Lock Rekeying in Los Angeles, CA

Old keys in Los Angeles houses

Rekeying resets the pins inside a lock cylinder so every old key stops working, while the rest of the lock stays on the door. In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey, about 41 percent of California's homes were built from 1950 to 1979, and the state's median home dates from 1977.

• Balboa Highlands. Homes in this Granada Hills tract date from 1962 to 1964, so an original entry lock may still work with keys held by past owners. Rekeying retires those keys without replacing sound hardware.
• Highland Park-Garvanza. This zone has about 4,000 structures in styles spanning the 1880s to the 1940s. A house that old has passed through many owners and tenants, and any key cut along the way may still be out there.

Both neighborhoods are Historic Preservation Overlay Zones, where City Planning adds a review step for exterior work. Rekeying leaves the visible lockset as it is, which suits original hardware.

Tenants, landlords and turnover

Between tenants, the side door, garage and any gate deserve the same attention as the front door. The city's Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance (Ordinance 187109, effective 2021, amended by Ordinance 188416 in 2024) covers every residential tenant in Los Angeles, rent-stabilized or not. It bars a landlord who is acting to harass from abusing the right of access, removing housing services or failing to make timely repairs. The Los Angeles Housing Department advises requesting repairs in writing; a written rekeying request leaves the same record.

Civil Code § 1941.5 covers a narrower case. When a tenant gives the landlord a written request with a protective order, police report or other listed documentation of abuse or violence by someone who is not a tenant of the same unit, the landlord must change the locks at its own expense by a deadline the section sets. This is general information, not legal advice.

Describing the locks to be rekeyed

• How many locks, which doors, and whether all should open with one key.
• The brand name on each lock face, if you can read it.
• Any lock that sticks or turns roughly, which may call for lock replacement instead of rekeying.

The lock rekeying page explains the work itself; Los Angeles covers the overlay zones named above.