Quick answer:
- Hand back every copy, including ones you had cut yourself.
- Get the handover in writing, even a text message.
- A lost key is usually cheaper to resolve before move-out than after.
Count the Copies, Not the Keys
Most leases say to return the keys. What they mean is to return all of them, and this is where people get caught out honestly rather than dishonestly. Over a two-year tenancy a household quietly accumulates copies: one cut for a partner, one for a roommate who moved out last year, one on the spare set in a kitchen drawer, one that went to a dog walker.
Walk through the list before the final inspection. If you cannot account for a copy, say so rather than hoping nobody counts, because the alternative is a rekey charge appearing on your deposit statement with no conversation attached.
Get the Handover in Writing
This is the single most useful thing in this article. When you hand the keys over, get an acknowledgement: a signed line on the move-out form, an email, or even a text saying how many keys were received and when.
Why it matters: key disputes are almost always disputes about whether a handover happened, not about the cost of a cylinder. A one-line text with a date settles it.
Photograph the keys on the counter next to the form if you want to be thorough. It takes ten seconds and it has saved people a deposit deduction.
Do Not Cut a Replacement and Say Nothing
If you have lost a key, it is tempting to have a copy cut from a remaining one and hand back the right number of keys. Resist that. It gives the landlord an inaccurate picture of who can still get into the property, and the person most harmed by that is the tenant moving in after you.
Tell the landlord instead. A lost key means the lock genuinely should be rekeyed, and saying so early usually costs less than having it discovered later.
Who Pays for the Rekey?
The honest answer is that it depends on your lease and the circumstances, and we are locksmiths rather than attorneys, so read your agreement. What we can tell you is how it usually breaks down in practice:
- Routine turnover rekey. Generally treated as a landlord cost, as a normal cost of letting the property. Many Albuquerque landlords rekey between every tenancy as policy.
- You lost a key. Commonly charged to the tenant, and often specified in the lease.
- You changed the locks yourself. Frequently a lease violation, and usually charged back. If you have done this, restoring the original hardware before move-out is the cheaper path.
- Damaged lock or snapped key in the cylinder. Depends on whether it is wear or misuse.
If you are on the landlord side of this, the tenant turnover rekeying guide covers how to handle it efficiently across several units.
If You Changed the Locks
People do this for real reasons, usually after a break-up or a security worry, and most leases do not allow it without permission. The clean fix is to put the original cylinders back before the final inspection and hand over the original keys.
We can reinstall original hardware or rekey a lock back to a landlord key as part of normal residential work. If the original hardware is long gone, tell the landlord before the inspection rather than letting them find it. Call (505) 818-0720.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my landlord charge me for a rekey when I move out?
It depends on your lease and the circumstances. A routine turnover rekey is commonly treated as a landlord cost, while a lost key is commonly charged to the tenant. Read your agreement, since we can describe the usual practice but not your contract.
I lost a key. Should I just have another cut?
No. Handing back the right number of keys while one is genuinely missing misleads your landlord and the next tenant. Tell them, and expect the lock to be rekeyed.
I changed the locks myself. What now?
Reinstalling the original hardware before the final inspection is usually the cheapest outcome. We can reinstall or rekey hardware back to the landlord key. If the originals are gone, raise it before the inspection.
Can you rekey a rental for me as the tenant?
We verify authorization before working on any property, which for a rental generally means the owner or property manager requesting the work. If you are a tenant with a security concern, start with your landlord or manager.
Need a locksmith in Albuquerque? Call Just In Time Locksmith at (505) 818-0720 for fast, local, upfront-priced service, or request service online. 24/7 across the metro.