Lock Rekeying in Ogden, UT

Where old keys pile up

Rekeying resets the pins in a cylinder to match a new key. The lock stays on the door, and every key cut for the old setup stops working. Two Ogden housing patterns make it worth considering.

Along 36th Street in Mount Ogden, near Weber State University, many houses are rented to students, often several at once. Each roommate needs a key, copies get made, and the household changes from one year to the next, so nobody can say how many keys are out.

In East Central, houses split into apartments after World War II are, in places, returning to their original density, especially in the Jefferson district. A house that once had several unit doors may have keys for those units, and for a shared entry, in drawers across town.

Landlords and the rules

Ogden's Good Landlord Program has participants complete an eight-hour training course and a four-hour refresher every other year, and screen tenants with background and credit checks. Utah Code Section 57-22-4 requires rented premises to be safe, sanitary and fit for human occupancy, but it does not mention locks or require rekeying between renters. A new tenant can still ask whether the locks were changed since the last renter. This is general information, not legal advice.

Buying a house

Sellers rarely know who still holds a key. Count every outside door: on a Mount Ogden ranch home from the 1950s or 1960s, the door from the attached garage; on a 1920s or 1930s house near 26th to 28th streets, the side door of the detached garage behind it. Most pin-tumbler knobs, levers and deadbolts can be rekeyed so all outside doors share one key. A cylinder worn badly enough may call for lock replacement instead.

What to list in a request

• every door with a lock, including garage doors and shared entries
• whether all doors should take one key
• whether you own, manage or rent, with the owner's approval if you rent
• a photo of each lock face

The lock rekeying page covers the service itself.