Lock Rekeying in San Jose, CA

Old keys in San Jose homes

Rekeying changes the pins inside a cylinder so that every existing key stops working, while the lock body, handle and finish stay on the door. It suits a sound lock with an unknown key history, such as one on a house with several past owners. Eichler Homes built Morepark in 1952 and 1953, Fairglen from 1957 to 1959, the Fairglen Additions from 1959 to 1961, and Hudson and Fairhaven from 1961 to 1963. Any of those houses may have changed hands more than once, and each owner could have left copies with neighbors, cleaners or contractors.

The pattern reaches beyond the tracts. In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey, about 41 percent of California homes were built from 1950 to 1979, against about 32 percent nationally. After buying an older house, rekey every exterior door, including the garage-to-house door, so that one new key opens them all.

Turnover in rentals and shared houses

San José Municipal Code 17.20.520 requires a Residential Occupancy Permit for each building of three or more units, and the inspections that go with it run on three-, five- or six-year cycles by tier. Tenancies can turn over more than once between those visits, and a rekey between households retires every copy the last one made. In a house divided into rooms, include the shared front-door key.

Civil Code § 1941.5 covers a lock change after abuse or violence. If the landlord misses the statutory deadline, a tenant under a lease signed on or after January 1, 2011 may change the locks, must notify the landlord within a day and provide a key, and is reimbursed within 21 days. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to list in a rekey request

• The number of exterior doors, and whether they should share one key.
• The brand stamped on the lock face or key head, if you can read it.
• For a rental, the unit number and whether a manager's key must keep working.
• Any lock that is stiff, loose or damaged, since a worn cylinder may call for lock replacement instead.

The lock rekeying page covers the service in general, and the San Jose page describes the neighborhoods named above.