Moving Into a New Home: Who Else Has a Key?

The uncomfortable question every new owner or tenant should ask

When someone hands you a set of keys to a home, you receive a small ring of metal and a lot of unknowns. Previous occupants may have given copies to relatives, cleaners, dog walkers, contractors, neighbors and friends. A real estate agent may have used a lockbox, and workers may have been in and out for repairs, painting or inspections. None of those keys disappeared when the closing papers were signed.

This is not a reason for alarm. In nearly every case, the people who once held a key have no interest in coming back. But there is no way to prove that, and you should not need to. The reasonable approach is to treat every old key as an open question and decide how much certainty you want for your own peace of mind.

That decision is the center of this page. We walk through the doors you should look at first, the difference between changing the locks and changing the keys, and what to do on the first night if nothing has been done yet. The aim is a home where you know exactly who can enter.

The first night: what to do before anything is changed

If you are moving in and the locks have not been touched, there are still sensible steps for the first evening. Lock every door and window that you can, and check that deadbolts actually turn fully and engage. Look at each door from the inside. A deadbolt that is only partly engaged, a thumb turn that spins freely or a latch that does not catch tells you something is wrong.

Check the less obvious entrances. Sliding glass doors, a garage entry door, a side door to a laundry area and a back gate can be forgotten in the middle of unpacking. Our guide on the moving day lock checklist goes through them in an orderly way, so nothing gets left until the second week.

Gather every key you received and count them. Test each one in each lock. It is common to find a key that no longer fits anything, or a lock for which nobody gave you a key. Make a short list of what you find, as it will help whoever works on the locks and avoids guesswork.

If you have children or pets, walk through the house from their point of view. Look for doors they could open on their own, latches within easy reach and any lock that might trap a small person inside a bathroom or bedroom. Moving day is full of open doors and strangers carrying boxes, and it is easy to lose track of who is where. Decide in advance which door is the one everyone uses, and keep the others locked until the unpacking is over.

• Count and label every key you were given.
• Test every key in every exterior lock, including the garage entry door and any gates.
• Confirm that every deadbolt turns fully and the bolt extends into the frame.
• Note any door that sticks, rubs or needs a shove before it locks.
• Write down any lock for which you received no key at all.

Rekeying versus replacing: the choice most people face

Changing who can enter does not always mean buying new locks. Rekeying alters the inside of each lock so that the old keys no longer work and a new key does. The lock stays in the door. It is often the practical choice for a home whose hardware is in decent shape, and our page on rekeying describes how it works.

Replacing the lock is the better answer when the hardware itself is worn, loose, damaged, outdated or simply not what you want. You may also prefer a different style, finish or a smart lock. The tradeoffs are covered in lock replacement or rekeying, and a good technician will tell you plainly which option fits the condition of your doors.

The two approaches can mix. You might rekey the back door and the garage entry while replacing the front deadbolt with something you like better. There is no single right answer. What matters is that every exterior door ends up on a key you control, and that all of the locks are in sound working order.

It helps to remember what a lock change cannot do. New locks on a weak door still sit in a weak door, and a bolt that fits loosely into a damaged frame offers less than it appears to. Take a moment to look at the door itself, the frame around it and the strike plate that catches the bolt. If the wood is split or the screws are short, the money is better spent going into the frame as much as the lock. A technician can point out these weak spots while they are on site, without any pressure to fix more than you wish to.

Why a lock change is more than a security gesture

New owners sometimes think of a lock change as an expensive precaution, something a nervous person does. In practice it is closer to changing the password on an account you have just taken over. You do not know who knew the old one, and the sensible thing is to replace it. Our move in lock change service exists for exactly this reason.

There are practical benefits too. A single set of keys that fits every door is far more convenient than a jumble of mismatched keys, and a rekeying job can often make several locks work with one key. You carry fewer keys, you lose fewer keys, and everyone in the household knows which one is theirs.

There is also the question of insurance or lease terms. We cannot tell you what yours say, and requirements vary, so read your own documents and ask your agent or landlord if you are unsure. Where a lease or an association is involved, ask before you alter anything permanent.

Finally, think about timing. It is easiest to change locks before furniture, boxes and daily routines fill the space, because doors are accessible and nobody is waiting for a shower or a meal. Many people schedule the lock work for the first day or two in the home. Tell the team on the phone how soon you plan to move your belongings in, and whether you will be present for the work, so the visit fits around your move and not the other way around.

Owners, tenants and the questions that differ between them

If you bought the home, the locks are yours to decide. You can rekey, replace or upgrade at will, within any association rules that apply to exterior hardware. In a condo or a gated community, some exterior door components may be controlled by the association, so ask what is allowed and whom to contact.

If you rent, the answer depends on your lease and your landlord. Some landlords handle lock changes between tenants as a matter of routine, and others expect you to ask. Do not change a rental lock without clearing it first, because you could be responsible for restoring it later. Our guide on landlord and tenant lock changes in general terms lays out the usual questions.

In either case, a locksmith will check that you have the right to authorize the work, usually by asking for ID and proof that you live at or own the property. It is an ordinary step and protects the real occupant of every home. Have your closing papers, lease or a utility bill with the address handy.

Doors people forget in the first week

The front door gets all the attention, but intruders and mistakes rarely follow the front door script. The garage entry door is often the weakest point of a house, particularly when the garage itself is full of boxes and the door between garage and home is left unlocked during a move. See garage door keypads and entry door locks for how the pieces relate.

Sliding glass doors and patio doors rely on small latches and sometimes on a bar or a pin, and the previous owner may have taken the bar with them. Side gates, shed padlocks, mailbox locks and any storage closet in a building deserve a place on your list. Mailbox keys are surprisingly easy to overlook, and the property manager or the post office may have a role in changing them.

Do not forget interior locks. A bedroom or office with a key that nobody gave you can be a mystery that irritates you later. Many interior privacy locks can be opened from the other side with a simple tool, but a keyed interior lock is another story. Ask about it if you need that room secure.

Smart locks and keypads at a new address

A move is a natural time to consider keypad or smart locks. Codes can be changed without a physical key, which means you can start with a clean slate at any time. Guests, family and service providers can be given separate codes. Many people find this convenient for a household with children or frequent visitors.

Before buying, read smart lock questions to ask first. Think about batteries, what happens when the batteries die, whether the door is well aligned and whether you want a physical key as a backup. Doors in a humid climate sometimes swell, and a lock that depends on perfect alignment can be frustrating if the door shifts through the seasons.

If you are interested in a smart lock, mention it when you call. The team can talk through what suits the door, and a smart lock installation can be combined with rekeying for the other doors in the house so everything is in order on the same visit.

A word on expectations. Smart locks add convenience, but they also add parts that can fail, such as batteries, circuit boards and wireless connections. Keep a conventional key as a backup unless you have a very good reason not to, and remember that code lists need housekeeping, since old codes given to workers or guests should be removed once their job is finished. With a little discipline, a smart lock can make a new home easier to manage from the first day.

Who should get a key once the work is done

After the locks are changed, decide deliberately who gets a key. Start with the people who live in the home, then consider anyone who needs regular access: a relative who helps with children, a cleaner, a pet sitter. Give out the minimum number of keys that makes your household run, and write down who holds each one.

A spare key should exist, but where it lives matters. Hiding a key under a flowerpot or a doormat is an old habit with an obvious weakness. Our articles on where to keep a spare key safely and planning spare keys for a household discuss better choices, from trusted friends to lockboxes and keypads.

If you need extra copies, order them from the new keys, not from the old ones. Our spare keys and key copies page explains what is involved. The fewer generations of copies you have, the better each key tends to fit.

Keep a simple written record of the key arrangement, even if it feels excessive. A note listing each key, who holds it and which doors it opens costs nothing and saves a lot of confusion later, especially in a household with teenagers, roommates or relatives who stay for long visits. When someone moves out, the record tells you exactly which key must come back, and whether the moment has come to change the locks again.

Old keys, mystery keys and what to do with them

Once the locks have been rekeyed or replaced, the old keys are no longer useful for those locks, but they may still fit something else. A key that does not match any current door might open a padlock, a mailbox, a shed or a cabinet. Before throwing away unmarked keys, test them on every lock you can find.

If you have confirmed that a key is dead, you can dispose of it, though many people prefer to keep them out of a junk drawer. Our guide on what to do with old keys after a move offers ideas for sorting and discarding them without leaving them where someone else might use them.

Do not give away a key labeled with your address. A key that is clearly marked can be matched to your door by anyone who picks it up. If you wrote addresses on keys during the move, remove the labels, and use a coded system that only you understand.

Living in Central Florida: practical details at move in

New residents soon learn how much the climate matters to a home. Doors swell in humid air, and hardware near the coast or in damp spots can corrode. Hurricane season brings storm shutters and the habit of securing outdoor items, while afternoon storms test door seals and frames. Check doors for gaps, rubbing or signs of water damage as part of your move in routine.

Many homes here are condos, apartments, townhomes or gated communities, and those come with their own layers of access. You might have a building fob, a gate code, a mailbox key and a front door key, all on separate systems. Our HOA and gated community lock questions guide explains who typically controls which piece, in general terms.

If your home is new construction, hardware may be basic and may not match what you want long term. Our piece on entry doors in new construction helps you think through the options. Whatever you own, take your time with the first month, and add the lock check to your list with everything else.

Some residents also like to photograph each door, lock and frame on the day they move in. The pictures record the condition of the hardware, which is helpful if there is ever a dispute about damage, and they give a technician a clear idea of what you have before the visit. A short note about which doors stick in humid weather is worth adding, since those are the ones that tend to cause trouble when a new lock goes in.

Questions people ask