Moving Into a New Home? Rekey or Change the Locks First

Rekey or change the locks on the day you get keys, before you move a single box in. You have no way of knowing how many copies of the old keys are floating around, the previous owner, their kids, a real estate agent, a cleaner, a tradie who did the renovations, so treat every lock on the house as compromised until it has been rekeyed or replaced.

Why this is a day-one job, not a someday job

Every settlement or lease handover comes with an unknown number of keys already out there. Sellers rarely hand over every copy, because most people genuinely forget how many were cut over the years, a spare for the dog walker, one left with a neighbour, one the previous tenant never returned. None of that means anyone has bad intent. It just means you are moving into a house where you cannot account for who can already let themselves in.

In the jobs the network sees, new owners usually call for one of two reasons: either they think about it straight away and get it sorted before moving day, or something happens weeks later, a missing item, an agent who still seems to know the property, and they call a locksmith in a panic. The first group pays a small, predictable amount. The second group pays the same amount plus the cost of a stressful week wondering who has access.

Rekey or replace: what is actually the difference

Rekeying changes the internal pins in your existing lock hardware so old keys stop working, without swapping the lock itself. Replacing means new hardware entirely. For a new-home move-in, rekeying is almost always the right call, because the locks themselves are usually fine, it is only the keys in circulation that are the problem.

• Rekey when: the locks are in good working order and you just need old keys locked out. This covers most settlements.
• Replace when: the locks are old, damaged, mismatched across doors, or do not meet current standards (older deadbolts, single cylinder locks facing glass panels, or anything visibly worn).
• Do both when: the front door is fine but the back door or garage has a tired lock that should be upgraded anyway.

Not sure which applies to your place? Run your situation through the rekey vs replace calculator for a straight answer before you call anyone.

Who realistically still has a key

It helps to think through the actual list rather than a vague worry. On a typical Adelaide sale or lease change, the pool of people who may hold a working key includes:

• The previous owner or tenant, and anyone they lived with.
• The selling agent, and possibly a property manager if it was rented.
• Tradespeople who worked on the house, electricians, painters, pool cleaners, who were given a key for access and never returned it.
• Neighbours or family who were holding a spare for emergencies.
• Anyone who copied a key off any of the above without the owner knowing, which nobody can rule out.

You do not need to suspect any one of these people specifically. The point is the number is unknowable, and a rekey is the only way to reset it to zero.

What it costs to rekey a new home in Adelaide

Rekeying is priced per lock barrel plus a callout, and a standard 3-bedroom home with a front door, back door and maybe a side gate lock usually lands in the lower half of the range below. Full lock replacement costs more because you are paying for new hardware, not just new pins.

These are typical Adelaide ranges, and your quote may differ depending on the number of doors, the lock brand, and whether anything needs to be upgraded rather than just rekeyed. Most move-in jobs are done inside an hour once the locksmith is on site, because it is straightforward, predictable work.

What else to check while the locksmith is there

Since you are already paying a callout, it is worth getting a second set of eyes on the rest of the property's security while the locksmith is on site, rather than booking a separate visit later.

• Window locks and sliding door locks, which are often overlooked entirely.
• Garage and shed doors, especially if there is a side gate with its own lock.
• Whether the front door meets a reasonable security standard, covered in the best door locks for an Adelaide home.
• Any keypad or smart lock left behind, which should have its code or app access reset immediately.

If you are weighing up rekeying now versus a fuller lock replacement down the track, the rekey vs replace cost breakdown walks through the trade-offs in more detail.

Get it sorted before moving day

The cheapest and lowest-stress version of this job happens before your furniture arrives, while the house is still empty and every door is easy to get to. Our rekeying and lock changes page explains how we connect you with a vetted Adelaide locksmith who can usually get to a settlement or lease handover within the day.