Moving day. Boxes in the living room, the fridge not yet connected, and you've just been handed a bunch of keys by the landlord or the contractor. The question nobody asks that day: how many copies of this key exist, and who has them? The previous tenants, their cleaner, the renovation guy who worked here for a month, the agent who showed the apartment to twenty people, the neighbour who got a key "for emergencies" six years ago. None of them is a bad person — but none of them should be able to walk into your home.
After more than 25 years serving Beit Shemesh and the surrounding area, we opened a Locks & Security department — and since then, every week, someone walks in who moved two months ago and only just thought of it. Many of them have just made aliyah and are learning how doors work here. This guide is short on purpose: what to replace, how to choose, how to do it yourself, and what's different in a rental and in a new-build.
Why it comes first, before the furniture and the Wi-Fi
Because it is the only action that resets the count. After you change the cylinder you know exactly how many keys exist for your door — the ones in the box — and nobody knows how many there were before. A Mul-T-Lock cylinder with an owner card also guarantees that from now on no key gets copied without you. Cost: ₪184 to ₪328 for the cylinder, ten minutes of work, one screw. Less than you paid the movers for the sofa.
What to replace — the full list
- The front-door cylinder. First thing. If there's also a top lock with its own cylinder — that one too.
- Storage room, gate, balcony door with a lock. Every door that opens with a key you received from others. A good moment for keyed alike: door cylinder, storage padlock and gate padlock on the same key — one ring for the whole home.
- The intercom code and the gate remote. If the building has an entry code, ask the va'ad bayit to change it; a parking remote — cancel the old one and register a new one.
- A safe left in the apartment. A code somebody else set is not a code. Reset it, or replace it with a safe of your own.
- The mailbox. Small, cheap, and it stops someone else collecting your mail. A small cylinder or a C8 padlock.
Which cylinder — in three sentences
For most apartments: Mul-T-Lock MTL600 — telescopic pins, SI 950, and an owner card that controls copying. For a home with valuables, a business or an insurance requirement: MTL800. The size in most Israeli steel doors: 76 mm (33/43). All the details are in the model comparison and the complete cylinder guide.
How to replace it yourself — ten minutes
- Open the door and find the cylinder screw on its edge, at cylinder height. Loosen it.
- Insert the old key, turn slightly until the gear lines up with the body, and pull the cylinder out. Measure it — from the screw hole to each end — to confirm the size of the new one.
- Insert the new one the same way, tighten the screw, and check that the key turns smoothly with the door open — only then close it.
The cylinder sticks out of the escutcheon by more than a few millimetres, or sits so deep the key won't go in? The size is wrong — send us a photo and we'll match it. Prefer a locksmith? The cylinder arrives sealed from the manufacturer, and any locksmith will fit it.
A rental
Agree it with the landlord in advance — most landlords happily agree, especially if you leave them one copy or commit to handing over a key at the end of the lease. And when you leave, take the cylinder with you (it's yours) and put the old one back — or leave it as a bonus for the apartment. With an owner card, even the key the landlord holds can't be copied without your knowledge.
A new-build from a contractor
"But it's a new door" — true, and keys to it have passed through the contractor, the subcontractors, the site supervisor and whoever installed the kitchen. Many buildings use a construction key system, where your key cancels the builder's key on the first turn — check whether that's the case for you. If not, or if you're not sure, a new cylinder is the simple answer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to change a cylinder?
The cylinder: MTL400 from ₪184, MTL600 from ₪227, MTL800 from ₪328. Self-installation — free. A locksmith — a call-out fee.
Do I have to tell the landlord?
You should, and most leases require it. The usual arrangement: you replace it at your expense and give the landlord a key, or return the original cylinder at the end.
What about the building's entrance door?
That's a va'ad bayit decision. If the building key is floating around with everyone who ever lived there — worth raising at the next meeting; a Mul-T-Lock master-key system solves it for all the residents at once.
Maybe just a smart lock?
An excellent option for exactly this moment: the Yale Linus L2 sits on the cylinder, gives every family member their own code, and you keep the physical key to yourself. Even with a smart lock — the cylinder underneath should be new and yours.
The bottom line
A new home starts with a new count of keys. A cylinder with an owner card, keyed alike for the other doors, a new intercom code — and you're the only ones who walk in. Welcome to Beit Shemesh, and mazal tov on the apartment.
Just moved? Send us a photo of the current cylinder on WhatsApp and we'll tell you what to order. You can also call 02-9910450, or drop into the shop at 19 Yitzhak Rabin Road, Beit Shemesh. Straight advice, genuine products, and 25 years of serving Beit Shemesh.
Shop online: MTL600 | MTL800 | padlocks | the whole Locks & Security department
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