Published: May 2025 | Last Reviewed: May 2025 | Reading Time: 8 minutes
Expert reviewed by: Hames and Sons Locksmiths
Whether you’ve just bought a Victorian terrace in Northgate, a new-build on the outskirts of Sturry, or a period cottage near the city walls, moving into a new home in Canterbury is an exciting milestone. But here is a question that most buyers never think to ask on moving day: how many copies of that key exist — and who still has them?
The uncomfortable answer is: more people than you’d expect. Canterbury’s property market is active and diverse, with homes ranging from centuries-old listed buildings in the city centre to modern estates in Wincheap, Thanington, and Herne Bay. Each of those properties, before it reached you, passed through a chain of hands — and many of those hands may have kept a key.
This guide walks through every category of person who may hold a key to your new Canterbury home, why it matters for your security and your home insurance, and exactly what to do before you unpack a single box. For a full overview of what to do when you arrive, see our complete moving house security checklist.
The Short Answer: Who Could Have a Key to Your New Canterbury Home?
If you’re looking for a quick summary, here it is. The following people may have a key to your new property:
- Previous owners — and their family members, partners, or housemates
- Estate agents — Canterbury has a healthy number of agencies, many managing multiple keys simultaneously
- Professional cleaners — hired to prepare the property for viewings or handover
- Builders and tradespeople — given access during renovation or repair work
- Neighbours — trusted with a spare for emergencies or parcel collection
- Dog walkers or pet sitters — given regular, unsupervised access
- Family members of the previous owners — often forgotten about entirely
Now let’s look at each group in detail.
1. Previous Owners
The previous owners handed over a set of keys at completion — but that’s rarely the full picture. Over the years of living in a Canterbury property, most households quietly accumulate duplicate keys: one cut for a partner, one for an adult child who moved back temporarily, one left with a parent during a summer holiday.
When people move, they’re managing enormous logistical pressure. They return the agreed set at completion in good faith, but the spare in the kitchen drawer, the copy on their sister’s keyring since last Christmas, or the one their ex never returned — these rarely get retrieved. According to Which?, this is one of the most overlooked home security risks for buyers across the UK.
Canterbury’s mix of long-established family homes and frequent student lets means properties often change hands with a particularly complex key history. If you’ve bought in areas like St Dunstan’s, Wincheap, or close to the University of Kent campus, where homes have sometimes served multiple purposes over the years, the number of copies in circulation could be higher than average.
What to do: You cannot know how many copies were made or who has them. The only reliable solution is changing the locks.
2. Estate Agents
Canterbury’s property market is served by a wide range of agencies — from national chains on the high street to independent local agents operating across the wider district. During the sales period, your estate agent almost certainly held a set of keys, sometimes for months if the property sat on the market.
Busy agencies managing multiple viewings across Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay, and the surrounding villages may cut additional copies for staff convenience, operate shared key boards, or tag keys in ways that prioritise speed over security. The Property Ombudsman’s Code of Practice requires agents to handle keys responsibly, but this governs accountability rather than the physical security of duplicates.
When the sale completes, all keys should be returned — but not all agencies operate a strict audit trail of every copy made.
3. Cleaners
Properties in Canterbury are routinely cleaned before viewings, before photography, and before handover. If a cleaner was given a key to let themselves in and lock up independently — a standard arrangement — that person had unsupervised access to a physical key to your home.
Professional cleaning companies typically operate key-return policies. But informal cleaners hired through local word of mouth, a community Facebook group, or a Nextdoor recommendation may have kept a copy without a second thought. Canterbury and the surrounding villages have a thriving network of independent local tradespeople, which is a genuine asset — but it also means key-handling practices vary considerably.
This is especially relevant for buy-to-let properties and rental homes in Canterbury, where cleaning contractors often hold keys for extended periods between tenancies.
4. Builders and Tradespeople
Canterbury’s housing stock is among the most historically varied in the South East. From medieval timber-framed buildings in the city centre to Edwardian semis in the suburbs and new-build developments at the edges of the district, a significant proportion of properties have undergone building work in recent years.
Any renovation project — a loft conversion, a new kitchen, a period property restoration — creates a key-distribution chain. The main contractor needs access. So does the electrician, the plumber, the joiner, and the plasterer who came back to fix a snag two months after the job was supposed to be finished.
Most copies are returned when work completes. Many are not. They end up in glove compartments, tool bags, or on hooks at the contractor’s home with no label and no follow-up. The Federation of Master Builders recommends homeowners request written confirmation that all keys have been returned at the end of any project — but in practice, this rarely happens.
If the Canterbury property you’ve bought was recently renovated before sale, the number of people who had legitimate key access during the works could be considerable.
5. Neighbours
Leaving a spare key with a trusted neighbour is a practical and common precaution. Canterbury’s residential streets — from the terraced rows of Northgate to the quieter roads of Bridge and Harbledown — tend to foster exactly the kind of community familiarity where this happens routinely.
The problem arises when previous owners move away without retrieving that key. They may forget, assume the neighbour will “sort it out,” or simply not prioritise it amid the chaos of moving. The result is that someone on your street — a person you’ve never met — is holding a key to your home, and you have no idea who they are.
This is also worth bearing in mind if you’re moving into a Canterbury apartment block, a managed development, or a property with shared communal areas, where a managing agent or residents’ association may also hold master keys to the building.
6. Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters
Canterbury and its surrounding villages are well-served by independent pet care professionals — dog walkers, pet sitters, and home boarders who come recommended through local networks and community groups. If the previous owners had pets, there is a strong chance that one of these people had regular, unsupervised access to the property.
Professional dog walkers and pet sitters registered with organisations such as the Kennel Club or Narps UK will typically carry insurance and operate key-handling procedures. Those working informally — particularly common in close-knit communities like those around Whitstable, Faversham, and the Canterbury villages — may not. Either way, the key may never have been returned.
7. Family Members of the Previous Owners
This is perhaps the most overlooked group, precisely because it feels the least threatening. Consider the range of people it might include: an elderly parent who had a key for health emergencies, a sibling who stayed during summer holidays, a grown-up child who moved out two years ago and still has the key on their ring, or a former partner who was never asked to return their copy.
Family members holding keys is so normalised that it barely registers as a security concern — until you’re the new owner. You don’t know these people. They have no legal right to enter your home. And in many cases, they may not yet know that the Canterbury property has changed hands.
Why This Matters: Security and Insurance
This isn’t just a theoretical concern. Kent Police’s crime statistics for the Canterbury district record residential burglaries throughout the year, including in areas many buyers consider safe. While most involve forced entry, insurers take key security seriously — and undocumented key access can complicate a claim.
The Association of British Insurers notes that home insurance policies typically require policyholders to take reasonable precautions to secure their property. If a burglary occurs and your insurer determines that access was gained without forced entry — through an undocumented key — you could face a reduced or declined claim. Changing your locks on moving day is the simplest way to protect both your physical security and your insurance position from the outset.
For more on what home insurers look for, see our guide to what your home insurance policy actually covers.
What You Should Do: A Practical Checklist
Change Your Locks on Moving Day
This is the single most important action you can take. Replacing the cylinder — rather than the entire lock mechanism — costs far less than most people assume. A local Canterbury locksmith registered can replace the cylinders on a standard three-door property in under two hours. The MLA recommends this as standard practice for all new homeowners.
Key priorities:
- Front door and back door (always)
- Side gates with key-operated locks
- Garage access doors connected to the main property
- Communal entrance doors in apartment buildings (speak to your managing agent)
Consider a Smart Lock or Key Safe
If you regularly need to give access to tradespeople, cleaners, or dog walkers going forward, a smart lock or wall-mounted key safe removes the need to hand out physical keys that can be copied. Combination key safes rated by the MLA are a practical and secure solution increasingly popular with Canterbury homeowners.
Keep a Key Register
Going forward, keep a simple written or digital record of who holds a key to your home and why. Review it annually. If a cleaner, contractor, or family member no longer needs access, retrieve the key or change the cylinder. It takes minutes and costs nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people typically have keys to a second-hand home in Canterbury?
There is no fixed number, but security professionals estimate that the average resale property has between 4 and 10 key copies in circulation by the time it changes hands, accounting for duplicates made by previous owners, agents, and tradespeople over the years.
Is it a legal requirement to change locks when moving house in the UK?
No, there is no legal obligation in the UK to change locks on moving in. However, it is strongly recommended by the MLA and may have implications for your home insurance if an undocumented key is linked to a break-in.
How much does it cost to change the locks in Canterbury?
A professional Canterbury locksmith will typically charge between £80 and £150 to replace cylinders on a standard two or three-door property. Costs vary depending on lock type and the number of access points. Use our Canterbury locksmith page to get a free, no-obligation quote.
What is the safest type of lock for a Canterbury front door?
The MLA recommends BS3621 kitemarked locks as the minimum standard for an insured property in the UK. Many Canterbury home insurers require this certification as a condition of cover. See their guide to door lock standards for a full comparison.
Should I notify my home insurer after changing locks in Canterbury?
Yes. Always inform your insurer of any security upgrades, including new locks. This keeps your policy accurate and may positively affect your premium.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’ve bought a Georgian townhouse near Canterbury Cathedral, a Victorian terrace in St Dunstan’s, or a modern home on a new development in Thanington, moving in should feel completely secure. The previous owners, their estate agents, their cleaners, their builders, their neighbours, their dog walkers, and their extended family were all part of a life that no longer has any claim on your front door.
Changing your locks is the cleanest, most affordable way to draw a line under all of it — and to make sure the only people who can walk through your door are the ones you’ve chosen to let in.
Need a trusted, local locksmith in Canterbury? Get a free quote today — most jobs completed the same day.
This article has been written with reference to guidance from the Master Locksmiths Association, the Association of British Insurers, Kent Police, and the Office for National Statistics Crime Survey for England and Wales. Internal links marked with
Don’t chance it, change it!. New home, New lock, New keys.
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