Texas Locksmith Services

Homes and doors across Texas

Texas housing is young. Census Bureau estimates for 2024 put 43.2 percent of Texas homes in buildings from 2000 or later, against 27.4 percent nationally, and only 2.9 percent before 1940. Austin leans newest, with 49.8 percent built since 2000, while 19.9 percent of Dallas homes and 18.2 percent of San Antonio homes predate 1960. Statewide, 64.2 percent of homes are detached houses, yet 23.7 percent of Dallas homes and 22.1 percent of Houston homes sit in buildings of 50 or more units.

• Post-2000 subdivisions. Newer doors are usually drilled for current deadbolt sizes, so a keypad or smart lock often fits without new drilling.
• Pre-1960 houses. Original doors may be drilled for older hardware sizes, so measure before buying a replacement lock.
• Large complexes. State rental rules cover security devices in the unit itself; the rekeying duty excludes closet and other interior doors (section 92.156(d)).

How Texas's climate affects locks and keys

NOAA's state climate summary puts normal precipitation at under 10 inches a year in the far west and over 60 inches in the extreme southeast. From 1900 to 2020 Texas endured more than 85 tropical storms and hurricanes. In 2011, the warmest summer on record, Dallas–Fort Worth logged 40 straight days above 100°F. On February 16, 2021, the National Weather Service recorded 13°F in Houston and 5°F in College Station.

• Gulf Coast. Hurricane Harvey stalled near Houston in 2017, with rainfall above 30 inches in many locations. Have any lock that sat in floodwater cleaned or replaced.
• Far West Texas. In the driest part of the state, use a dry lubricant such as graphite rather than household oil, which collects dust and grit.
• Hard freezes. Typical January lows run from about 20°F in the northern Panhandle to about 50°F near the mouth of the Rio Grande. Thaw a frozen lock with de-icer, not hot water, which can refreeze inside.
• Key fobs. Cabin heat and deep freezes both weaken coin cells, so try a fresh battery before booking key fob programming.

Renting in Texas: locks, keys and rekeying

About 37.7 percent of occupied Texas homes are rented, rising to 59.1 percent in Houston and 57.8 percent in Dallas. Subchapter D of Chapter 92, Texas Property Code, sets the lock rules, and section 92.152 applies them to rented houses, duplexes, mobile homes, apartments, condos and townhomes, but not hotel rooms.

• Required devices. With limited exceptions, section 92.153 requires, at the landlord's expense, a doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt plus a keyless bolting device and door viewer on each exterior door, window latches, and a pin lock plus a handle latch or security bar on sliding glass doors. Section 92.151 counts the door between a living area and a garage as an exterior door.
• Placement. Under section 92.154, a required deadbolt installed on or after September 1, 1993 must sit 36 to 48 inches from the floor with at least a one-inch throw.
• Rekeying at turnover. Section 92.156 requires the landlord to rekey at the landlord's expense no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date, and to rekey again at the tenant's expense whenever the tenant asks.
• Ask, don't alter. Section 92.163 bars tenants from rekeying or altering a security device without the landlord's permission, apart from repair-and-deduct remedies. Section 92.161 presumes a reasonable response time of seven days, or 72 hours if you report an unauthorized entry or attempt at your unit.
• Lockouts for unpaid rent. Section 92.0081 allows a lock change only if the lease permits it, rent is delinquent and advance written notice was given, and the landlord must provide a new key at any hour, paid or not. Violations can cost one month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, court costs and attorney's fees.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Where we take requests in Texas

Texas Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Texas.

• Houston
• San Antonio
• Dallas
• Austin

Elsewhere in Texas, send a request with your ZIP code or see the service areas page.

Before you book a locksmith in Texas

The Office of the Texas Attorney General takes consumer complaints through online forms and asks for the business name and full address, transaction dates and amounts. It notes that complaints are open to the public under Texas law and that it cannot give legal advice.

During a disaster declared by the governor or the president, and until 30 days after the declaration ends, section 17.46(b)(27) of the Business and Commerce Code, read with section 17.4625, treats selling fuel, food, medicine, lodging, building materials, construction tools or another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price as a deceptive trade practice.

1. Get the total price in writing before work starts, and keep the invoice, especially after a hurricane or freeze.
2. If you rent, get the landlord's permission first (section 92.163), and ask when the locks were last rekeyed.
3. Bought a home? Chapter 92's rekeying rule protects tenants, not buyers, so consider having the locks rekeyed after closing.