Do You Need to Rekey a New Construction Home?

A brand-new house feels like a clean slate. Nobody has lived there, so nobody has a key, right? Not quite. By the time you get the keys at closing, a new home in San Diego has been opened many times by people who were handed a key to do their job. This guide explains who they were, how builder locks handle that, and what to do about it on closing day.

The short answer

Yes, rekey a new construction home in most cases. It costs about the same as any new home rekey, takes under an hour, and it is the only way to know that every key that worked during the build no longer does.

The exception is a builder that fully rekeys or replaces the locks at closing and hands you paperwork that says so. Some do. Ask the sales office exactly what was done. If the answer is “the construction key has been disabled”, keep reading, because that is not the same thing.

Who had keys during the build?

A production home passes through a long list of hands between framing and closing:

• The superintendent and assistant superintendent, who carry keys for every house in the phase.
• Subcontractors: drywall, paint, flooring, cabinets, countertops, HVAC, low voltage, appliance install, final clean.
• Third-party and city inspectors.
• The sales team, who show the house to prospective buyers, and the lockbox that lets other agents in.
• Design center and warranty crews, who return after closing for punch-list items.

None of those people are likely to be a problem. But the keys were shared across a crew, left in lockboxes, and sometimes copied so a trade could get in early. Nobody kept a list.

What is a construction key, and does it protect you?

Some builder-grade Schlage and conventional Kwikset locks ship with a construction keying feature, sometimes called lost-ball keying. The lock accepts a contractor key during the build. The first time the homeowner key is inserted and turned, the cylinder permanently disables the contractor key. It is a sensible system for what it does.

What it does not do:

• It only disables the original contractor keys. A key cut later from the homeowner key, or a spare homeowner key that sat in the sales office drawer, still works.
• It only works on locks that were set up that way. A lock replaced after a damaged door, a gate lock, or a garage side door installed by a different trade may never have had it.
• You cannot tell from outside whether it was set up, or whether it was ever triggered. If someone turned the homeowner key months before closing to test the door, the contractor key died then, but the homeowner keys have been in circulation ever since.

Kwikset SmartKey builder locks work differently. There is no lost-ball feature; the builder rekeys them to your key with the SmartKey tool at closing, and the same tool can rekey them again whenever you like.

So treat construction keying as a convenience for the builder, not as your rekey. A rekey resets every cylinder to a combination that no key on the jobsite was ever cut to.

What locks do San Diego builders install?

Walk the newer streets in Otay Ranch and Millenia in Chula Vista, 4S Ranch, Del Sur and Black Mountain Ranch, Pacific Highlands Ranch next to Carmel Valley, Civita in Mission Valley or Torrey Highlands, and the same few lock types show up over and over.

The most common case is Kwikset SmartKey, which rekeys in minutes with the original working key. Our Kwikset SmartKey rekey page explains how, and what happens if the working key is missing. If you are not sure what is on your doors, a photo of the keyway is enough for us to tell you.

Should you key everything alike?

Yes, and do it at the closing visit. Builders usually deliver the house on one key already, but the garage side door, a courtyard gate or a casita door often arrive on a second key because a different trade installed them. A keyed-alike rekey puts every lock that shares a keyway on one key, so each person in the household gets one key and nothing else on the ring.

If one door is a different brand, that lock gets swapped so the whole house matches. On a new build that is a quick job because the door prep is standard.

What about HOA rules in new communities?

Most new master-planned communities in San Diego have design guidelines, and some cover the hardware you can see from the street: finish, style, sometimes whether a keypad is allowed on the front door. Rekeying changes nothing you can see, so it never needs approval. Swapping a finish or adding a keypad on the front might. Read the CC&Rs before you buy hardware, or check our HOA and condo lock rules guide for what usually applies.

Adding a keypad or smart lock on a brand-new door

A new door is the easiest door there is for a smart lock. The bore is standard, the strike is fresh, and nothing is painted over or swollen. Most keypad and app-controlled deadbolts drop straight in, and the key override gets rekeyed to your new house key in the same visit.

It also solves the warranty-visit problem. Punch-list crews come back during the first year. A temporary code they get on the day, and that you delete afterward, is better than a key. See our smart lock installation page for what fits which door.

When should you rekey a new build?

• Best: at closing, the day the builder hands over keys, before the first delivery is scheduled.
• Good: the day before move-in, if you received keys early.
• Late: after the furniture, appliances and TVs are inside and every construction-phase key is still live.

Deliveries are the reason to hurry. Appliance and furniture drivers, the blinds installer, the solar crew and the internet technician all show up in the first two weeks, often to a house nobody has moved into yet. Rekey first, then hand out codes or meet them there.

Real estate agents who close a lot of new construction often book the rekey for their buyers as part of closing day. Our page for agents covers how that works.

What to check at the blue-tape walkthrough

The blue-tape walkthrough is your chance to mark defects before closing. Doors and locks belong on the list:

1. Every exterior door latches when you close it, without lifting or shoving.
2. Every deadbolt throws fully into the strike with the door closed. A bolt that stops short means a misaligned strike, and fixing it is the builder’s job.
3. Keys turn smoothly in every lock, including the garage side door and any gate.
4. The door from the garage into the house has a deadbolt, not only a knob lock.
5. Sliding doors lock and the lever engages fully.
6. Ask how many keys were cut and how many you are receiving.

Anything that fails gets a piece of tape and goes on the punch list. Our guide on rekeying after buying a home covers the rest of the move-in list, and rekey vs. change locks explains when a builder lock is worth keeping.

Next step

Book a new home rekey for your closing date. Tell us the community, the lock brand if you know it, how many exterior doors, and whether you want a keypad on the front. We can usually be there the same day the keys change hands.