Moving house involves a long list of things to organise, and changing the locks rarely makes it onto the list. Most people assume that because they've been handed the keys by the previous owner or their solicitor, those keys represent the full set. In practice, there's almost never any way of knowing that for certain — and that uncertainty is exactly why changing the locks when you move in is one of the most straightforward security decisions you can make.
Who Else Might Have a Key to Your New Home?
By the time you collect the keys to a new property, those keys have often been in circulation for years. Consider everyone who might have had a copy made at some point:
- Previous owners or tenants
- Previous owners' family members
- Builders, decorators, or tradespeople who worked on the property
- Cleaning services or domestic staff
- Estate agents who held keys during the sale
- Neighbours who were given a spare
Most people are entirely trustworthy. But you don't know who has had access, and you have no reliable way of finding out. Changing the locks is simply the cleanest way to start fresh with total confidence that you control access to your home.
Does It Matter If the Locks Seem New?
New-looking locks don't mean new locks. A lock can be polished, deep-cleaned, or fitted with a fresh handle while the cylinder inside — the part that determines who can open the door — is unchanged. There's also no guarantee that whoever fitted new-looking hardware didn't keep a key beforehand.
The only way to be certain that a lock hasn't been keyed to an unknown copy is to replace the cylinder yourself.
What Should You Change?
You don't necessarily need to replace everything. In most cases, the cylinder is all that needs changing — the cylinder is the oval barrel that sits in the face of the lock and is specific to the key. Replacing the cylinder is quick, clean, and relatively inexpensive. The lock body, the handle, and the door furniture can all stay.
For a uPVC or composite door with a euro cylinder lock, a cylinder change is a 30 to 45 minute job. For a timber door with a mortice lock, the lock body itself needs replacing, which takes a little longer.
Work through each external door methodically:
- Front door
- Back door
- Side door or utility room door
- Any door connecting a garage to the main house
- Garden gates with key locks, if they provide access to the rear of the property
Is It Also a Good Chance to Upgrade Security?
Moving in is an ideal moment to assess whether your new home's locks meet current security standards — and your home insurer's requirements. Many properties, particularly those that have been rented or haven't been updated in several years, still have basic cylinders that offer limited resistance to common attack methods like lock snapping.
Upgrading to a BSI 3 Star TS007 anti-snap cylinder at the same time as your move-in lock change costs very little extra and significantly improves the security of the door. It also means you're more likely to meet your home insurer's lock requirements from day one, rather than discovering a policy condition isn't being met when you make a claim.
Worth checking: When you take out home insurance on a new property, your policy documents will specify what types of locks are required on external doors. If your new home's locks don't meet those requirements, your cover may be affected. Sorting the locks on move-in day is the simplest way to ensure you're fully covered from the start.
What About If You're Moving Into a Rental?
Tenants in rented properties have less control over this, but it's still worth raising with your landlord when you move in. Ask whether the locks were changed between tenancies. Most good landlords change or re-cylinder the locks as a matter of course — but not all do, and there's no legal requirement to do so.
If your landlord confirms the locks weren't changed before your tenancy, you can request that they arrange it. From a security standpoint, it's entirely reasonable — and most landlords who take property management seriously will agree without question.
How Much Does It Cost to Change Locks When Moving House?
For a typical house with a uPVC front and back door, changing the euro cylinders on both typically costs in the region of £100 to £160 including labour and parts, depending on whether you opt for standard or high-security cylinders. If you're also changing a mortice lock on a timber door, add roughly another £90 to £150 for that job.
It's one of the smaller costs associated with moving, and it only needs doing once. Most people who have it done describe it as an immediate sense of relief — knowing that your home is yours and yours alone.
Changing Locks in Stourbridge on Move-In Day
If you're moving into a property in Stourbridge or the surrounding area and want the locks changed on or around move-in day, call or WhatsApp on 07961 169 681. We carry standard and high-security cylinders as stock, so in most cases it can be done in a single visit. No call-out fee, and pricing confirmed before we start.