Lock Rekeying in Green Bay, WI

Why rekeying comes up in Green Bay

Rekeying resets the pins inside a lock cylinder so old keys stop working, while the lock body, handle and trim stay on the door. It matters most where keys change hands, and Census Bureau estimates put 37.5 percent of occupied Green Bay homes as rented, against about 32 percent across Wisconsin. Every sale, move-out and new lease leaves copies of keys that may go unaccounted for.

• New owners. Former owners, relatives, cleaners and contractors may still hold keys. Rekeying after closing gives you a set you know.
• Landlords between leases. Collect the keys listed on the move-in record, then rekey before the next tenant arrives, including any shared street, basement or laundry doors.
• Entries on several sides of a house. These can usually share one key when their cylinders have the same keyway. Where one does not, replacing that cylinder may be simpler.

Wisconsin rules on tenants' locks

• Wis. Stat. 704.16(4): a residential tenant who supplies a copy of a qualifying document, such as an injunction or a no-contact condition of release, can ask the landlord to change the locks. The landlord has 48 hours after the request to do it or to allow the tenant to, and the tenant pays.
• Wis. Stat. 704.16(4)(c): where the person named in the document also rents that unit, the landlord's duty applies only if the document is an injunction directing that person to avoid the requesting tenant's residence or a no-contact condition of release.
• Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(7): a landlord may not exclude a tenant except through an eviction under chapter 799, and the state's Landlord-Tenant Guide says changing the locks could count as constructive eviction. Rekeying is never a way to remove an occupant.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What to include in a request

1. The doors involved: front, side, basement, garage or a shared entry
2. Whether you want them all on one key
3. Whether you own the home or manage it as a rental, and whether anyone lives there now
4. Your neighborhood association, such as Olde Preble or Fort Howard, or the nearest cross streets

More on lock rekeying service, lock replacement for cylinders that cannot be rekeyed, and the Green Bay page.