Changing locks between tenants: a routine for landlords
Between two tenancies, keys go missing and new tenants arrive: how locksmiths can set up lock-change visits for landlords and agents, with keys handled.
7 min read
Give landlords and letting agents their own service for lock changes between tenancies, and ask for the three things that make or break the visit in the booking note: the address, how you get in (key box, agent's office, neighbour), and where the new keys go afterwards. Place the visit between the old tenant's move-out and the new tenant's arrival, not on moving day itself. A landlord who can book that slot in a minute, without calling you, comes back at the next change of tenant.
Why landlords change locks
When a tenant leaves, the landlord gets back the keys the tenant chose to return. Copies made during the tenancy, keys lent to a cleaner or a partner, a spare left with a neighbour: none of these can be checked. Changing the cylinder is the simple answer, and the new tenant starts with keys that nobody else holds. The same applies after a sale, when a property changes owner, or after a tenant loses a key.
For the locksmith, these jobs are predictable: the date is known weeks in advance, the property is usually empty, and the work is often a cylinder swap. They fit well into planned slots, away from emergency call-outs.
Setting up the service
On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Each slot belongs to one service, with its own start and end. The landlord or agent picks the service, then a free slot. With one place per slot, a booked slot is full and disappears from your page.
| Service | Example slot | Example price |
|---|---|---|
| Cylinder change, empty property, one door | 1 h | €110 |
| Cylinder change, front and back doors | 1 h 30 | €190 |
| Letterbox and communal door check | 30 min | €40 |
| Lock check at check-out, with report | 45 min | €60 |
Lengths and prices are examples: set your own. In the description, say what's included (a standard cylinder, a set number of keys), how extra keys are charged, and that you work in empty properties with arranged access.
What to ask in the note
The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that you read in your new-booking email. For a property you'll visit alone, the note is where the job is really defined:
- Address: full address, floor and flat number, building code.
- Access: key box code sent separately, keys to collect at the agency, or someone on site.
- Doors: which doors, and the lock brand if known, or a photo sent by message.
- Keys after the job: how many, and where they go: back to the agency, into a key box, handed to the new tenant.
- Deadline: the new tenant's move-in date.
Ask for key box codes by message rather than in the note: the note is copied into the calendar file attached to the confirmation email, which can end up in shared calendars.
Timing the visit
The best moment is after the check-out inspection and before the check-in. Changing the lock before the old tenant has left means handing them new keys; changing it on the new tenant's moving day means a van waiting at the door if anything goes wrong. Suggest in the description that landlords book a slot on a day between the two.
Many letting agents manage several properties with changes of tenant at the same periods. If an agent sends you a list, group those jobs by area: book them yourself into consecutive slots from your calendar. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; with the agent's email, they get a confirmation for each visit.
Regular clients
A landlord with a few flats or an agency with a rental portfolio will need you again. After the first job, send them your booking page link so they can book the next change themselves. If plans change, they can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list, then confirm the new time yourself, since Book doesn't email them about changes. Book doesn't take payments or send invoices; say in the description how you bill landlords and agencies.
Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.
When should a landlord change the locks?
How do I get into an empty property?
Can an agency book several properties at once?
Who receives the confirmation?
Can I send an invoice through Book?
- Online booking for locksmiths — €5/month | Book
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