Lock Rekeying in Rochester, NY

Why rekeying comes up in Rochester's small buildings

The 2022 City housing task force report found that single-family through four-family houses hold 64 percent of Rochester's housing units. In a two- to four-family house, a shared front entry leads to separate unit doors, so one move-out can leave a former tenant holding a key to the building entry as well as to their own door.

Rekeying changes the pin setup inside an existing cylinder so the old keys stop working and new ones do. The lock body, door and trim stay put. It suits:

• New owners, who cannot know how many keys the previous owner handed out.
• Landlords between tenants, for the shared entry and each unit door.
• Anyone whose keys were lost or stolen while the lock still works.

It also suits older doors worth keeping. In preservation districts such as Susan B. Anthony and Beach Avenue, replacing a door can need City approval, while rekeying leaves the door as it is.

City and state rules that touch keys

• Certificate of Occupancy contact. Owners of properties that need a Certificate of Occupancy under Section 90-16 of the City Code must also register a property maintenance point of contact with the City. The City's FAQ tells tenants with a housing problem to call the owner first, then their Neighborhood Service Center.
• Keys for current occupants. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 768 protects anyone with a lease, or with 30 consecutive days of lawful occupancy, and changing their entrance-door lock without giving them a key is among the acts it covers. A landlord who rekeys an occupied unit should hand over the new key at the same visit.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What a rekey request needs

• How many locks, and which are shared entries and which are unit doors.
• Whether one key should open several locks or each unit should have its own.
• A photo of each lock face, so a worn cylinder shows up ahead of time. If one is past saving, lock replacement may fit better.
• A deed, lease or management agreement showing your right to change the keys.

Rekeying details are on the lock rekeying page, and the wider housing picture is on the Rochester page.