Georgia Locksmith Services

Homes and doors across Georgia

Georgia's housing is young. Census Bureau estimates for 2024 put 38.3 percent of the state's homes in buildings from 2000 or later, against 27.4 percent nationally, and only 3.9 percent before 1940.

Atlanta: large buildings

In Atlanta, 36.4 percent of housing units are in buildings with 50 or more units, against 5.4 percent statewide. There, garage and lobby fobs, mailbox keys and amenity doors are often the building's, so rekeying your unit door may change none of them. Ask management what it controls first.

Savannah and Augusta: older housing

In Savannah, 13.6 percent of homes predate 1940 and 36.8 percent predate 1960; in Augusta, 20.7 percent predate 1960. Doors of that age may hold mortise locks, whose body sits in a pocket cut into the door edge, so a standard deadbolt may not simply drop in. Photograph the lock before ordering parts, and consider repairing a working original.

Mobile homes beyond the cities

Mobile homes are 7.4 percent of Georgia's housing, against 5.4 percent nationally, and fewer than 3 percent of them are in Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta and Athens combined. Their door hardware can differ from a site-built house, so mention the home type in your request.

How Georgia's climate affects locks and keys

NOAA's state climate summary describes long, hot and humid summers and short, usually mild winters. Macon and Columbus average around 20 days a year above 95°F, Atlanta about 7. Even the northern mountains average only 5 inches of snow a year, so heat and humidity matter more for most Georgia locks than ice does.

• Summer swelling. Humidity can swell wooden doors. A deadbolt that binds in July but turns easily in January usually points to the strike plate or door alignment, not the lock.
• Battery heat. Heat shortens the life of coin cells in key fobs and smart locks. An erratic fob in a Macon or Columbus August often needs a new battery before any reprogramming.
• Storm water and salt. NOAA notes that Georgia rarely takes a direct hurricane landfall, but tropical storm remnants can bring heavy rain and strong winds. Tidal flood days at Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island near Savannah, peaked at 13 in 2019, the most in NOAA's summary. A lock that sat in floodwater or salt spray should be flushed, dried, lubricated and checked for corrosion.

Renting in Georgia: locks, keys and rekeying

A third of occupied Georgia homes (33.7 percent) are rented, but renters are the majority in all four cities with pages here: 52.3 percent of households in Atlanta and Savannah, 50.3 percent in Augusta and 60.6 percent in Athens-Clarke County.

The Department of Community Affairs' Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook, revised in August 2024, covers locks and keys:

• Changing your own locks. The handbook says leases typically require the landlord's permission. If the lease is silent, a tenant may change the locks but must give the landlord the new keys at move-out and follow any lease terms on access.
• No lockouts. A landlord cannot remove a tenant or block access without the court dispossessory process, and the handbook calls self-help evictions illegal even when the tenant has violated the lease. Under Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) § 44-7-14.1, a landlord who knowingly and willfully cuts off heat, light or water before a dispossessory case is finally decided can be fined up to $500 on conviction.
• Protective orders. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-23, a tenant protected by a family violence or stalking order, or whose minor child is, may end the lease 30 days after written notice to the landlord with a copy of the order (and the police report for an ex parte temporary order). Neither the statute nor the handbook adds a separate right to change locks.
• Returning keys early. The handbook says a landlord does not accept a tenant's leaving just by accepting the keys. Unless the lease says otherwise, handing them back early does not by itself end rent owed through the term.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Where we take requests in Georgia

Georgia Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Georgia. City pages cover:

• Atlanta
• Savannah
• Augusta
• Athens

Elsewhere in Georgia, send a request with the ZIP code where you need service, or see service areas.

Before you book a locksmith in Georgia

The Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division handles complaints about businesses that acted in an unfair, deceptive or unlawful way. It suggests resolving a problem with the business directly first, then filing online or by phone.

Georgia's price gouging law, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.4, applies only during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, and only to goods and services named in the declaration. Increases for those must track higher costs to the seller, including transport into the area, or stay within cost plus the average markup from the 10 days before the declaration.

Before work starts, get the total in writing and keep the receipt. Have photo ID ready, plus a lease or utility bill for the address, or the registration for the car.