Lock Rekeying in San Diego, CA

Why Clairemont houses get rekeyed

Around 1950, Lou Burgener and Carlos Tavares started Clairemont on winding streets above Mission Bay, and The Journal of San Diego History calls it the city's largest post-war subdivision. The first 500 homes came in 20 floor plans, and several thousand houses, duplexes and apartments followed within a few years. Across California, about 41 percent of homes date from 1950 to 1979, per the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey. A house of that era may have passed through several owners and tenants, each of whom could have handed spares to relatives, neighbors or contractors.

Rekeying resets the pins inside the existing cylinder, so every old key stops turning it and a new key takes over. The deadbolt, knob and trim stay in place, which suits hardware that still works smoothly. If a lock sticks, wobbles or is damaged, lock replacement is the better step.

• New owners can have every exterior door set to one new key, including a side door into the garage.
• Duplex owners can give each unit its own key and track who holds each copy.

Turnover under San Diego's tenant protections

San Diego's Residential Tenant Protections (Municipal Code Chapter 9, Article 8, Division 7) took effect June 24, 2023. Section 98.0704 requires a landlord to have just cause, at-fault or no-fault, to end a tenancy, and 98.0706(c) requires relocation assistance equal to two months' rent, or three for a senior or disabled tenant, when the reason is no-fault. Section 98.0703 exempts some housing, including units issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years.

Whatever the reason a tenancy ends, the move-out date is the moment to rekey, so the departing household's keys and any copies stop working before the next tenant moves in. This is general information, not legal advice.

What a rekeying request needs

• how many exterior doors, and which: front, back, patio or garage side door
• whether one key should open all of them
• the brand name on the lock face, if you can read it
• for a rental, whether the unit is empty or occupied, and who receives the new keys
• for a duplex or small apartment building, the number of units and any shared doors

For the general service, see lock rekeying.