What we do for property owners
- Rekey at a sheriff-supervised lockout appointment
- Turnover rekey between tenants
- Several units in a single visit
- Master key so the manager carries one key
- Mailbox and storage compartment locks
- Gate, laundry and common-area locks
- Written key records for your file
- Hardware replaced where a lock is worn out
In California only the sheriff can lock a tenant out
This is the part worth reading before you call anybody. A landlord in California cannot change the locks on an occupied unit to remove a tenant, no matter what the tenant has done or how far behind the rent is. That is a self-help lockout, it is unlawful under Civil Code 789.3, and the penalties run per day on top of the tenant's actual damages. The lawful route is an unlawful detainer judgment, a writ of possession, and a lockout carried out by the sheriff, who posts notice and then restores possession to you on a scheduled date. Our part starts at that moment: we come to the appointment, and the locks change once the sheriff has handed the unit back. A locksmith who offers to change the locks before that is offering to make you a defendant, and we will not do it. When the unit is genuinely empty and returned, none of this applies and it is simply a turnover rekey.
Where we come to you
Single rentals, small buildings and managed portfolios across Santa Clarita, Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, Canyon Country, Stevenson Ranch and Castaic, throughout the San Fernando Valley, and up to Lancaster and Palmdale. Sheriff lockout appointments are usually early, and so are we.
For landlords in 81 cities
Santa Clarita Valley: Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Saugus, Castaic, Val Verde, Acton, Agua Dulce
San Fernando Valley: San Fernando Valley, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Burbank, Glendale, Tarzana, Northridge, Reseda, Winnetka, Panorama City, Sun Valley, Lake Balboa, Valley Glen, Toluca Lake, Universal City
West Valley: Woodland Hills, Chatsworth, West Hills, Canoga Park
North Valley: Granada Hills, Sylmar, Pacoima, Mission Hills, San Fernando, Arleta, North Hills, Porter Ranch, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills
Crescenta Valley: La Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge, Sunland, Tujunga, Montrose
Northeast LA: Eagle Rock, Atwater Village
Central LA: Hollywood, West Hollywood, Los Feliz
Las Virgenes: Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills
Santa Monica Mountains: Topanga
Conejo Valley: Westlake Village, Oak Park, Thousand Oaks
East Ventura County: Simi Valley, Moorpark
Heritage Valley: Fillmore, Piru, Santa Paula
Antelope Valley: Lancaster, Palmdale, Quartz Hill, Littlerock, Leona Valley
Westside, by appointment: Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Culver City, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Westwood
Landlord and eviction questions
Can you change the locks while the tenant still has belongings inside?
Not before the sheriff has restored possession, and we would not want a locksmith who said otherwise anywhere near your property. Until that point the tenant still legally holds the unit, and changing the locks turns a case you were winning into one you lose with damages attached. Once the sheriff hands it back, we can be working within minutes.
Do you work around the sheriff's schedule?
Yes, and that scheduling is most of the value. Lockout appointments are set by the sheriff and generally run early in the morning; we arrive for the appointment and start the moment possession passes to you, so the unit is secured before anybody leaves the site rather than hours later.
Can you rekey a whole building in one visit?
Yes, and it is far cheaper per door than doing them one at a time. We can key every unit differently while giving you one master that opens all of them, change the mailbox and common-area locks in the same run, and hand you a written record of which key belongs to which door so the next turnover is a phone call rather than a puzzle.
Turnover, or a lockout on the calendar?
Call with the address and the date. We will be there when possession passes to you.