Lock Rekeying in Dallas, TX

Rekeying in a mostly rented city

About 57.8 percent of occupied Dallas homes are rented, against 37.7 percent across Texas, according to 2024 Census Bureau estimates. Every move-out leaves keys in circulation: the previous tenant, roommates, maintenance staff and anyone who once borrowed a spare. Rekeying changes the pins inside the existing lock so the old keys stop working, while the lock, deadbolt and door stay where they are.

What Chapter 92 says about 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. The duty leaves out closet and other interior doors (section 92.156(d)). Section 92.163 bars tenants from rekeying or altering a security device without the landlord's permission, apart from repair-and-deduct remedies, so get that permission before booking.

Section 92.153 sets the devices a rental needs, with limited exceptions and at the landlord's expense: a doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt on each exterior door, plus a keyless bolting device and a door viewer. 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 (section 92.154).

The Dallas layer for apartments

Dallas requires anyone who owns, operates or controls a multi-tenant property to register it with the city, and those properties must be inspected at least once every three years. Dallas City Code Sec. 27-11 lists a "peep hole/keyless deadbolt lock" among interior violations, and tenants can report problems through Dallas 311. This is general information, not legal advice.

Buyers and older houses

Chapter 92's rekeying rule protects tenants, not buyers. A new owner who wants to know who else holds a key can have the locks rekeyed after closing. Rekeying also suits an older Dallas house, because it leaves the existing lock in place.

Details for a rekeying request

• Which doors: front, back, garage entry, gates.
• Whether every lock should open with one key.
• Whether you own, rent or manage the property.
• How many working keys you need afterward.

Compare with lock replacement, read the lock rekeying page, or return to Dallas.