Locking up an area ensures its safety from external access or access by an unauthorized person. This is the reason why all of us keep our homes, offices, vehicles, stores locked. However, if you use keyed locks like padlocks, it is imperative to keep the keys safe. If your key is used by or is accessible to multiple people, it can cause a threat to the safety of your home, store or vehicle. In such scenario, it is advisable that you re-key locks regularly in order to reduce the risk.
When should you re-key locks?
Tenants in your home If you are the owner of a house and you lease it out regularly to tenants, re-keying regularly is a good initiative. A new tenant might shift to your home, while the keys will also be available with the previous tenant. Therefore, every time you change the tenant, it is a good practice that you re-key locks as well.
Live with friends Most of us share a flat or house and live with a couple of friends. Due to multiple reasons, one or more people might shift to a different home or an entirely new location and new people might move in. In this scenario as well, re-keying is advisable.
Losing your key If you lose the key to the lock, replacing the lock entirely or getting the previous lock re-keyed is crucial. It is not advisable to just keep using the spare key. The lost key might be used by someone to get easy access to your home.
New staff at store If you are the owner of a store and the staff also keeps the spare keys, it is always wise to get the locks re-keyed. If you also re-key locks to important cabinets and drawers, it provides an added security to the store.
Moving to a new house When you move to a new house, you get a lot of work done before you shift like furnishing and lighting. However, replacing or re-keying the locks is not given as much importance. However, in terms of security, it is the first activity that must be carried out when you move to a new home.
