Lock Rekeying in Naperville, IL

When a Naperville lock is worth rekeying

Rekeying swaps the pins inside a lock cylinder so the old keys stop working and a new key takes over. The lock body, handle and door stay in place, which makes it the usual step when a lock is sound but nobody can say who still holds a copy.

Nearly half of Naperville's homes, 49.2 percent by the 2024 Census estimates, date from the 1980s and 1990s, so a lock may have passed through several owners, contractors and cleaners without every key coming back. Statewide, about 32 percent of occupied Illinois homes are rented, which adds turnover between tenants.

• New owners. Rekey each exterior lock after closing: the front door, the door from the garage and any keyed patio door.
• Landlords between leases. The city asks landlords to register rental properties with its Finance Department for utility purposes; that is no substitute for changing keys at turnover.
• Sales and ordinary leases. Ordinance No. 20-087 has banned operating or advertising short-term residential rentals in Naperville since September 1, 2020. With nightly rentals off the table, the rekey moments are sales and ordinary lease changes.

Tenants and the Safe Homes Act

A tenant who wants new keys should read the lease and ask the landlord first. Illinois law adds one specific route: under the Safe Homes Act, 765 ILCS 750/20, a tenant can ask in writing for new locks when a tenant reasonably believes that a tenant or household member faces a credible imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence at the home, backed by the evidence the Act requires. The landlord then has 48 hours to change the locks or let the tenant do it. After that, the tenant may change them with locks of similar or better quality and must make a good faith effort to give the landlord a key within 48 hours. This is general information, not legal advice.

Describing what to rekey

List each lock by door (front, back, garage service door, patio), how many keys you want, and whether one key should open every lock. A knob and a deadbolt on the same door can be keyed to match. Mention any lock that sticks or spins, since a worn cylinder may call for lock replacement instead. The Naperville page covers the rental rules.