Moving home? Should you change your locks?

Should you get the locks changed as soon as you move in?

I believe it was the Walker Brothers who sang “Breaking up is so very hard to do.” And whilst I wouldn’t want to diminish their point (made in the classic song Make it Easy On Yourself) an alternative lyric could well have been “Moving house is so very hard to do..” Admittedly it might not have had such a wide appeal on the radio stations of the 1960s, but we could have all nodded along in agreement because moving house IS so very hard to do.

Whether you’re a renter or a buyer, changing accommodation is widely accepted as being one of the most stressful things you can do in your lifetime. Even more stressful than bungee jumping or throwing yourself out of an aeroplane. I’m presuming the latter means with the aid of a parachute, as without that I’d guess the stress levels may rise high enough to threaten those felt by the prospect of calling in the removal vans.

Get yourself organised

There’s just so much to organise when it comes to moving. As well as the estate agents (and their not inconsiderable fees), there’s the solicitors, potentially a mortgage advisor or two, the removals company, as well as sorting out all the utilities – gas, electric, phone, internet, water and not forgetting the post and making sure anyone who might potentially send you a letter has been informed of your change of address. Is it any wonder that amongst all this hassle, that you may let the issue of your new home’s security slip your mind? This would be a mistake though, as ensuring your new home is secure should be one of your highest priorities. Chief amongst the security considerations is the question of whether you should get the locks changed as soon as you move in.

Think about how many copies of keys you have for your own house. A set for each person in the house, perhaps a spare set, another set for the back or side doors? They soon add up. This brings up the uncomfortable question of whether we know on moving to a new home whether all the existing keys to that property have been handed over to us.  From a legal point of view, owners are required to hand over all sets of keys when the contracts are signed but we know this doesn’t always happen, either through accident or design. As such, we can never truly know that other people don’t have a copy of our keys. It may be inadvertent and pose no danger, but conversely, they may be in the hands of someone planning on using them for nefarious means.

I know from experience that many burglaries take place without the need for any actual “breaking and entering.” Someone with a set of keys can bypass the “breaking” portion altogether and concentrate purely on the “entering”.

As burglaries go, it’s one of the easiest – just wait until the property is empty, let yourself in with the keys, and help yourself. Okay there might be an alarm set, but you’ll likely either have the key to this, or know the code anyway given most people don’t change them either. As we can see, the security risk on moving in to a new house is significant.

Make improvements to your home security

So that’s the negative stuff – now what can we do about it? You won’t be surprised to hear that I would always urge you to have the locks changed as a matter of priority as soon as you move in to a new property.  If you’re buying  then it’s fairly straightforward to arrange for new locks to be fitted. However, if you’re renting, this is a conversation you will need to have with your new landlord. You are perfectly entitled to ask the owner to change the locks between tenants. Use this as a negotiation point on agreeing terms – there could be a double reason to get them changed if the existing locks are old and no longer meet insurance requirements.

Don’t forget to inspect your property and take into account all the entry points. The front door will likely not be the only way into your building, so don’t forget about keys to any other doors, whether they be garage, utility or conservatory. Any door that has access from the outside into the house, and where a key may still be in possession of a previous owner or renter is a concern.

When you’ve decided to get new locks fitted, there may be the temptation to try and fit them yourselves. You’re perfectly welcome to do this, but I have been called out on many occasions to people who have tried to do this themselves, ended up causing terminal damage to the mechanisms, and ended up paying out more than they would had they just called me out in the first place to replace the locks. Do you really want this stress in your first few days of living in your new house too?  To a professional locksmith, fitting new locks is their bread and butter, and any work should be done efficiently, and also, importantly, will be guaranteed. Trying to fit your own locks often ends up being a false economy and adding to the stresses involved in getting everything sorted in your new property.