Locksmith Services in Sacramento, CA

Homes and locks in Sacramento

The city's June 2011 map of adopted historic districts lists 31 of them, including Alkali Flat (Central, North, South and West), Boulevard Park, Poverty Ridge, Winn Park, Bungalow Row, Capital Mansions and Oak Park.

Boulevard Park, bounded by E and J streets and 16th and 24th streets, has about 300 buildings on the old state fairgrounds and racetrack, which were sold to developers in 1905. After World War II, some new landlords used its houses as boarding houses. A former boarding house may still have extra keyed doors, so count side, back and upstairs doors when asking for lock rekeying after a purchase.

Natomas, in the city's northwest, is generally divided by Interstate 80 into North and South Natomas. North Natomas was historically farmland on the Sacramento River floodplain and grew rapidly from the mid-1990s; South Natomas developed mostly as residential subdivisions from the 1950s to the 1980s. For a house there, mention the garage-to-house door and any keypad deadbolt along with the front door.

Businesses and buildings

Several districts on the 2011 map carry commercial or industrial names: 12th Street Commercial, C Street Commercial, C Street Industrial and Cesar Chavez Plaza Park/CBD. For a building in one, list each door involved when you ask for commercial locksmith work.

In 1982, the South Natomas community plan was amended to allow 2.4 million square feet of new office parks along Interstate 5, and North Natomas later added office parks and retail. For a suite, give its number and say who controls the exterior doors.

Car trouble in Sacramento

In Residential Permit Parking (RPP) areas, shown by street signs, permits are enforced by license plate, and residents can register a guest's plate for a 24-hour temporary permit through SacPark.

• Lost a key while visiting an RPP block? Ask your host to register your plate while you arrange a car key replacement.
• A car left in the same street spot for at least 72 hours can be reported to Sacramento 311 as abandoned; City Code Enforcement handles those reports. Keep that in mind if a lost key strands a car.

Local rules worth knowing

Rental Housing Inspection Program. Under Article II of Sacramento City Code Chapter 8.120, rental housing units are subject to routine periodic inspection, and the city's registration form says engaging in the business of rental housing without registering and paying the annual fee is unlawful. The chapter's definition of a rental housing unit (Section 8.120.030) includes apartments, condominiums, duplexes and single-family houses, but not rooming or boarding houses, hotels or motels. Exemptions include units that passed final city inspection as new construction within five years and units inspected by agencies such as HUD.

The program's self-certification checklist, issued under both city and county names, covers locks:

• Entry doors: a standard deadbolt with a thumb latch on the inside, locking mechanisms no higher than 48 inches, a peephole and weather sealing.
• All doors and jambs: strike plates that are secure, not loose.
• Windows: any security bars can be released from the interior.

A double-cylinder deadbolt, keyed on both sides, does not match the thumb-latch item; changing one is lock replacement work. This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Sacramento

Central Sacramento's streets are numbered and lettered, so a corner such as 21st and J is enough there; elsewhere, give the neighborhood and cross streets. Say which door or vehicle is involved and whether the car is on a permit block. California Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Sacramento. See house lockout or the California page.