Many of us don’t think about our locks or keys until it’s too late. We simply trust our home is secure and no one else has access. But do you really know who has a copy of your keys and access to your home?
We share keys with others for a number of reasons, whether it’s a visiting family member or friend, a house or pet sitter, or a tradesperson doing renovations while you’re at work. Any of these people can forget to return your keys or make a copy without your knowledge. This leaves your home vulnerable to unauthorised access.
In this article, we will explore the importance of rekeying locks and when you should do it to ensure the highest level of security for your home and family.
What Is Rekeying and How Does It Work?
Rekeying locks is the process of adjusting the lock cylinder so that old keys no longer operate it. Rekeying allows you to enhance your home security without having to replace the entire external locking hardware. This offers a faster, more cost effective way to ensure your security when you’re unsure who has a copy of your keys.
During a rekey locks service, professional locksmiths change the internal parts of a lock, specifically the pins and tumblers, to correlate to a new key. They then provide you new keys that are configured to the new set up. This ensures that any of your old keys will no longer work.
When Should You Rekey Your Locks?
Rekeying locks is one of the fastest and most effective ways to render any copies of your keys useless and secure your home. It’s not something that needs to be completed on a regular basis, like other home maintenance jobs. However, it is important to consider it during major life changes or if you lose your keys or if you share them with someone that you no longer want to have access to your property.
When You Move Into a New Home
Regardless of what the real estate and paperwork says, it’s impossible to know for sure how many copies the previous owners made or who they gave their keys to. That’s why it’s crucial to have locks replaced or rekeyed as soon as you purchase a new home.
Having your locks rekeyed before you move in, or as soon as possible after, allows you to start afresh with your keys, knowing exactly how many copies exist and who has them.
When You Lose Your Keys
Lost keys are a major security risk. You never know who may find them and try to use them, especially if there’s anything on the keyring that can be used to identify you or your address.
Whether you’ve lost your keys or had something stolen with them inside, such as a bag or vehicle, it’s essential to have your locks rekeyed as soon as possible to render the keys useless to anyone who may have or find them.
After a Break-In or Attempted Break-In
Whether successful or not, any break-in attempts should be treated seriously. It’s a sign your property has been targeted. This means a break-in could be attempted again, regardless of whether they gained access or stole anything the first time.
For this reason, it’s important to have your locks rekeyed, and consider investing in higher security methods to protect your home and family against future attempts.
After a Change in Household
When a former partner, housemate, or family member moves out it’s important to rekey locks. As with previous home owners, it can be almost impossible to know who your old partners, housemates, friends, or family members shared their keys with without your knowledge.
This means that any number of people could potentially have a copy of your keys and access to your house.
After House Maintenance or Renovations
Providing temporary access to your home for maintenance or renovations is common, but it’s easy to lose track of who has copies. Whether you have a regular cleaning service or need to provide temporary access for renovations, it can be difficult to keep track of exactly who has access to your keys and who can make copies.
Rekeying after renovations are complete is the best way to ensure you know exactly who has a copy of your keys and access to your home. However, if you have a regular, ongoing maintenance service it may be beneficial to invest in higher security or smart locking measures instead.
Between Tenants in Rental Properties
If you own an investment property, it’s mandatory that you replace or rekey locks between each tenancy. This not only ensures security and peace of mind for new tenants, but also ensures full compliance with the Residential Tenancy Authority (RTA) and Queensland legislation.
What Are the Benefits of Rekeying Your Locks?
Rekeying locks offers a wide range of benefits for homeowners, including:
- Enhanced Security
- Immediate Peace of Mind
- Simple Access Control
- Cost-Effective Compared to Lock Replacements
- Maintains Existing Hardware
When having your locks rekeyed, you can also opt for a master key setup if multiple entry points and access levels are required. This is most beneficial for multi-residential facilities, such as apartment buildings, or businesses.
Rekeying vs Replacing Your Locks
Rekeying is a fast and cost effective method for ensuring security when you lose your keys or have concerns over who has copies of your keys. Lock replacements, on the other hand, are beneficial for when locks are damaged or if you want to upgrade to a higher security solution, such as smart locking.
Professional locksmiths can provide expert advice upon inspection on whether full lock replacements are required. However, in many security situations, rekeying is adequate for regaining control over who has access to your property and ensuring peace of mind.
Maintain Security & Peace of Mind with Expert Rekeying Services
Rekeying is one of the simplest and most affordable steps a homeowner can take to maintain control of their security. It’s easier to lose track of who has had access to your keys than you may think. Whether you loaned your keys to a visitor, shared them with a former partner, or gave them to a tradesperson to gain access temporarily, it can be almost impossible to know whether any of them made copies or loaned the keys to anyone else without your knowledge.
Not knowing who has copies of your keys can be a major security risk. So, if you’ve lost your keys or have any concerns about who may have copies, it’s important to act fast to secure your home.
Contact Amalgamated Locksmiths today to book a lock rekeying service.