New House: Change locks?

elDeeJay

im just about to buy my first house (not a new build) and I wondered is it standard practice to change the locks when you move in? Whats to say the previous owners haven't had keys cut and could gain entry to the house?

Is it the norm to change the locks or am i being paranoid?

Thanks

reehsetin

ive always heard its normal practice

FreeBetKing

Hi,

I wouldnt say it was standard practice but I changed them when I moved in. Not every lock, just the Yale lock on the front (new barrel less than £10) and slotted a new mortice into the back door.

For the sake of less than £40ish, its good piece of mind.

Mark

helping_hubby

Being a FTB I didn't even think of this...but I recently read a thread on this on here and it makes perfect sense to change the locks asap. After all you don't know who's been given a key in the past...

jillie1974

i never even thought of that when we moved in. but we've been here 4 years now so i think we'll be ok.

Dithering_Dad

I rented out my house when I worked abroad and when I came back to the UK I sold it. I never thought to mention this to the new buyers and they never thought to ask. God only knows how many people have keys to that house. I'd change the locks if I were you. As one of the previous posters has stated, you only need to replace the barrels, not the whole lock.

BlondeHeadOn

Change them asap! I know three people who were burgled almost immediately after moving into their new houses, and in two cases there were no signs of forced entry - in fact, in one flat in Croydon the neighbours even said hello to the two blokes walking up and down the stairs with my friends possessions, as they "looked familiar, I'm sure we'd seen them before..." (as they said to the police) :eek:

Admittendly all three were in the London area, but I would never move into a new house without changing the locks straightaway - you have no idea who else has copies of those keys the estate agent just gave you...............

janey_uk

Yes - definately! Even if the house was owned by a trustworthy person, it is very common for estate agents to have keys when a house is being shown, so you can't know who else has them. If it has been rented out, even more so, as you can have no idea how many sets are in circulation.

You don't need to change the whole lock btw, just the barrels, which is a lot cheaper - I seem to remember getting mine for just a few quid.