Lock Rekeying in Seattle, WA

Why Seattle keys change hands so often

Seattle is a renters' city. By the Census Bureau's 2024 estimates, renters occupy 58.1 percent of its occupied homes, against 37.1 percent statewide. Each lease that ends, and each home that sells, can leave working copies of a key with people who no longer live there.

Even Wallingford, with its many 1920s bungalows, had about 60 percent of its housing units in apartments, condos and townhomes in a 2013 survey. A buyer of an older house there cannot know how many copies earlier owners, tenants or contractors made.

How rekeying works

Rekeying changes the pins inside the existing cylinder so old keys stop turning it. The deadbolt, knob or lever and the trim stay on the door, which suits hardware that still works when only the keys are the problem. A worn, damaged or ill-fitting lock is a case for lock replacement instead. Front, back and garage-entry locks can often be rekeyed to one key if they share a keyway.

What Washington law says about landlords and keys

• Keys and master keys. RCW 59.18.060(6) requires a landlord to provide reasonably adequate locks and furnish keys to the tenant, and RCW 59.18.060(7) requires reasonable care in safeguarding master and duplicate keys. Rekeying between tenancies is one way a landlord can limit how many old keys stay in circulation.
• Court orders between cotenants. Under RCW 59.18.585, a tenant whose court order grants possession to the exclusion of a cotenant may ask, at the tenant's expense, for a lock to be rekeyed or replaced. Once the landlord has a copy of the order, the landlord must comply and may not give new keys to the excluded tenant.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What to put in a rekey request

1. How many cylinders need new keys: front, back, side, garage-entry and any others.
2. Whether you rent, own a house or own a condo. In a condo or apartment building, say so, since shared entries are handled by management.
3. A lease, deed or closing papers showing the address.
4. For a court-ordered rekey, confirmation that the landlord has the order.

After a break-in, see emergency locksmith.