Not rekeying between tenants is a bigger risk than people think

[John Walbridge]

Talked to someone recently who skipped rekeying between tenants to save some money and a phone call to a locksmith. I think its worth walking through why that's a worse trade than it looks.

Florida doesn't have a statute that says you must rekey between every tenant. But skipping it creates a real liability gap most self-managers don't think about until something happens. Every previous tenant, every maintenance person they let in, every friend or ex-partner who ever had a key, still has access to your property after they're gone. Landlords have a general legal duty to take reasonable steps to keep tenants safe, and an un-rekeyed lock after a known change in occupants is exactly the kind of thing that undermines that defense if something goes wrong later.

The math doesn't really make sense to skip it. A basic rekey typically runs $75-250 depending on the number of doors and whether you hire a locksmith or do it yourself with a rekey kit. Compare that to what you're exposed to if a former occupant lets themselves in and something goes wrong.

The other thing people miss: rekeying isn't just the front door. Back doors, garage entry, sometimes a mailbox lock, any access point that had a key in someone else's hands before.

Anyone here skip this on a property and regret it, or is this just standard practice for everyone by now?

[Richard F.]

It is foolish to NOT rekey all entry locks as soon as the tenant is out, for multiple reasons. For $100 you can buy a Kwikset pin kit to rekey your handsets and deadbolts yourself. 5 minutes of work per cylinder to rekey so all entry locks require only one key (vs. multiple keys per door!), AND you can easily "Master" pin them as well, which gives you access to all (or a group, or a single MF building) properties with one key, while the tenants each have uniquely keyed units for their own access and security. 

Learning to rekey multiple lock brands is a little more effort, but there are kits for pinning multiple common brands as well. Some are easier, some are a little tricky to accomplish, but still a huge savings vs. what a locksmith charges for every cylinder. Just don't drop your open pin box!