Why Austin doors get rekeyed

Rekeying replaces the pins inside a cylinder so every old key stops working and a new key takes over. About 37.7 percent of occupied Texas homes are rented. In West Campus, the University Neighborhood Overlay, introduced in 2004, has facilitated 52 projects with over 5,000 units since 2005, next to duplexes, bungalows and more than a dozen student co-ops. Wherever people move in and out, a copy of a key can stay with a former tenant, a roommate or a guest.

Most standard knob locks and deadbolts can be rekeyed rather than replaced, and locks of one brand can usually be keyed alike, so a single key runs the front door, back door and garage entry.

Texas rules for rental turnover

Texas Property Code section 92.156 requires a 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. Closet and other interior doors fall outside that duty (section 92.156(d)). Section 92.163 bars a tenant from rekeying or altering a security device without the landlord's permission, apart from repair-and-deduct remedies. This is general information, not legal advice.

Where households share an exterior door, as in a duplex or a co-op, rekey every shared door together so old keys do not keep working on the one that was skipped.

Buying an older house

Chapter 92 protects tenants, not buyers, and a seller may not know how many copies are out there. After closing, consider rekeying every exterior door, including the door between the house and an attached garage, which Texas rental rules count as an exterior door (section 92.151). In an older house in Hyde Park, established in 1891, a rekey changes only the pins in the cylinder and leaves the original knobs and plates on the door.

What a rekeying request should say

the number of exterior doors and locks, and any brand on the key or lock face
whether you want them keyed alike
whether you own, manage or rent, and the landlord's written permission if you rent
the move-in or closing date

For how the service works, see lock rekeying. A worn or cracked cylinder may call for lock replacement instead, and Austin covers the city.

At the door

What lock rekeying covers

Changing the pins inside your existing locks so old keys stop working, without replacing the hardware.

An inspection of each lock to confirm it can be rekeyed
Re-pinning each cylinder to work with a new key
New keys cut for the rekeyed locks

ID and proof you may access the property are checked before any work.

Lock Rekeying in Texas

Sources

Public records and references this page draws on. They are outside USA Locksmith Pros and open in a new tab.

Lock Rekeying in Austin, TX