Tenant Moved Out: Should a Landlord Rekey Between Tenants?

Yes, a landlord should rekey (or at minimum re-lock) every rental property between tenancies. It is one of the cheapest risk-reduction jobs in property management, and it closes a gap that a bond inspection and a key count can never fully close: you cannot prove every copy of the old key came back.

Why "the tenant handed back the keys" is not proof

Property managers rely on the exit checklist: count the keys out, count the keys back in, match the number. That process tells you how many keys exist today. It tells you nothing about how many existed at any point during the tenancy. A tenant, a partner, a tradesperson, or a housemate can get a copy cut at any hardware store or key cutting kiosk in Adelaide for under $10, with no record kept anywhere. If that happened, the front door lock has more valid keys in circulation than anyone on the file knows about, and it stays that way until someone changes the lock.

In the rekey jobs we see connected through this site, the pattern is consistent: it is never the tenant on the lease you are worried about, it is the unknown. A previous share-housemate who left mid-lease. An ex-partner who still has a key from when they lived there. A tradesperson who was given a key for a repair 2 tenancies ago and never returned it. None of that shows up on an exit checklist.

Duty of care under South Australian tenancy law

This is general information, not legal advice, and every situation should be checked against the current Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) and, where relevant, your own insurer or a property lawyer. Broadly, SA law requires a rental property to be reasonably secure and fit for habitation, and a landlord who knowingly leaves a lock in a state where former occupants or unknown third parties can let themselves in is taking on avoidable risk, both to the incoming tenant's safety and to the landlord's own liability if something goes wrong. Rekeying between tenancies is a low-cost way to demonstrate that reasonable care was taken on security, and it is standard practice among property managers who have been through an incident once and never want to explain "we assumed the keys were all back" again.

Rekey or replace the lock: what actually changes between tenancies

Rekeying means a locksmith opens the existing lock cylinder and swaps the internal pins so old keys no longer work, then cuts new keys to match. The hardware on the door stays the same, so it is fast and low cost. Replacing means the whole lock body or handle set is removed and a new one installed, which makes sense when the existing lock is old, damaged, doesn't match the other doors, or the landlord is upgrading to a better security grade or matching a master key system across a multi-property portfolio.

For the standard "tenant moved out, new tenant moving in" scenario, rekeying is the right call in the large majority of cases. The lock still functions correctly, it just needs the key control reset. Replacement becomes the better option when the lock is more than 10 to 15 years old, shows visible wear, uses an outdated key profile that is easy to copy anywhere, or when a tenant reports the key sticking or the deadbolt not throwing smoothly, which usually means worn internals rather than a security problem, but is worth fixing while a locksmith is already on site. If you are still deciding, this breakdown of what rekeying actually involves covers the mechanics in more detail.

Cost and timing between leases

Rekeying is priced per lock cylinder (per barrel), plus a callout. For a typical 3-bedroom rental with a front door, back door and maybe a sliding door lock, most Adelaide jobs land in the ranges below, though your exact quote depends on the number of doors, lock brand and whether a master key system needs to be maintained across the barrel.

The job itself is quick, usually well under an hour for a standard 2 to 3 door house once the locksmith is on site, which makes it easy to schedule in the gap between a tenant vacating and a new tenant's key handover, alongside the exit clean and condition report. Not sure which way to go for your situation? The rekey vs replace calculator walks through your specific locks and gives a straight answer before you book anyone.

Building it into the turnover process

The landlords and property managers who never have a key-related incident treat rekeying as a standard line item on every turnover, not a reaction to something going wrong. A few practical habits worth adopting:

• Rekey on every change of tenant, not just when keys are missing. Consistency is what makes it defensible if it is ever questioned.
• Book it before the new tenant collects keys, so the new key set is only ever handed to one household.
• Keep the record, a dated invoice from a licensed locksmith showing the rekey, filed with the property's maintenance history.
• Rekey after any mid-lease key loss too, not just at turnover, if a tenant reports keys stolen or lost during their lease.

For a portfolio of properties, the maths gets even more favourable: rekeying is inexpensive enough per property that skipping it to save $60 or $70 is a poor trade against the cost, time and reputational damage of a security incident traced back to an old key. Full cost detail for a standalone house is in what it costs to rekey a house in Adelaide.

Get the turnover rekey sorted before handover

Send through the property address and the number of doors and a vetted Adelaide locksmith will confirm timing and an exact price, so the new tenant gets a key set that has only ever belonged to them. This connects through the rekeying and lock changes service.