Lock Rekeying in Bowling Green, KY

Why keys change hands so often here

Census Bureau figures for 2020-2024 show 63.4 percent of Bowling Green's occupied homes are rented, twice the statewide share of 31.7 percent. Tenants move out, roommates change and old copies stay in drawers.

Rekeying resets the pins inside the existing cylinder so old keys stop working and a new key takes over; the lock body and door stay as they are. Several locks can often be keyed alike.

Common reasons to rekey here:

• You bought a house and cannot know how many keys the sellers handed out.
• A landlord is turning a unit over between leases, or a converted house has its shared front door and unit doors rekeyed after a tenant leaves.
• A roommate moved out or a key went missing.
• An owner is converting a property to a short-term rental, which under the city's Short Term Rental Guide (December 2024) means inspections and a permit; every old key should be accounted for before the first guest.

Leases and Kentucky law

KRS 383.500 lets Kentucky cities and counties adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, KRS 383.505 to 383.705. Kentucky Justice Online's list, current as of April 2025, did not include Bowling Green, so if you rent, the lease is the first place to check before a lock is changed or rekeyed.

KRS 383.300 applies across the state. On a lease created or renewed on or after June 29, 2017, a tenant protected by a domestic violence order or another listed protective or no-contact order may, after telling the landlord, install a new lock at the tenant's expense: a working lock can be rekeyed, or the whole mechanism replaced with one of equal or better quality. The landlord gets a key on request and may refuse one to the restrained person, even one named on the lease. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to include in a request

• How many locks, and whether they should be keyed alike
• A photo of each lock face and of the key you use now
• Whether you own or rent, and whether the landlord has agreed
• The neighborhood or nearest cross streets

If a cylinder is worn or damaged, lock replacement may suit the door better. The general service is described under lock rekeying.