NYC Eviction Lock Change Needs a Marshal and a Warrant

On an occupied NYC dwelling unit, a lock change is lawful only inside the exception in Administrative Code §26-521: a warrant of eviction, another order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or a governmental vacate order. In an ordinary summary eviction that means one day: the day a city marshal or sheriff executes the warrant at that door. Change the cylinder earlier and it is not a landlord remedy but the conduct §26-521 and RPAPL §768 both prohibit by name, and §26-523 makes an intentional violation a class A misdemeanor: a civil penalty of $1,000 to $10,000, plus up to $100 a day for as long as six months once the occupant asks to be restored. That one rule sets the booking date, who stands at the door, and what the locksmith records.

What Has to Exist Before Anyone Touches the Cylinder

Four things, none optional. A final judgment of possession, and a warrant issued on it directed to a named enforcement officer rather than to you. A notice of eviction served by that officer, running at least fourteen calendar days. An earliest eviction date that has arrived: not the date printed on the warrant, which is only the first day the marshal may serve the notice, but the first business day after fourteen calendar days have run from service. And the marshal on site: the handbook makes securing the premises part of his own execution.

No warrant, no marshal, no lock change. That holds for a tenant months behind on rent, a subtenant the lease never mentioned, a roommate who was never on it, and any occupant lawfully in the unit for thirty days or more. A locksmith who turns that cylinder on your say-so has helped commit the misdemeanor, and will decline.

RPAPL §749: The Warrant, the Marshal, and the Fourteen Days

RPAPL §749(1) is the authority: on a final judgment for the petitioner, "the court shall issue a warrant directed to the sheriff of the county or to any constable or marshal of the city." A landlord is not on that list. In New York City it goes to a city marshal, appointed by the Mayor to a five-year term and supervised by the Department of Investigation, or to a deputy sheriff.

§749(2) sets the clock: at least fourteen days' notice in writing, served like a notice of petition, and execution on a business day between sunrise and sunset. The marshal's own rulebook is narrower. Chapter IV §6-1 of the Marshals Handbook puts the eviction between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and bars the public holidays in General Construction Law §24. DOI Directive Q-157, which rewrote the handbook after the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, supplies the arithmetic: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays all count inside the fourteen days.

Rule	Source	Effect on the booking
14 calendar days' notice	RPAPL §749(2)	Schedule against the notice date, not the warrant
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., weekdays	Handbook Ch. IV §6-1, rev. Q-157	No weekend, no holiday, no after-hours
Notice stale after 30 days	Handbook Ch. IV §5-4	A fresh notice has to be served
Stay or vacatur before execution	RPAPL §749(3)	The job can be cancelled that morning
Full rent tendered before execution	RPAPL §749(3)	The court shall vacate, absent bad faith

Warrants get vacated on the courthouse steps, so we confirm the marshal's window before a technician rolls.

Why Changing the Lock Early Is a Class A Misdemeanor

Administrative Code §26-521 makes it unlawful to evict or attempt to evict an occupant who has lawfully occupied a dwelling unit for thirty consecutive days or longer, or who has entered into a lease, "except to the extent permitted by law pursuant to a warrant of eviction or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction or a governmental vacate order." That exception clause is the whole lawful transaction.

The code does not leave the lock to inference. It names "removing, plugging or otherwise rendering the lock on such entrance door inoperable; or changing the lock on such entrance door without supplying the occupant with a key." RPAPL §768, added by that same 2019 act, carries the language across the rest of New York State.

§26-523 sets the price. An intentional violation is a class A misdemeanor, each violation a separate and distinct offense, with a civil penalty of $1,000 to $10,000. Where the owner then fails to take all reasonable and necessary action to restore the occupant, a further $100 a day runs from the date restoration is requested until it happens, capped at six months.

Tenants are told to call 911 and file an Order to Show Cause, which is what an unlawful lockout looks like from the other side. A self-help lock change turns a case you were winning into a criminal complaint and a tenant back in the unit.

What the Locksmith Has to See on the Day

Locksmith work here is licensed under Administrative Code §20-299, and §20-301(b) requires a book recording the name and address of every person ordering master keys, keys by number, or the opening of a locked item, with the date and time. That book is the audit trail if the eviction is challenged, so the file closes before the van leaves.

On a warrant job we ask for the warrant with its court index number and the marshal it is directed to, the marshal on site, photo ID of the person authorizing the work, and their relationship to the ownership: principal, managing agent, or attorney of record.

Verify a locksmith license in a minute on the DCWP license search at nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/check-license.page. Do that when the vendor is added, not in a hallway on eviction morning.

What Actually Happens at the Door

The marshal runs the door, and the handbook is explicit about the lock. Under Chapter IV §6-15, once the tenant's property is out or the landlord has possession, "the marshal must secure the premises by seeing to it that the lock is changed and leaving the key with the landlord or the landlord's representative," and he must remain until the locks have been changed or the premises have been adequately secured. In practice that means a cylinder changed while the marshal waits.

DOI states the duty more broadly than the apartment door: the marshal must see that any entrance locks on the premises to which the tenant may have access are changed. On most buildings that means the lobby cylinder and the mailbox as well as the unit door, so count those openings beforehand.

One distinction matters before booking: eviction versus legal possession. In an eviction the belongings go into a private warehouse under the marshal's supervision. In a legal possession they stay in the unit under the landlord's care and control until the tenant collects them, which means supervised access afterward.

Chapter IV §6-16 is why it has to be right the first time. Once the warrant is executed the proceeding is over, and if the former occupant re-enters the marshal cannot re-execute absent a court order. The remedy becomes a trespass call, so that morning's lock has to hold.

Rekey or Replace on a Turnover, and What Each Costs

Most eviction doors do not need new locks. They need the existing cylinder to stop answering to the old key. Replacement earns its cost when the cylinder is worn past a clean pinning, when hardware was forced during the proceeding, or when a building is being standardized onto one system. The method and the per-cylinder pricing for turnover rekeying sit on their own page.

Work	Per unit
Rekey an existing standard door	From $85 per door
Single-door lock change, all in	$85 to $150
Grade 2 deadbolt, supplied and installed	$125 to $250
High-security cylinder, restricted keyway	$225 to $500
Master-keyed cylinders	Quoted per door

Multi-unit turnovers price better per door, because the cost is the trip, not the pinning. Commercial service starts at $175 a visit, and multi-unit work is quoted against the door count. A marshal's calendar often produces two or three units in one building on one morning, invoiced as one visit.

Standing Arrangements for Owners and Managing Agents

An eviction lock change is rarely a one-off. The same portfolio throws off vacancy rekeys, staff changes, lost masters and failed cylinders all year, and the owners who spend least set the vendor up once: a certificate of insurance on file, net terms, and technicians who know the keyway before the marshal gives a date.

Key control is the early decision. If the building runs a master system, the unit goes back on it the same morning rather than sitting on an orphan key. We cover that in putting the unit back on a master key system, and routine turnover rekeys between tenants covers the vacant-unit version, where no warrant is involved. For owners running more than a handful of doors, our commercial and multi-unit locksmith accounts in NYC cover this work: scheduled, daytime, invoiced, same technicians.

SwiftLocksmith NYC runs vans out of Astoria and Long Island City and works all five boroughs. Warrant jobs are scheduled against the marshal's date, not against a dispatch queue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a NYC landlord change the locks after an eviction?

Yes, once a city marshal or sheriff has executed a warrant of eviction at that unit. That is the exception in Administrative Code §26-521, which otherwise bars evicting an occupant of thirty consecutive days or more. Before execution, and absent another court order or a governmental vacate order, a lock change is an unlawful eviction no matter how much rent is owed.

Do I need the marshal present when the locks are changed?

In practice, yes. Marshals Handbook Ch. IV §6-15 requires the marshal to secure the premises by seeing to it that the lock is changed, to leave the key with the landlord or his representative, and to remain until the locks are changed or the premises are otherwise adequately secured. It is part of executing the warrant, not a job booked for afterward.

What documents does a locksmith need before changing the locks on an evicted unit?

The warrant of eviction showing the court index number and the marshal it is directed to, the marshal on site, and photo ID of the person authorizing the work plus their relationship to the ownership. A licensed locksmith records the job under Administrative Code §20-301(b), so the paperwork comes first.

What happens if a landlord changes the locks without a warrant in NYC?

Under Administrative Code §26-523 an intentional violation is a class A misdemeanor, each violation a separate offense, with a civil penalty of $1,000 to $10,000, plus up to $100 a day, capped at six months, running from the date the occupant asks to be restored if the owner does not restore them. RPAPL §768 prohibits the same conduct statewide, and the tenant can file an Order to Show Cause.

How much does an eviction lock change cost per unit in NYC?

Rekeying a standard door starts at $85. A single-door lock change all in runs $85 to $150, a Grade 2 deadbolt supplied and installed $125 to $250, and a restricted high-security cylinder $225 to $500 per door. Several units in one building on one morning price as a single visit, and commercial service starts at $175.

Should the unit be rekeyed to the building master after an eviction?

If the building runs a master system, yes, and on the same visit. Leaving the unit on an orphan key means the super cannot get in for the next repair and the key has no record behind it. Master-keyed cylinders are quoted per door, pinned to the existing keyway.