Between tenants, treat the outgoing tenant's key access as unknown, even if the keys you handed out came back, because copies are easy to make and you cannot count them from the outside. Decide each lock on purpose. Keep it only when every key is accounted for. Rekey it when the hardware is sound but access is uncertain. Replace it when the lock or door hardware is worn or damaged.
Turnover is about who still holds a working key
A lock that turns smoothly tells you nothing about how many keys exist for it. Keys get copied and lent out, and a tenant can hand back the original set while copies stay elsewhere. At turnover, assume access to the unit is unknown until you can show otherwise.
Rekeying sits between keeping and replacing. It changes the pins inside the cylinder, the part the key slides into, so old keys stop turning it while the lock stays on the door. That makes rekeying the usual fit when the hardware is sound and only the keys are in doubt. The mistake is letting the decision happen by default because the door seems fine.
What to confirm before choosing
Walk the empty unit before anyone touches a lock. For each item below, mark whether you can confirm it or whether it is a gap.
- Doors: the main entry, any back, side, or balcony door with a lock, and any shared entry the tenant's key or fob opens. Confirmed once you have walked and listed them.
- Keys issued and keys returned, counted door by door. A gap if you never recorded how many were handed out.
- Keyed-alike locks, meaning one key opens more than one door, including doors in other units. A gap if you are unsure, because one missing key then opens several doors.
- Codes and credentials: keypad codes, smart lock app users, intercom entries, fobs or cards. A gap if you cannot see the full user list.
- Condition: the key turns without force, the deadbolt slides fully into the frame, and the latch catches without lifting or pushing the door. A gap if any lock sticks.
Anything left in the gap column counts as uncertain access, and uncertain access points toward rekeying or replacing.
Put the work in the right order
Door hardware comes first. If a deadbolt drags because the bolt rubs the strike plate, the metal plate on the frame it slides into, a rekeyed cylinder will drag just the same. Fixing a sagging door, a loose strike, or a worn latch before choosing the lock action keeps you from rekeying a lock you end up replacing.
Next, decide keep, rekey, or replace for each lock using your inventory. Locks keyed alike should be decided together, since changing one and not the other leaves a mismatch.
Extra keys come last. Copies cut before a rekey match the old pin arrangement and stop working once the cylinder changes. Wait until the lock action is settled, then cut the keys you plan to hand over and the ones you keep.
Finish all of it while the unit is empty. You can test each door with no one living there, and the new tenant's first key is the one that works.
How the plan shifts with the unit
Keys that never came back
Any lock with an unreturned key has unknown access, so rekey or replace it before move-in. If that key also opened other doors keyed alike or a shared entry, those doors need the same decision, and the shortfall belongs in your record.
Smart locks and keypads
A keypad code works like a key. Delete every old code and remove the previous tenant from any app or account tied to the lock. If the lock also has a backup key cylinder, those keys belong in the count.
Building intercom and access credentials
Fobs, cards, and intercom entries live in the building's access system, not in the unit's lock. Changing the door cylinder does nothing about an old fob, so deactivating the outgoing tenant's credentials is a separate step.
Several units managed together
Keep a separate record for each unit even when the work happens in one round. Before deciding anything, know which units share keying, because a shared key turns one lost key into a problem for several doors.
What the new tenant gets, and what stays in your file
A short handover record, filled out the same way at each turnover, answers most key questions before they come up. Keep the full record and give the tenant the parts that apply to them.
- Date, unit, and the action on each lock: kept, rekeyed, replaced, or hardware repaired.
- Keys cut for each lock, how many went to the tenant, and how many you hold.
- New codes or credentials issued, with a note that old ones were removed.
- Your house rule on whether the tenant may copy keys or add a lock, and who to ask first.
- The tenant's sign-off on what they received.
At the next move-out, the same sheet tells you how many keys to collect. For help with the lock work itself, such as rekeying, door hardware repair, or cutting the new set, you can call Long Island City Locksmith at (917) 500-5130.
Frequently asked questions
Should the outgoing tenant be allowed to change or add locks before leaving?
A lock an outgoing tenant installs comes with keys you never counted, so it is simpler to set a house rule that tenants not change or add locks without your agreement. If one appears at turnover, treat it as unknown access: rekey or replace it, or remove it and repair the door where it was mounted.
Is it better to rekey one unit's locks to a common key or keep each unit on its own key?
Keeping each rental unit on its own key limits a lost or copied key to that unit. A common key across units is easier to carry, but one stray key then opens every door on it. A master key arrangement, where each unit has its own key and a separate key opens all of them, sits between the two.