Tennessee Locksmith Services

Homes and doors across Tennessee

Census Bureau estimates for 2024 put 33.7 percent of Tennessee homes in buildings from 2000 or later, against 27.4 percent nationally. Only 5.6 percent predate 1940, about half the national share.

In Nashville, 25.9 percent of housing was built in 2010 or later. In Memphis, only 14.0 percent dates from 2000 or later, while 31.8 percent predates 1960; in Knoxville the pre-1960 share is 33.5 percent. Mobile homes are 7.5 percent of Tennessee housing, against 5.4 percent nationally, and about 95 percent of them lie outside Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

What that means for locks:

• Older Memphis and Knoxville houses. Original pre-1960 doors may carry mortise locks, or bores that a modern deadbolt will not fit without an adapter plate. Measure the old hardware before ordering a lock replacement.
• Nashville townhomes and towers. Single-family attached homes are 10.2 percent of Nashville housing and buildings of 50 or more units another 15.6 percent, more than double the statewide shares. With a condo board or HOA, ask who controls entry and mailbox keys before you rekey.
• Mobile homes. Door and lock sizes can differ from site-built houses, so a standard lockset may not fit.

How Tennessee's climate affects locks and keys

NOAA's state climate summary describes moderately large temperature swings and abundant precipitation, with warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. Average snowfall runs from 1 to 4 inches a year in the south to nearly a foot in the northeast. In February 1994, 5 to 8 inches of rain, much of it freezing, fell in some places, and in February 2021 heavy snow and severe icing caused widespread damage.

Nashville set a two-day record of 13.6 inches on May 1–2, 2010, and in August 2021 the McEwen area of Middle Tennessee set a state record of 20.73 inches in under 24 hours. Since 2000 the state has received 33 major disaster declarations involving severe storms and flooding.

Practical upkeep:

• Use a lock de-icer on a glazed keyway rather than hot water, which can refreeze inside the cylinder.
• A lock that sat in floodwater can corrode inside; have it cleaned or replaced once the door dries (see lock repair).
• A fob soaked in a flooded car may stop working; keep the key blade and see key fob programming.

Renting in Tennessee: locks, keys and rekeying

About 33.2 percent of occupied Tennessee homes are rented, but renters are 48.2 percent of households in Nashville and more than half in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Memphis.

Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 66, Chapter 28) provides:

• Where it applies. Under T.C.A. § 66-28-102, the act applies only in counties with more than 75,000 people at the 2010 federal census, and there it preempts the entire field of landlord-tenant legislation. The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services lists 17 such counties: Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson. In the other 78 counties, read your lease closely.
• No lockouts. Under § 66-28-504, if a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes a tenant, or willfully interrupts essential services under the rental agreement, the tenant may recover possession or end the agreement, and recover actual damages, punitive damages when appropriate, and a reasonable attorney's fee. If the agreement ends this way, the landlord must return all prepaid rent and security deposits.
• Domestic abuse. Under § 66-28-517(g), when domestic abuse is the underlying offense for which a tenancy is terminated, only the perpetrator may be evicted, and the landlord may remove the perpetrator from a lease in effect. These rights apply only after a court grants the victim an order of protection for that incident that meets the statute's conditions and a copy reaches the landlord; the victim and all adult tenants must also agree in writing not to let the perpetrator return.

At move-in, ask in writing whether the locks were rekeyed after the last tenant. If a perpetrator leaves the lease, raise lock rekeying with the landlord in writing, including who pays.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Where we take requests in Tennessee

State law divides Tennessee into three grand divisions. Our city pages cover Memphis in Shelby County (Western), Nashville in Davidson County (Middle), and Knoxville and Chattanooga in Knox and Hamilton counties (Eastern). Tennessee Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Tennessee.

• Nashville
• Memphis
• Knoxville
• Chattanooga

Elsewhere in Tennessee, send a request with your ZIP code through the contact page.

Before you book a locksmith in Tennessee

The Division of Consumer Affairs in the Tennessee Attorney General's Office mediates consumer complaints, most easily filed through its online form. It forwards the complaint and asks the business to respond within 21 days; mediation averages 90 days. The division cannot act on your behalf or give legal advice.

A few checks:

1. Get the full cost in writing before work starts, and keep the estimate and invoice.
2. Have ID and proof you live at the address, such as a lease or utility bill, or that the car is yours, such as the registration.