California Landlords: Locks Between Tenants

This is general information from a locksmith, not legal advice. Laws change and details matter, so check the current text or ask an attorney before relying on it.

What the law asks for

California Civil Code section 1941.3 requires the landlord of a building intended for human habitation to install and maintain an operable deadbolt lock on each main swinging entry door of a unit, with a bolt that extends at least 13/16 of an inch beyond the strike edge of the door; operable security or locking devices on windows designed to be opened; and locks that comply with fire and safety codes on the exterior doors into common areas. Horizontal sliding doors are outside the deadbolt rule, windows that are louvered, casement, or more than 12 feet up or 6 feet across from the ground are outside the window rule, and buildings designated as historically significant are exempt. In practice, every unit should have a working deadbolt with a full-length bolt on its entry door and every opening window within reach should lock.

When a tenant can require a lock change

Civil Code section 1941.5 covers a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and similar abuse, where the person who committed it is not a tenant of the same unit. On a written request with documentation, which can be a restraining or protective order, a police report, a statement from a qualified third party such as a counselor, advocate or health practitioner, or other documentation that reasonably verifies it, the landlord must change the locks at the landlord's own expense within 24 hours. If the landlord does not, the tenant may change them without permission and gives the landlord a key; the landlord then reimburses the tenant within 21 days, provided the new locks are of similar or better quality.

Section 1941.6 covers the case where the restrained person is a tenant of the same unit: with a copy of a court order that excludes that person from the unit, the same 24-hour rule applies. These are time-critical jobs, and we treat them that way.

Rekeying between tenants

State law does not spell out a rekey between every tenancy, but it is what careful landlords and property managers do, and for good reason: the departing tenant, their friends and anyone they copied a key for can still walk in. A rekey of the unit door, the mailbox and any common keys the tenant held is quick and far cheaper than new locks. On a building with a master key system, only that unit is repinned and everyone else's keys keep working.

The keys people forget at turnover

• The mailbox. It carries bank statements and documents, and in a cluster box it is changed per compartment. See our mailbox lock page.
• Laundry, garage, pool and pedestrian gate keys, if the tenant held them.
• Keypad and smart lock codes, which should be reset rather than rekeyed.
• Garage remotes for a unit with its own opener.

Evictions

A landlord changes the locks after the sheriff has executed the writ of possession and handed possession back, not before. We meet the landlord and the deputy at the property and change or rekey the locks the moment possession passes, so the unit is secured the same hour. Our eviction lock change page explains how that visit runs.

Making turnover quick

Keep a key chart, use the same brand of lock across units so they can share a master, and book the rekey for the day the tenant hands back the keys. Text us the unit, the doors and a photo of each lock, and we quote before we come.

Questions people ask