Why rekey the locks when you move in

02 Part 1

Who still has a key?

Think about the life of a front door key. The seller had one, plus the spare in the kitchen drawer. The listing agent had one for showings. A dog walker had one, the house cleaner had one, the contractor who redid the bathroom three years ago had one. A neighbor had the emergency spare.

None of these people are villains. But you have no idea how many copies exist, and neither does the seller. In Berkeley, where a lot of houses and flats change hands or tenants every few years, the count can get high.

Rentals multiply it. A unit near campus might see a new tenant every August. Each one got keys, some made copies at the hardware store, and not all copies came back.

04 Part 3

Rekey or replace?

Rekey if the locks are solid and you like them. That covers most move-ins.

Replace if a lock is worn, wobbly or flimsy, if the deadbolt is missing entirely, or if you want a different type, such as a keypad or a smart lock. Old Berkeley houses sometimes have a lone knob lock on the back door. That one deserves an upgrade, not a rekey.

The price list shows starting prices for both, and the move-in coupon applies to this exact situation. The locksmith quotes the full figure before any work begins.

05 Part 4

If you rent

Read the lease before you call anyone. Most leases say tenants can't change or rekey locks without the landlord's written permission, and the landlord will want a key.

Ask the landlord directly: were the locks rekeyed after the last tenant? Plenty of landlords do it as routine. If not, many will agree to it, sometimes splitting the cost.

If you're in a building with a shared entrance, the front door key is out of your hands. Focus on your own unit door. Our 94704 page has more on apartment rules near campus.

06 Part 5

A simple move-in routine

1. Collect every key the seller or landlord gives you and count them.
2. Walk the house and list every exterior door, including garage-to-house and side gates.
3. Decide which locks get rekeyed and which get replaced.
4. Call the line, describe the doors, and get the quote before work starts.
5. Test each new key in each lock before the locksmith leaves.
6. Give one spare to someone you trust, not to a flowerpot.

That's it. An afternoon's errand. See the residential page for the rest of what a home visit covers.

07 Part 6

Garages, gates and the forgotten doors

The front door gets all the attention. The garage-to-house door, the side gate, the basement hatch and the back slider get none, and they're the ones a previous owner's old key or a garage remote is most likely to open.

While you're counting keys, count garage remotes and keypad codes too. Reset the garage opener's code and wipe any remotes you didn't receive. If the house has a keypad lock, delete every code the seller set and add your own.

Hillside homes in 94708 and 94707 often have a garage at the street with a stair or interior door up into the house. That inner door deserves a deadbolt, rekeyed along with everything else.

08 Part 7

What it costs, roughly

The trip charge is fixed and listed. Each rekeyed cylinder has a starting price on the same list. A typical small house has three to five cylinders; an apartment might have one or two. The locksmith counts them and quotes the total before starting, and the move-in coupon is there for exactly this.

Spending a little now beats wondering for years who else can open your door.