Just Moved House? Why Changing the Locks Is a Day-One Job

Short answer: When you buy a home you have no idea how many keys exist or who holds them: previous owners, relatives, cleaners, tradespeople, estate agents. Changing the locks, or at least the cylinders, on day one is the only way to know for certain that you control access. It is quick, affordable, and a good moment to upgrade security at the same time.

Moving day is chaos, and "change the locks" rarely makes the top of the list. But it should, because the day you get the keys is the one day you genuinely do not know who else can get in. If you are moving into a property in Bromsgrove and want the job done properly, a locksmith in Bromsgrove can usually come out the same day, work around the removal van, and have every old key dead before you go to bed that night.

The keys you cannot account for

The previous owner hands over a set of keys, but those are just the ones they remembered. Over years of living there, keys get cut and handed out to:

• Family members, neighbours and friends holding a "spare"
• Cleaners, dog walkers and babysitters
• Tradespeople who were given a key for access
• Estate agents and previous tenants

None of those people are necessarily a threat, but you have no way to know how many keys are out there, and no way to get them all back. The only way to be certain is to change what the keys fit.

You usually do not need whole new locks

This is where people overspend. On most modern doors, the security is in the cylinder, the part the key turns, not the whole handle assembly or the door furniture. A locksmith can simply replace the cylinders, which is faster and cheaper than swapping complete locks, and instantly makes every old key useless.

Changing the cylinder is the moving-in equivalent of changing your passwords. Cheap, quick, and it draws a clean line under everyone who had access before you.

What the job actually looks like on the doorstep

People sometimes imagine a lengthy job involving drilling and carpentry. In practice, on a typical Bromsgrove semi or detached house, replacing the cylinders is a straightforward task. The locksmith removes two screws, withdraws the old cylinder, slides in the new one, and checks the lock operates smoothly. On a standard Euro cylinder door, that process takes a matter of minutes per door.

The part that takes the most time is not the fitting. It is the assessment. A good locksmith will check that the existing lock mechanism, the multi-point locking system on a uPVC door for example, is actually in good working order before fitting a new cylinder into it. There is no point fitting a high-security cylinder into a mechanism that has worn or a door that does not close squarely. If something is wrong, it is far better to find that out on moving day than on a cold night six months later when the door will not lock. If the mechanism does need attention, see the uPVC door lock repairs page for what that involves.

The other thing a locksmith will look at is the cylinder size. Many homes, particularly those built or fitted out in the 1990s and early 2000s, have cylinders that protrude further than they need to on the outside of the door. A cylinder that sticks out gives a thief something to grip and snap. Getting the size right when you fit the replacement is a simple precaution that costs nothing extra.

Do it once, do it right

Because you are changing the cylinders anyway, it costs little extra to upgrade to high-security anti-snap cylinders at the same time, rather than fitting like-for-like and paying again later. You can also have the new cylinders keyed alike, so one key opens the front and back doors, which is a small luxury that makes daily life easier.

What people commonly get wrong

The most frequent mistake is doing only the front door. The front door faces the street, gets used every day, and is the one door most people think about. But it is also the most overlooked by a would-be intruder for that exact reason. The back door, the side access gate with a lock, the garage door with a connecting door to the house: these are the entry points that see less footfall, less natural surveillance from neighbours, and are often fitted with the cheapest locks the builder could source.

The second mistake is assuming that because the property is new-build, the locks are already secure. New-build properties are often fitted with builder-grade cylinders that are functional but not high-security. Every key cut during construction, for site managers, subcontractors, the developer's sales team, belongs to a person you have never met. The same logic applies as with any resale property.

A third mistake is leaving it until something goes wrong. The window for acting is moving day itself, when you are already disrupting the household and have a locksmith coming anyway. Waiting until a key goes missing or an old tradesperson turns up unexpectedly means the problem has already arrived.

Which doors to prioritise

Do every external door, but start with the ones a stranger could try unseen: the back door, side gate door and any door not overlooked by the street. Burglars prefer the doors they can work on without an audience, which are often the ones owners think about last. For the full service, see lock changes.

Doctor Locks changes locks for new homeowners across the West Midlands, including Halesowen, Solihull and Bromsgrove, usually on the same day.

FAQ

Do I really need to change the locks when I move in?

It is strongly recommended. You cannot know how many keys exist or who holds them, and changing the cylinders is the only way to be certain you control access from day one.

Is it cheaper to change the cylinder or the whole lock?

On most modern doors, changing just the cylinder is cheaper and quicker than replacing the entire lock, and it achieves the same thing: every old key stops working.

Can one key work for all my doors?

Yes. We can supply keyed-alike cylinders so a single key operates your front and back doors, which is convenient without reducing security.

Does it matter what type of door I have?

The door type does affect which cylinder fits and how the job is done. uPVC doors, composite doors and wooden doors with a Euro cylinder are all straightforward replacements. Older wooden doors with a mortice lock use a different type of lock altogether, and a locksmith will advise on the right approach when they see the door. If there is any doubt, it is worth describing the door when you call ahead.

What if I am locked out on moving day before the locksmith arrives?

If you find yourself locked out at any point, the same locksmith who handles cylinder replacements can also deal with lockouts. See the emergency locksmith page for that service.

Related guides and pages

• Lock Changes
• Lock changes in Halesowen
• Anti-snap lock upgrades
• uPVC door lock repairs