Change Locks in Los Angeles, CA: Rekey or Replace, Day or Night

Should you rekey or replace your locks?

Most people who call us about a lock change do not actually need new locks. They need the old keys to stop working. That is a different problem, and in many cases it has the lighter-cost fix. Rekeying means we open the lock's cylinder, swap the internal pins to match a new key, and give you keys that work while every previous key becomes useless. The lock stays on the door. Replacing means the hardware itself comes off and something new goes on.

So the honest answer to rekey or replace is that it depends on the condition of the lock, the kind of hardware, and what you want from the door afterward. We look at each door with you before we touch anything, because the answer can be different for the front door, the back door, and the deadbolt on the side entry.

Rekeying usually makes sense when:

Replacing usually makes sense when:

If you already know which route you want, our pages on lock rekeying and lock replacement go deeper on each. This page is for the in-between case: you want your locks changed, and you are not sure what that should mean for your doors.

• The lock turns smoothly, the latch works, and nothing is bent, loose, or worn.
• You like the hardware and the finish and simply want control over who holds a key.
• You want several doors on one key instead of a ring of different ones.
• The deadbolt and knob are solid but you cannot account for the old keys.
• The lock is worn, sticks, wobbles, or shows pry or drill damage.
• You want a different style, a higher security level, a restricted key, or a smart lock.
• A door has no deadbolt at all and you want one added.
• The hardware is so old or damaged that parts to rekey it reliably are not available.

Why change locks after buying a house or moving in?

You cannot know how many keys exist for a lock you inherited. Previous owners, tenants, relatives, contractors, cleaners, real estate agents, a neighbor who watered the plants. None of that is an accusation. It is just arithmetic, and keys get copied at hardware counters without any record being kept. Changing the locks resets that count to the keys you are holding in your hand.

That is why a locksmith for new homeowners is one of the most common calls we get, and why a locksmith after moving matters for renters as much as owners. If you have just closed on a place, the best moment to change locks is before the first night you sleep there. If you are renting, ask your landlord or property manager first, and we can work from what they approve. We also work with property owners and landlords who turn units over regularly.

Moving in is not the only reason. People also call us to change door locks:

• After a breakup, or when a roommate or family member moves out.
• After a lost or stolen set of keys, especially if the keys were with anything that shows your address.
• After a break-in or an attempted one, when the lock may be damaged as well as compromised.
• After a renovation, when several crews have had access to the house.
• When a house sitter, nanny, cleaner, or employee no longer needs access.
• When you are tired of carrying five different keys and want everything on one.

How does a lock change work, step by step?

Here is how a typical residential lock change goes with us. The order matters, because the decision between rekeying and replacing gets made at the door, not on the phone.

1. Call (213) 577-1366. We answer around the clock, so a lock change after a late-night move is not a problem. Tell us how many doors are involved and what led to the call.
2. Describe the locks as best you can: front door, deadbolts, knobs, back door, side gate, garage entry. A phone photo of each lock helps us come prepared with the right parts.
3. We come to you in one of our mobile vans, or you can stop by the storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood. For most homes and apartments, the van is the simpler route. More on that under mobile locksmith service.
4. We inspect each lock in place. We check how the lock turns, whether the latch and strike line up, and what shape the door and frame are in. Then we tell you plainly what each door needs. It is common for one door to be a rekey and another to be a replacement.
5. We go over the cost with you before work starts, based on what we actually see. You decide what happens, and nothing gets swapped that you did not agree to.
6. We do the work, then test every new key in every lock more than once. We also check that each deadbolt throws fully and that doors close and latch without force.
7. We hand over the keys, take the old hardware if you want it gone, and tell you what we would suggest for spare keys and who should hold them. Before we leave, you try the keys yourself.

What affects the cost of changing locks?

We are not going to put a number on this page, because a lock change is not one job. It is a range of jobs that happen to share a name. What we can do is tell you exactly what moves the cost up or down, so that nothing about the quote surprises you.

On the phone we can usually describe how a standard job will go. If a door has unusual hardware, damage, or a condition we cannot tell from a description, we will say so and give you a firm answer once we have seen it.

• How many locks are involved. One deadbolt is a short job. A whole house or a multi-unit building is a longer one.
• Rekey versus replace. Rekeying reuses your hardware, so it is often the more economical route. Replacing adds the cost of the new lock itself.
• The hardware you choose. Brand, build quality, finish, and style all vary widely. A basic knob and a heavy-duty deadbolt are not priced alike.
• Security level. High-security locks with restricted keys cost more than standard locks, and for the right door they are worth it.
• Smart locks. If you want keypad or app-based entry, that is a different product and a different install. See smart lock installation.
• Added deadbolts. If a door has no deadbolt, adding one involves drilling and fitting, not just swapping a cylinder. We cover that under deadbolt installation.
• Keyed alike. Putting several locks on one key takes a bit more work but saves you a ring of keys for years.
• Door and frame condition. A lock cannot do its job in a door that is out of square or a strike plate that is loose.
• Time of day. After-hours calls are part of what we do, and they can affect the price of a visit. We will tell you before we dispatch.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key to change your locks?

We have been in business since 1987, and a great deal of that time has been spent standing at front doors working out the right fix. Honest advice on rekey or replace is something we can give because we have seen how each choice holds up over years, not just on install day.

We are one company with a real storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd and our own mobile vans. When you call, you are not reaching a call center that sells your job to whoever is closest. The people who answer are the people who do the work and answer for it. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees how we do things, and that includes telling a customer when the lighter-cost option is the right one.

We serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and Los Angeles is home base. Our phone line, (213) 577-1366, is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year.

One more thing worth knowing whoever you hire: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license. Ask any locksmith for it before they start work, and feel free to ask us as well. A real company will have no trouble answering.

Changing locks in Westwood, Palms, Koreatown, and across Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a renter-heavy city, and that shapes a lot of the lock-change work here. Across the central city, renters outnumber owners. Mid-century apartment buildings and dingbats fill neighborhoods like Palms, Sawtelle, and Koreatown, and move-in rekeys in those buildings are a routine reason to call. When a unit changes hands, a new tenant has no idea who holds keys to the old lock. Rekeying the unit door is often the quickest way to settle that, with the existing hardware left in place.

Our storefront sits in Westwood at 10740 Wilshire Blvd, in ZIP code 90024, so the area around UCLA and Westwood Village is right on our doorstep. Student housing there turns over regularly, and roommates come and go. When one moves out and the keys do not come back, changing the lock on the shared door is the practical step. It can often be done by rekeying, so everyone who should still have access just gets a new key.

In an apartment building, remember what a lock change on your door does and does not cover. We can change the lock on your unit. The building's controlled-access entry, the intercom, and the shared doors belong to building management. Mailbox banks are another separate item. If your mailbox key is the one that went missing, that is handled through mailbox lock replacement, not through your door.

Along the Wilshire Corridor in Westwood, many of the high-rises are HOA-managed condominiums. If you buy one, we suggest reading your HOA rules before replacing exterior-facing hardware. Rekeying your unit door is often a cleaner choice because the look of the door does not change. Further out, in Brentwood, Mar Vista, Rancho Park, and the older parts of West Los Angeles, single-family homes and flats are changing hands all the time. The hardware on any given house can be a mix of original pieces and later swaps, so we check each door instead of assuming.

Older doors, mortise locks, and the Westside fog

Central Los Angeles has a lot of older housing. In Mid-Wilshire you will find 1920s and 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival and Tudor homes, and many older buildings in the city still carry their original mortise locksets and mid-century hardware. Those locks were built to last, and often the better move is to keep them. A mortise lock can frequently be rekeyed, which keeps the original look of the door and gets the old keys out of circulation. Sometimes the lock body inside the door is worn out, and then replacement is the honest answer. We will tell you which one you have after we have looked at it.

Downtown has its own mix, including loft conversions in early-1900s commercial buildings, where the doors and frames were not made with a modern residential lock in mind. Fitting new hardware to those doors takes care, and we would rather measure properly than force something in.

Climate plays only a small part here. Most of the central city is mild, but the Westside gets regular morning marine layer, which can leave exterior hardware damp. On the foggier Westside, older wood doors can swell a bit with the seasons. If a door sticks or the latch drags only at certain times of year, a new lock will not fix that. The door or the strike plate needs adjusting. We would rather tell you that than sell you hardware you do not need. If the lock itself is the problem, our lock repair page covers that.

What to have ready before you call

A little preparation speeds the job and helps us bring the right parts. None of this is required, but all of it helps.

A reputable locksmith should also ask you to show that you live at the address or have the right to authorize the work. That is not suspicion. It is how a locksmith avoids letting the wrong person into someone's home, and it protects you as much as anyone.

• How many exterior doors you want changed, and whether you also want interior or side-gate locks done.
• Whether the doors already have deadbolts, and whether you have a working key for each lock.
• A phone photo of each lock, front and back if you can manage it.
• Whether you want everything on one key, or separate keys for certain doors.
• If you rent, the okay from your landlord or property manager. If you own a condo, a quick look at your HOA rules.
• How many spare keys you want cut, and who they are for.

More locksmith help in Los Angeles

• Deadbolt Installation in Los Angeles
• Gate Lock Repair in Los Angeles
• High Security Locks in Los Angeles
• Key Duplication in Los Angeles
• Lock Installation in Los Angeles
• Lock Rekey in Los Angeles
• All services in Los Angeles

Change Locks near Los Angeles

• Beverly Hills
• West Hollywood
• Culver City
• Santa Monica
• Marina del Rey
• Inglewood