Changing locks at turnover protects your tenants and limits your liability. Here is how Chicago landlords rekey doors, handle master systems, and keep hardware working through brutal winters.
When a tenant moves out of your Rogers Park two-flat or Lakeview mid-rise, you have no reliable way of knowing how many copies of that key are floating around. Old roommates, ex-partners, dog walkers, and the hardware store down the street may all have cut duplicates over a two-year lease. Rekeying between every tenant closes that gap. It is the single cheapest security upgrade a landlord can make, and it protects the incoming tenant from anyone who held a key to the unit before them. Skipping it is a gamble that can turn into a break-in, an insurance dispute, or a liability claim that costs far more than a lock service ever would. Treat rekeying as a fixed line item in your turnover budget, not an optional extra you get to when you remember.
Rekeying and replacing are not the same job, and confusing them wastes money. Rekeying keeps your existing lock hardware and simply resets the internal pins so old keys no longer work and a new key does. It is fast, inexpensive, and perfect for hardware that is still solid, which describes most locks in Lincoln Park greystones and Logan Square frame buildings. Replacement makes sense when the lock is worn, corroded, mismatched, or when you want to standardize hardware across a building. If a deadbolt sticks, wobbles in the door, or shows rust from years of Chicago winters, replace it rather than rekey a failing mechanism. A good rule: rekey when the lock works but the key history is unknown, and replace when the lock itself is the problem.
Illinois does not spell out a statewide rekeying mandate, but landlord duties still point clearly toward changing locks between tenants. Under Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO), owners must keep units in compliance with the municipal code, which includes providing working locks on doors and windows. Courts and insurers increasingly view a fresh lock at turnover as part of reasonable care. If a previous tenant retains a key and a new tenant is harmed or burglarized, a landlord who never rekeyed is exposed. Document each rekey with a date and unit number in your turnover records. That paper trail protects you in Andersonville, Edgewater, or anywhere a dispute could land in front of a judge, and it signals professional management to prospective renters.
Contact Lena Services INC at 773-939-4284 or [email protected]