Lock Rekeying in Columbia, MO

Keys in a college town

Census Bureau estimates for 2024 put 51.0 percent of Columbia's occupied homes in renter hands, and the University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College together enroll nearly 40,000 students. When many tenants move in and out around the same time, old keys are easy to lose track of, and nobody logs the spares a departing tenant kept.

Rekeying changes the pins inside a cylinder so the old keys stop working and a new key takes over. The deadbolt, knob and trim stay on the door. It suits locks that still work well but have too many keys in circulation.

Who rekeys, and when

• New owners. Keys to a resale house may be with past owners, agents, contractors or neighbors. Rekeying on moving day is simpler than collecting them.
• Landlords between leases. The gap between tenants is the moment to change the unit key, along with any storage-room key that went with it, in a downtown apartment tower or a rental house alike.
• Tenants. Read the lease first. It may require the landlord to hold a working key, in which case the landlord needs a copy of the new one.

Standard pin-tumbler cylinders in most current deadbolts and knob sets can be rekeyed without removing the whole lock from the door. Some older or badly worn cylinders cannot, and then lock replacement is the alternative.

Columbia's rental certificate law

Chapter 22, Article 5 of the city code, the Rental Unit Conservation Law, requires a current certificate of compliance for every apartment house, rooming house, two-family dwelling and single rental unit, and Section 22-184 makes running one without it unlawful. Certificates issued since January 1, 2025 run five years, and each renewal brings an inspection. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to send

Count the doors and cylinders, note the brand on each, and say which ones should open with a single key. For a rental, list the unit and storage locks separately and say whether a shared building entry is involved. Owners with a whole house to secure can start from the residential locksmith page.