Command to change the default home directory of a user

Question

I would like to know whether there is any simple shell command to change the user home directory in Linux/Unix (one similar to chsh which changes the default login shell of an existing valid user) without touching the /etc/passwd file. Thanks

Answer 1

Ibrahim's comment on the other answer is the correct way to alter an existing user's home directory.

Change the user's home directory:

usermod -d /newhome/username username

usermod is the command to edit an existing user.
-d (abbreviation for --home) will change the user's home directory.

Change the user's home directory + Move the contents of the user's current directory:

usermod -m -d /newhome/username username

-m (abbreviation for --move-home) will move the content from the user's current directory to the new directory.