Lost your house keys? How to tell if the locks need changing

Could the keys lead someone back to your home?

A bare key tells a stranger nothing. A key with a clue attached is a different story. Look for any of these:

• A tag or label with your name, street or unit number.
• A building fob or mailbox key, which in an apartment or condo often narrows things to one address.
• ID or mail in the same wallet, backpack or bag.
• A garage remote. Press it on enough streets and a door eventually opens.
• A car key or fob. The car is usually parked at home, and the paperwork in the glovebox has the address.
• Where you lost them. On your own street, at your bus stop or in your building's lobby is close enough to count.

If one of these fits, rekey every lock the keys opened. If none fits, say the ring slipped out of a pocket on a ferry crossing or at an airport, a stranger has little chance of matching it to your door. Little is not zero, which is why plenty of people rekey regardless.

Were they taken rather than lost?

Then the question answers itself. Someone who takes keys usually knows, or can find out, which door they open. Rekey or change every lock those keys work, the same day if you can manage it. If the keys went in a break-in, our guide on what to do after a break-in covers reporting, insurance and the damaged door.

Rekey or new locks: which do you need?

Both stop the lost keys working. The difference is what stays on your door.

Near the coast, salt air is hard on exterior cylinders. If a lock already sticks, grinds or needs a jiggle in damp weather, losing the keys is a good moment to replace it rather than rekey a cylinder that's on its way out. Our guide to rekeying or replacing your locks goes through that choice door by door.

What else was on the ring?

A key ring is usually more than house keys. Go through it item by item:

1. House keys. Rekey every exterior door they opened, and don't skip the door from an attached garage into the house.
2. Garage remote. Clear the opener's memory, re-pair the remotes you kept and change the keypad code.
3. Car key or fob. A dealer or locksmith can program a new one and drop the lost one from the car's memory on most vehicles.
4. Building, mailbox or storage keys. Tell your property manager or condo board. In a rental, the building's locks are the landlord's call.
5. A safe or lockbox key. If the key to a home safe was on the ring, see our guide on a safe that won't open for how override keys and maker resets work.
6. Work keys. Let your employer know. They'll want to decide what happens to their locks.

If a wallet went with the keys, report the cards and ID to whoever issued them.

Renting? Before you change or rekey the lock on a rental unit, talk to your landlord. Our post on lock changes for Nova Scotia landlords and tenants explains where to look for the rules.

Can't get in at all right now?

Use the call or text button on this page and we'll get you through the door first. Once you're inside, you can decide what to do about the locks without standing on the step in the rain.

How to avoid the next lost key scramble

A little planning now saves the next bad evening:

• Leave a spare with someone you trust, a neighbour or family member nearby. Skip the doormat, the planter and the ledge above the door.
• Use a code lockbox if you'd rather keep a spare on the property, and change the code now and then.
• Consider a keypad or smart deadbolt, so a lost key never locks you out. In a damp, salty spot, pick a model with a sealed exterior and good weather resistance.
• Keep the ring anonymous. If you want a tag, put a phone number on it, never an address.

What should you have ready for a rekey?

Gather every key you still have so we can check each one against its lock, and decide which doors you want on the new key. A lot of people use the visit to put the front, back and garage entry doors on one key. If anything could connect your lost keys to your address, don't leave it long. Book through rekey your locks.

The printable move-in lock checklist below works just as well after lost keys: every door, key, remote and code in one pass.