A city of leases and spare keys

Census Bureau survey figures for 2024 count 56.1 percent of Madison's occupied homes as rented, against about 32 percent across Wisconsin. With that many leases starting and ending, keys scatter: a roommate's copy, a spare left with a friend, a set a former tenant never returned.

Rekeying deals with that without new hardware. The pins inside each cylinder are changed so the old keys no longer turn it and a new key does, while the deadbolt, knob and strike plate stay on the door. If a lock is loose, worn or damaged, lock replacement may make more sense.

New owners in University Hill Farms

A buyer inherits every key the previous owners handed out. Rekeying the exterior locks after closing puts those copies out of use.

University Hill Farms, on the west side, was built from the 1950s on a former University of Wisconsin experimental farm. Of its 820 buildings, 613 are ranch style, and deed restrictions on most lots called for attached garages. That makes the garage entry one more door on the key ring, and the easiest to forget while its key and opener get lent around. Rekeying it along with the front and back doors puts every door on one key.

Landlords and timing

Under Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.09(7), a landlord may not exclude a tenant, or evict one forcibly or constructively, except through an eviction procedure under chapter 799. The state's Landlord-Tenant Guide notes that constructive eviction could include changing the locks, so a landlord who wants a unit rekeyed during a tenancy should read that guidance first. Rekeying between leases, while a unit is empty, avoids the question. A tenant who wants new locks should ask the landlord in writing. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to include

the address, and whether it is a house, a divided house or an apartment
which locks: front, back, patio, garage entry or unit door
whether you want them all on one key, and how many new keys
if you rent, whether the landlord has agreed

The lock rekeying page explains the service, and the Madison page has more local notes.

At the door

What lock rekeying covers

Changing the pins inside your existing locks so old keys stop working, without replacing the hardware.

An inspection of each lock to confirm it can be rekeyed
Re-pinning each cylinder to work with a new key
New keys cut for the rekeyed locks

ID and proof you may access the property are checked before any work.

Lock Rekeying in Wisconsin

Sources

Public records and references this page draws on. They are outside USA Locksmith Pros and open in a new tab.

Lock Rekeying in Madison, WI