Am I required to rekey locks on rental if I lose a key?

[fomegor]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? California


I realized I lost the spare key to a house I rent out. So I asked one of my tenants to borrow one of their keys so I could make a copy (I made a few copies this time).

When I went to return their key her husband was there and is now insisting that I need to pay to change the locks on the whole house because whoever found the lost key could use it to break in now.

I am certain the key is just hidden somewhere in our house. However if it did somehow make its way out of the house the key doesn’t have anything attached to it that would identify the address. Furthermore we live over an hour away from the rental. So I find it completely unrealistic that someone who found the key would know what house it goes to.

Still I would like to know what my legal obligation is. If I legally have to I will, but I’d rather not waste the money if I don’t have to.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? California


I realized I lost the spare key to a house I rent out. So I asked one of my tenants to borrow one of their keys so I could make a copy (I made a few copies this time).

When I went to return their key her husband was there and is now insisting that I need to pay to change the locks on the whole house because whoever found the lost key could use it to break in now.

I am certain the key is just hidden somewhere in our house. However if it did somehow make its way out of the house the key doesn’t have anything attached to it that would identify the address. Furthermore we live over an hour away from the rental. So I find it completely unrealistic that someone who found the key would know what house it goes to.

Still I would like to know what my legal obligation is. If I legally have to I will, but I’d rather not waste the money if I don’t have to.

You should get a new lock and new keys. I think your tenant has made a legitimate request.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? California
Still I would like to know what my legal obligation is. If I legally have to I will, but I’d rather not waste the money if I don’t have to.

You won't find a statute that says you must replace the locks. But given the relatively low cost and the risk, small though it may be, that the key might be found and used by the finder to commit crimes at rental, I think it is in your interest to do it. You might want to ask the insurance company that insures the rental about it. It may be the case that should someone use that lost key and cause damage to the place or other loss the insurance company won't pay the claim because you didn't take the reasonable step of replacing the locks to prevent that from occurring. It's also good thing to do simply as a matter of good relations with your tenant. This is, after all, a problem of your own making. It's not the tenant's fault the key got lost. As a landlord, you've got to be prepared to pay for these kinds of things as they'll happen from time to time. Don't be pennywise and dollar foolish on this.

 

[adjusterjack]

I’d rather not waste the money if I don’t have to.

$20 per door and a screwdriver and you've bought yourself some goodwill.

Premier Lock Stainless Steel Entry Door Knob Combo Lock Set with Deadbolt and 6 Keys ED03 - The Home Depot

Keep more than one spare key from now on.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? California


I realized I lost the spare key to a house I rent out. So I asked one of my tenants to borrow one of their keys so I could make a copy (I made a few copies this time).

When I went to return their key her husband was there and is now insisting that I need to pay to change the locks on the whole house because whoever found the lost key could use it to break in now.

I am certain the key is just hidden somewhere in our house. However if it did somehow make its way out of the house the key doesn’t have anything attached to it that would identify the address. Furthermore we live over an hour away from the rental. So I find it completely unrealistic that someone who found the key would know what house it goes to.

Still I would like to know what my legal obligation is. If I legally have to I will, but I’d rather not waste the money if I don’t have to.

It kind of depends on your definition of "have to". I would definitely consider this a "have to". I wouldn't even question whether or not I was legally obligated to do so. My tenant wouldn't have had to ask.

 

[quincy]

The legal requirement for landlords in California is to provide their tenants with a safe and secure rental. I think most tenants would be able to argue successfully that a lost key to the rental jeopardizes the safety and security of the tenant.

 

[zddoodah]

The bulk of California's landlord tenant laws are found in Chapter 2 of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code. If you do a text search for the word key, you'll see it comes up five time, all but one of which relate to a tenant who has obtained a protective order relating to a domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking situation, and the other has nothing to do with your situation.

 

[FarmerJ]

Change the locks your self , hardware stores and large chain stores do sell keyed alike sets , this way you can put the old locks with the keys in a drawer and save them for when the current tenant eventually moves out then you will have a set to rotate so a former tenant could not come back and let self in after they have vacated and you could honestly tell a prospective new tenant the locks have been changed . then once that new tenant becomes a former tenant you could switch them again to that newer set. Your current tenant will be more at ease with new locks and unless you really want to hire it out this is a job you could do your self.

 

[quincy]

A risk for a landlord in not changing the locks and keys, after a key has been lost, can come if there is any criminal incident (e.g., theft) reported at the rental. The landlord potentially could be held liable if he knew of the lost key and did nothing, this whether a lost key plays any role in an illegal entry. Replacing the locks and keys can be looked at as additional insurance for the landlord.