the plan: the pages linked below on leaving, and your local domestic-abuse service, are the ones for that.