Oregon Locksmith Services

Homes and doors across Oregon

Oregon's housing peaks in the 1970s. Census Bureau estimates for 2024 put 17.2 percent of the state's homes in that decade, more than any other, against 13.7 percent nationally. Mobile homes are 6.7 percent of the stock, versus 5.4 percent nationwide.

Portland, Eugene, Salem and Bend each look different:

• Portland is oldest: 25.9 percent of homes predate 1940, and 18.7 percent sit in buildings of 50 or more units, against 6.5 percent statewide.
• Eugene is mid-century, with 45.1 percent built from 1940 to 1979.
• Salem sits close to the state pattern, with 16.3 percent built in the 1970s.
• Bend is newest: 51.9 percent of homes date from 2000 or later.

At the door:

• A pre-1940 Portland house may still have its original mortise lock, set into a pocket cut in the door edge. These can often be repaired or rekeyed rather than replaced.
• If the knob lock and deadbolt on a 1970s house in Salem or Eugene take different keys, rekeying can often put both on one key.
• Newer houses, including most of Bend's, usually have bored deadbolts, the type most keypad and smart locks are made to replace.
• Manufactured homes often use locksets sized for thinner doors, so have a photo of the lock ready for a replacement.

How Oregon's climate affects locks and keys

NOAA's 2022 climate summary for Oregon describes a state split by the Cascades, which block the flow of moisture and leave the east much drier. Parts of the Coast Range get more than 100 inches of precipitation a year; some desert areas in the east get less than 10. Most areas receive the bulk of their precipitation in the winter months, and the 2020 Labor Day fires burned more than 2,000 structures.

What that means for locks and keys:

• Coast and valley rain. On the wet west side, check exterior locks at the end of winter. Near the ocean, choose corrosion-resistant finishes, and when a key starts to drag, use a dry lock lubricant rather than oil.
• High desert dust. On the dry east side, grit can work into keyways. Clean a sticky lock rather than forcing the key, which can end in a broken key.
• Fire season. Pack a spare house key and a spare car key or fob in your evacuation bag.

Renting in Oregon: locks, keys and rekeying

Renters live in 36.9 percent of Oregon's occupied homes, against 34.7 percent nationally, and a 51.8 percent majority in Eugene. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, ORS chapter 90, covers locks in several places:

• Working locks. Under ORS 90.320(1)(L), a unit is considered unhabitable if it substantially lacks working locks for all entrance doors and latches for all windows through which the unit can be entered.
• App-based entry. ORS 90.320(1)(m) allows a phone-app access control system as a means of unlocking those locks, provided the landlord also offers at least one alternative, such as an access code, fob, key card or other tangible key.
• Victims of abuse. Under ORS 90.459, a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crime or stalking can request new locks without first providing verification. The landlord must promptly change them at the tenant's expense or let the tenant do it; if the landlord does not act promptly, the tenant may change them and must give the landlord a key. If the perpetrator is a tenant in the same unit, the tenant must first provide a court order requiring that person to move out.
• Lost keys. ORS 90.302(7)(c) leaves the cost of replacing a key the tenant lost outside the statute's limits on landlord fees.
• No lockouts. Under ORS 90.375, a tenant unlawfully removed or excluded by a landlord may seek a court order to recover possession or end the rental agreement, and can recover up to two months' periodic rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Where we take requests in Oregon

About 70 percent of Oregonians live in the Willamette Valley, home to Portland, Salem and Eugene. Bend lies east of the Cascade Range in the Oregon High Desert. Oregon Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Oregon.

• Portland
• Salem
• Eugene
• Bend

For other Oregon towns, include your ZIP code in a service request.

Before you book a locksmith in Oregon

The Oregon Department of Justice takes consumer complaints through an online form and may release your complaint and supporting documents to the business. It cannot act as your attorney, and filing does not extend your legal deadlines. If you paid by credit card, it suggests contacting the card company too.

Checks worth making before work starts:

1. Get the total in writing and keep the itemized invoice.
2. If your rental door opens by phone app, know the backup your landlord must offer under ORS 90.320(1)(m), so a dead phone is not a lockout.
3. Changing locks under ORS 90.459? Have the landlord's key cut at the same visit.