Lock Rekeying in Minneapolis, MN

A city of move-ins and move-outs

Renters live in 53.5 percent of occupied Minneapolis homes, against 28.4 percent across Minnesota. Every move-out lets a copied key walk away, and rekeying is the usual answer: it changes the pins inside the cylinder so the old keys no longer turn it, while the deadbolt, knob and trim stay on the door.

Three situations come up most:

• Tenant turnover. The city's Rental Property Checklist, a guide to what inspectors look for under the Housing Maintenance Code (Chapter 244 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances), lists deadbolt locks on unit entrance and exit doors. Rekeying keeps a working deadbolt in place and retires the last tenant's keys.
• Buying an older house. A seller cannot say how many copies exist. In older neighborhoods the front door may still hold a mortise lock, and many mortise cylinders can be rekeyed rather than replaced.
• Keys that never came back. A roommate who moved out, a contractor or a dog walker. Rekeying only the doors they could open is often enough.

Building keys and tenant rights

In a large apartment or condo building, a unit cylinder may belong to a key system the manager relies on, and rekeying it alone can lock the manager's key out. Ask management which doors run on the building's keys before anything changes, and leave lobby, laundry and garage doors to the building.

Under Minnesota Statutes section 504B.211, a landlord may enter for a reasonable business purpose after a good-faith effort to give at least a day's notice, and a lease may require the landlord to have a key. Get written approval before rekeying a rented unit, and hand over a new key if the lease calls for one. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to include in a request

• Your neighborhood, and whether it is a house, apartment or condo.
• How many doors, counting side, back and garage service doors.
• Whether one key should open every door you control, or a building key must keep working.
• Whether you own the property or have the landlord's written approval.

If the hardware itself is worn out, lock replacement is the better fit. See Minneapolis for the city.