Lock Rekeying in Harrisburg, PA

What rekeying changes and keeps

Lock rekeying changes the pins inside a cylinder so the old keys stop working, while the lock body, trim and door stay in place. That suits a city where, by the HBG2020 Comprehensive Plan's count, nearly half of homes (48.6%) predate 1940 and a sound older lockset is often worth keeping. Nothing on the outside of the door changes.

Common reasons to rekey:

• A home changes hands. Sellers, contractors and past tenants may all hold copies.
• A rental turns over. Once the cylinders are rekeyed, the outgoing tenant's keys no longer work.
• A key goes missing or a roommate moves out.

Chapter 8-511 and the turnover calendar

Harrisburg's Residential Rental Unit Registration Program requires every rental unit to be registered each year, with filings made between October 31 and December 31 (§ 8-511.7), and the Codes Bureau inspects units at least every five years (§ 8-511.8). A landlord who already tracks those dates can keep a key record beside them: which cylinders were rekeyed at the last turnover and who holds keys now.

A tenant should read the lease and talk to the landlord before rekeying anything. The article on landlord–tenant lock changes covers lock changes between tenants. This is general information, not legal advice.

Counting doors on Harrisburg lots

• Camp Curtin. North of Maclay Street, the neighborhood developed after the automobile and has rear alleys and detached garages. A house there may have a front door, an alley-side back door and a garage lock, and cylinders of a compatible make can be rekeyed to one key.
• Bellevue Park. Its detached homes, set among East Harrisburg's row-house blocks, can add side and basement doors to the tally.

A rekey works cylinder by cylinder, so the count sets the scope: a knob lock and a deadbolt on one door are two cylinders, and a garage lock is another.

Listing your doors

Write down each exterior door and its cylinders, add photos of your keys and the lock faces, and say whether you want everything on one key. Note whether you still have a working key for each lock. If a cylinder is worn or damaged, lock replacement may make more sense than rekeying it.