Lock Rekeying in San Antonio, TX

Who rekeys in San Antonio, and under which rule

Rekeying resets the pins inside a cylinder so every old key stops working, and the lock and door stay in place. Statewide, 37.7 percent of occupied Texas homes are rented, and Subchapter D of Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code spells out who rekeys and when.

• Landlords. Section 92.156 requires rekeying at the landlord's expense no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date. Subsection (d) excludes closet and other interior doors, while section 92.151 counts the door between a living area and a garage as an exterior door.
• Tenants. Under the same section the landlord must rekey again whenever the tenant asks, at the tenant's expense. Section 92.163 bars a tenant from rekeying or altering a security device without the landlord's permission.
• New owners. Chapter 92's rekeying rule protects tenants, not buyers, so a buyer must arrange a rekey after closing.

San Antonio's notice to vacate rule

City Code Section 16-6 requires a landlord who delivers a notice to vacate for nonpayment of rent to give the tenant the city's Notice of Tenant Rights within one business day. The notice explains that a notice to vacate is not itself an eviction. The state rekeying deadline runs from the tenant turnover date, not from the day a notice is handed over. This is general information, not legal advice.

Original hardware in Lavaca and Government Hill

Lavaca, just east of King William, was built mostly in the late nineteenth century and has Folk Victorian and Queen Anne examples. Government Hill grew from 1890 to 1930 alongside Fort Sam Houston. Both sit among the city's 32 local historic districts, whose design guidelines ask owners to preserve historic doors and their hardware. Rekeying works inside the cylinder, so the hardware stays on the door; a cracked or badly worn cylinder points toward lock replacement instead.

What to include in a rekeying request

• how many exterior doors, counting any door from the garage
• the brand stamped on the key or lock face
• whether every lock should take the same key
• whether you own the home, manage it, or have the landlord's written permission

See lock rekeying for the service and San Antonio for the neighborhood notes.