ATL: What's the best way to keep from rekeying endlessly when you have renters?
Ask The Locksmith Question:What's the best way to keep from rekeying endlessly when you have renters or boarders who sometimes don't stay very long. I think it would be best if she changed the three locks (side garage door, garage door entry, and back door entry) with the same key and have a differrnt key for the the 4th door which is the front entrance so that way, she can always get the front door locks changed instead of having all four changed everytime there is a new border living in the house. Please let me know your thoughts and what some of our options are.
Hi there...
Anytime an actual entry is involved, we suggest rekeying any entrance to the house if keys will be given out to all of them. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you meant, but if there are 4 doors, all of which lead into the house one way or the other, then changing only one of them will make no difference in the security of the residence with each successive renter... If someone leaves on bad terms, or even if they don't, you still don't want them, or any of their friends who may have a copy of the key having access to the garage, or the side door, or the back door. Why change the front door if the rest are staying the same? Do you see what I mean? If you plan on only ever giving out one key, then the front door for future rekeys would be fine, if a little unwieldy. :)
The best possible option for your situation as I understand it (frequent boarders/frequent rekeys, etc.) is a push button lock type like a Powerbolt (see picture below). A Powerbolt can be keyed to match the rest of the house, but you never need to give a boarder a key, only the combination to the Powerbolt. When they move out, you change the combination. You do not need a locksmith to do this. :) PowerBolts can cost upwards of $170, but saving the $45+ service call and the $13.50 per keyway rekey charge for each door each time a boarder leaves would be a larger savings over a short time.
Hope that gives you a couple of options...
Cheers!
Kim
We're not your normal locksmith company™... :)
