Lock Rekeying in Vancouver, WA

Why keys pile up in Vancouver

In the Census Bureau's 2024 estimates, renters occupy 47.6 percent of Vancouver's occupied homes, against 37.1 percent statewide. With close to half the city renting, keys change hands at every move, and a buyer of a former rental rarely knows how many copies exist.

Rekeying answers that without new hardware: the pins inside the cylinder are changed to match a new key, so old keys stop working while the lock body and handle stay on the door.

A Vancouver house from the 1990s may have separate locks on the front, side and garage-entry doors, and if those cylinders share a brand and keyway they can usually be rekeyed to one key. In Fourth Plain Village, where many 1930s and 1940s houses are duplexes or triplexes, an owner may want each unit on its own key, plus one for any shared door.

Rental rules that touch keys

• Landlord duties. RCW 59.18.060(6) requires a landlord to provide reasonably adequate locks and furnish keys, and RCW 59.18.060(7) requires reasonable care in safeguarding master and duplicate keys. No lock type is named.
• City registration. VMC Chapter 5.08, adopted July 14, 2025, requires rental housing in Vancouver to be registered with the city each year starting January 1, 2026 (VMC 5.08.060). Exemptions include owner-occupied single-family homes without an accessory dwelling unit (VMC 5.08.050(A)).
• New tenants. New tenants must receive written information on registration and tenant rights (VMC 5.08.070).

This is general information, not legal advice.

Counting doors before you ask

1. Every exterior door, counting side, back and garage-entry doors, plus any detached garage, shed or gate.
2. The brand stamped on each lock face or latch, or a photo of each.
3. Whether you want one key for everything or separate keys for units, an accessory dwelling or a shared door.
4. Whether any lock is stiff or damaged; a worn cylinder may need lock replacement instead.
5. Proof that you own or manage the property, such as a deed, closing papers or a management agreement.

The lock rekeying page explains the work itself; the Vancouver page has the city's rental rules.