Lock Rekeying in St. Louis, MO

Why rekeying comes up in a city of renters

Renters occupy 54.0 percent of St. Louis homes, against 31.4 percent across Missouri, by the Census Bureau's 2024 estimates. More rentals mean more move-outs, and each move-out leaves the same question: who still holds a key? Rekeying changes the pins inside a cylinder so the old keys stop working and a new key does. The lock body stays in the door, so there is no new hardware to fit.

Ordinance 71835 and a change in occupancy

Under Ordinance No. 71835, property in a Housing Conservation District must be inspected, and the city says that since October 7, 2024, all property in St. Louis lies in one. Its residential occupancy page marks three moments:

• a Certificate of Inspection is needed before a vacant residential unit is occupied;
• an occupied building being sold needs one, unless a certificate was issued in the previous 12 months;
• rental units are reinspected every three years or on a change in occupancy.

The ordinance is about inspections, not keys. But a unit standing empty between tenants and a building about to change hands are also the moments when nobody can vouch for every copy of the old key, so a rekey fits the same timetable. This is general information, not legal advice.

Owners, landlords and renters

• New owners. Sellers, agents, contractors and past tenants may all have held keys. Rekeying every exterior door after closing cuts off all of them.
• Small-building landlords. In a walk-up, the street door and each unit door are separate locks. A departing tenant's unit lock is the obvious one to change, but that tenant's street-door key keeps working until the street door is rekeyed too, and every remaining household then needs the new key.
• Renters. Read the lease before rekeying; it may require you to give the landlord a copy of any new key.

What to include in a rekey request

Give the neighborhood, the number of exterior doors and locks, whether there is a shared entry, and whether you want one key to open all of them. A photo of each lock face helps identify the cylinder. If a lock is worn or damaged, lock replacement may make more sense. See lock rekeying service and the St. Louis page.