Top 5 Reasons to Rekey Your Locks After Moving In
Moving into a new home without rekeying the locks is one of the most common — and most easily fixed — home security oversights. Here's why it matters.
· 3 min read · Residential
Rekeying after moving into a new home is the single most cost-effective security action available to a new homeowner or renter. Despite this, the majority of people who move into an existing property skip this step. Here are the five most compelling reasons not to.
Reason 1: You Don't Know Who Has Keys
This is the fundamental issue. When you receive keys to a property, you're receiving the keys that the seller or landlord chooses to give you. You have no visibility into: - How many copies were made during the property's history - Who currently holds copies (family members, past tenants, former partners, property managers, cleaning services, contractors) - Whether any copies have been further duplicated
Rekeying ensures that only the keys you receive from the locksmith work. All previous copies become inert.
Reason 2: Real Estate Transactions Are Key-Distribution Events
During the sale process, keys may pass through many hands: listing agents, buyer's agents, escrow officers, home inspectors, appraisers, contractors doing pre-sale repairs. Multiple parties — and their offices — hold keys during and after the transaction.
Rekeying after closing — ideally before you sleep in the property the first night — addresses this entirely.
For the seller's side of that process, review key and code planning before listing a home before showing access begins.
Reason 3: It's Inexpensive and Fast
A professional rekeying of a full home (typically 2–4 exterior locks) costs $80–$150 and takes under an hour. Relative to the cost of a home purchase or even a year's rent, this is negligible.
The alternative — waiting to see if an incident occurs — is not a reasonable risk management strategy when the solution is this accessible.
Reason 4: Rentals May Have Higher Risk Than Owned Properties
In rental properties, tenant turnover is the norm. Despite best practices, not all landlords rekey between every tenancy. Prior tenants may retain key copies. The longer the rental property's history, the more uncertain the key distribution.
Florida law (§83.51) requires landlords to provide functional locks but doesn't mandate rekeying — so you can't assume it's been done. Ask your landlord directly, and if they can't confirm it, request it or arrange it yourself.
Reason 5: Peace of Mind Has Real Value
The psychological benefit of knowing definitively who has access to your home is significant. Many new occupants report feeling uncertain about their home's security for months after moving in. Rekeying resolves this immediately and permanently.
The question isn't whether you'll ever regret rekeying — you won't. The risk is in not doing it.
Caraballo Locksmith provides new occupant rekeying across Miami-Dade, including same-day service. A full home rekey can be completed in under an hour.
Moving into a property in Coral Gables? Review our Coral Gables rekeying and lock service before calling with the number of cylinders, existing keys and any building authorization requirements.
What to Rekey — and What to Skip
Not every lock in your home needs rekeying on move-in:
- Exterior entry doors: Every one of them — front, back, side, garage access door
- Attached garage man-door: Often overlooked, frequently a security weak point
- Sliding door secondary locks: If your sliding door has a keyed secondary lock, include it
Interior door locks generally don't need rekeying. They're rarely keyed to the exterior locks and primarily serve privacy functions.
Rekeying vs. Full Replacement When Moving In
For most move-in situations, rekeying is appropriate — it's faster, cheaper, and produces the same security outcome. However, replacement makes sense if:
- The existing locks are Grade 3 builder-grade hardware and you want better security
- Any lock shows signs of wear (stiff operation, loose key, visible corrosion)
- You want to add a smart lock or keypad system at the same time
A locksmith can assess each lock in the walkthrough and flag any that warrant replacement rather than rekeying, so you get an honest answer before committing to either option.
During that service, ask whether keying compatible doors alike would suit your household.
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- Preventing Lock Corrosion in Coastal Miami Homes — Salt air destroys standard door hardware faster than any other environmental factor. Here's how to choose and maintain the right locks for coastal properties.
- Your Key Turns But the Door Won't Open — Causes and Fixes — When the key rotates but the door stays shut, the problem isn't the lock cylinder — it's usually the latch, deadbolt bolt, or door alignment. Here's how to diagnose it.