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Station 4 of 7 · Guide 4 of 6

Can I change the locks when I rent?

The consent each state asks for, who pays for the change, and the period it gives to hand the new key to the other side of the lease.

The plan, full width: the wall edge to edge, station 4 lit, the other stations dimmed and numbered OUTSIDE INSIDE Station 1: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 1 Station 2: Locked out, or the keys are gone: who might hold a spare, and what about the old ones? 2 Station 3: Is a broken lock in a rental an urgent repair? 3 Station 4, this guide: Can I change the locks when I rent? 4 Changing the lock when you rent Station 5: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 5 Station 6: Deadlocks at night: how do you get out if there is a fire? 6 Station 7: After a break-in: what happens tonight, tomorrow and in the weeks after? 7 The plan as a strip: the wall across the phone, station 4 lit OUTSIDE INSIDE Station 1: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 1 Station 2: Locked out, or the keys are gone: who might hold a spare, and what about the old ones? 2 Station 3: Is a broken lock in a rental an urgent repair? 3 Station 4, this guide: Can I change the locks when I rent? 4 Changing the lock when you rent Station 5: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 5 Station 6: Deadlocks at night: how do you get out if there is a fire? 6 Station 7: After a break-in: what happens tonight, tomorrow and in the weeks after? 7

Whether you may change it, and whose consent you need

Every state lets a renter ask. The difference is consent and cost, and what happens when the two sides disagree.

  • New South Wales

    A landlord or tenant can change or add a lock or other security device during the tenancy with the consent of the other party, or where there are reasonable grounds to do it. Tenants should tell the landlord or agent of the intention to change the locks where possible, and changing a lock otherwise is an offence and a breach of the tenancy agreement.

  • Victoria

    A renter who wants a lock changed organises the change and pays for it, but has to get the rental provider's consent first. That consent cannot be withheld unreasonably: the provider needs a good reason to say no, and a renter who believes a refusal is unfair can apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

  • Queensland

    Both sides have to agree, and neither may unreasonably withhold consent. Outside a domestic and family violence situation, a lock can only be changed if the tenant and the manager agree, in an emergency, or by order of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Attaching a fixture or making a structural change needs written approval on the state's form.

  • Western Australia

    Requests to change a lock should go in writing, signed by both the landlord and the tenant.

One page per state: NSW Fair Trading, Keys, locks and security devices in a rental property, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Locks and security, the Residential Tenancies Authority, Locks and security, and Consumer Protection WA, Rental home security.

The new key, and when the other party must have it

Every state's page pairs the change with a key, and two of them set a deadline.

  1. NSW, after a change

    Whoever changed the lock gives the other side a key as soon as they reasonably can, and no later than 7 days.

  2. NSW, without consent

    A tenant who changed a lock without the landlord's agreement gives each co-tenant a copy of the new key within 48 hours, and the landlord a copy within 7 days, unless the Tribunal authorises something else.

  3. Victoria, after a change

    New keys reach the other party and the other renters as soon as possible, whether the provider or the renter changed the lock.

  4. Queensland, at the change

    The manager must give each person named on the agreement a key for every lock that is part of the premises, and a set of keys for any lockable area such as a security gate, a shed or a mailbox.

  5. Western Australia, family violence

    Where the change was made because of family violence, the landlord gets a copy of the new key within seven days, unless that landlord is the person alleged to have used violence.

  6. A person who gets no key

    A tenant who changes a lock does not have to give a key to someone barred from the property by an Apprehended Violence Order, a domestic violence order, a family violence injunction, a bail condition or a parole condition.

Read from NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Authority and Consumer Protection WA.

What it costs, and who pays it

In the two states that say it plainly, the renter who asks for the change pays for it. NSW Fair Trading puts it as a general rule: a tenant who requests a lock change is generally responsible for the cost, unless the two sides agree otherwise. Consumer Affairs Victoria says the same, with the renter organising and paying for the change they asked for.

Keys carry their own price. In Victoria a further key or security device can be charged for, at what the page calls a reasonable fee, which it defines as one most people would think is fair. In Western Australia, a tenant who changes the locks because of family violence pays for that change themselves.

Adding security does not remove what is underneath it. Where a manager has installed extra measures such as a security screen or grilles on windows or doors, Queensland's page says the property still has to meet the minimum housing standards, with a functioning lock or latch.

From NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Consumer Protection WA and the Residential Tenancies Authority.

Changing the lock to be safe

If you are in danger now

Victoria Police: call Triple Zero (000) if the break-in is under way, the suspect is still there, or someone is hurt or in immediate danger.

Family violence support: 1800RESPECT, the national support service, on 1800 737 732.

Three states give a tenant a route that does not wait on a landlord's permission.

In NSW, tenancy laws add protections for tenants experiencing domestic abuse, and a tenant affected can change a lock or other security device without the landlord's consent where a co-tenant or occupant is barred from the property by an Apprehended Violence Order, a domestic violence order, a family violence injunction, bail conditions or parole conditions. The same protection applies where the alleged perpetrator is not a co-tenant and the tenant reasonably believes the change is necessary to prevent a domestic violence offence or abuse against themselves, their dependent child, or another person living at the property. Where the consent is not there, the work must be done by a locksmith or another appropriately qualified person, unless it is an emergency, the Tribunal orders otherwise, or it is not practicable in the tenant's circumstances. The page adds one reason for that: it protects the tenant's security, and it helps keep the property from being damaged.

In Victoria, a renter experiencing family violence who holds a family violence intervention order, a family violence safety notice, a personal safety intervention order or a recognised non-local domestic violence order does not need the rental provider's permission to change the external door or window locks, whether or not their name is on the agreement. The renter then gives a key for any new lock to the provider or agent and to the other renters, apart from the excluded renter, and gives the provider or agent a copy of the order or notice. With that copy in hand, the provider or agent must not give the excluded renter a key for any new lock, and must keep the renter's information private. If the person who used violence is removed from the agreement, the remaining renters may change the locks, and the provider or agent must not give the removed renter a new key.

In Queensland, a tenant experiencing domestic and family violence who wants to stay in the property has the right to change the locks without asking the manager or owner. Residents of rooming accommodation can ask for the lock on their room to be changed or repaired if they feel unsafe, or that their belongings are at risk, and where the request says it is to protect them from domestic and family violence the provider has to do the work, and must not give a key for the changed lock to anyone else without the resident's agreement or a reasonable excuse. Penalties apply to a provider who does not comply.

From NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Authority, and Victoria Police.

Related guides

If the lock is broken rather than changed, station 3 covers the repairs that cannot wait. If the key is the problem, station 2 covers who might hold a spare.