Rekeying a whole house in Los Angeles is a counting and planning job: every keyed knob, lever and deadbolt on the property is one cylinder, and the goal is to get all of them onto one key in a single visit without missing the doors people forget. This page is the planning guide for that job.
If you are here for pricing, the factor-by-factor answer lives in our main cost explainer, how much it costs to rekey a lock or a house in Los Angeles. The short version: it is priced per cylinder plus one service visit, lock type and time of day move the tier, and Locksmith Liberty gives you the full upfront quote before any work begins. Everything below is about making sure the count behind that quote is right.
Count doors first, then count cylinders
Most homeowners undercount. Walk the outside of the house and note every keyed lock, then check the garage and the yard. Typical Los Angeles homes come out like this:
| Home type | Doors people remember | Cylinders people forget | Typical total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1-bed apartment (Koreatown, Hollywood) | Front deadbolt and knob | Mailbox, storage cage | 2 |
| 2-bed apartment with balcony or back door | Front deadbolt and knob, back door | Balcony slider auxiliary lock | 3 |
| 1920s duplex unit (Mid-City, Mid-Wilshire, Miracle Mile) | Front, kitchen door | Basement or laundry door, side gate | 4 to 5 |
| 3-bed single family home | Front, back, garage entry | Garage pedestrian door, side door, gate | 6 to 8 |
| Larger home with garage, side doors and gates | Front, back, garage entry, guest house | Pool gate, driveway gate, pool house, shed | 8 to 10 |
The count, not the home type, is what the quote is built on. Two houses of the same size can differ by three cylinders because one has a pool gate and a guest house door.
Room by room: which doors matter most
Rooms do not have cylinders, doors do, but thinking room by room is a good way to make sure nothing is skipped.
- Entry. Front deadbolt and knob or lever. This is the pair everyone remembers and the one most likely to already be on a Grade 1 deadbolt.
- Kitchen and back yard. The back door is the most common forced entry point in Los Angeles because it is out of sight. Rekey it and check that the strike is anchored into the stud.
- Garage. Two doors: the pedestrian door from the driveway and the door from the garage into the house. Both are keyed and both are usually forgotten.
- Side yard and laundry. Older houses in Mid-City, Mid-Wilshire and Hancock Park often have a laundry or basement door with its own key.
- Gates. Driveway, pool and side gates with keyed locks can usually be rekeyed to the house key if the cylinder shares a keyway.
- ADU or guest house. Decide whether it should share the house key or stay on its own key for a tenant.
- Interior offices and bedrooms. Keyed interior locks are optional. Most families skip them; home offices with client files often include them.
Garage and side doors: the doors people forget
When a previous owner, tenant, contractor or housekeeper still has a key, it is almost never the front door key that gets used. It is the garage pedestrian door, the side door behind the trash bins or the gate to the yard. Those are the cylinders that make a whole-house rekey worth doing, so ask the technician to walk the property with you before starting.
Garage openers are separate. Rekeying does not clear remote codes, so reset the opener and any keypad during the same visit. Our residential locksmith team can walk you through it while on site.
Keyed alike: one key for the whole house
Most customers want a single key. That is possible when every cylinder uses the same keyway, which is true for most Los Angeles homes with all-Kwikset or all-Schlage hardware. When one door is a different brand, the technician swaps that one cylinder so the set matches, and you hear about the swap on the call, not at the door.
If you want the guest house, a home office or a tenant unit on a separate key, say so. Keyed alike does not have to mean every door.
Not sure whether a worn or outdated lock should be rekeyed or replaced outright? The main guide has a side-by-side rekey versus replace comparison, and most keypad deadbolts from Schlage, Yale and Kwikset still have a mechanical cylinder that can be keyed to the rest of the house.
Los Angeles specifics that change the plan
1920s duplexes in Mid-City, Mid-Wilshire and Miracle Mile
Many of these units still have original mortise locks. Some can be rekeyed, some need a new mortise cylinder, and a few need a modern deadbolt added above the old lockset. The technician tells you which before touching the door.
Koreatown apartments
Buildings with a master key system for management need care: rekeying a unit to a new key can take it off the master. We check with the building first and offer options that keep the manager’s access where the lease requires it.
Landlord and property-manager turnover
Several units can be scheduled in one visit so the service visit is spread across the building, and buildings on restricted keyways get repeatable quotes. The legal side, including what Civil Code 1941.3 actually requires, is covered in our guide to deadbolt and rekey rules for Los Angeles landlords, and real estate agents will find turnover procedures in our guide for real estate and property professionals.
How to plan the visit
- Walk the property and count every keyed cylinder, including gates, garage doors and the guest house.
- Note the brand stamped on each key or lock face.
- Decide which doors share the house key and which stay separate.
- Decide how many copies you want cut on the van.
- Book a daytime slot where you can, and mention gate codes and parking.
- Have your ID and proof of address or the lease ready; we verify before rekeying.
When to call Locksmith Liberty
Call Locksmith Liberty at (213) 314-1971 for a whole-house rekey after closing on a house, moving into a rental, losing a key ring, or parting with a roommate, contractor or housekeeper who had a key. If you are also locked out, the emergency locksmith line bundles the lockout and the rekey into one visit with one service call.
For deadbolt upgrades, smart lock installation and everything else that goes with a house rekey, see our residential locksmith services and our coverage pages for Mid-Wilshire and Hollywood.
About Locksmith Liberty
Locksmith Liberty is a mobile locksmith company based in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, CA, serving central and west Los Angeles including Mid-City, Mid-Wilshire, Koreatown, Hollywood, Beverly Grove, Miracle Mile, West Hollywood, Culver City and Santa Monica. Technicians respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for home, apartment and car lockouts, rekeying, lock installation and repair, car key replacement and programming, and commercial locks and access control. Every job is priced upfront before work begins. Call Locksmith Liberty any time at (213) 314-1971.
Whole-house rekey FAQs
How many locks does a typical Los Angeles house have to rekey?
A studio or one-bedroom apartment usually has two cylinders, a two-bedroom with a back door three, a 1920s duplex unit four or five, and a three-bedroom single-family home six to eight once you count the garage pedestrian door, the side door and the gates. Larger properties with a pool gate, driveway gate or guest house run higher. The quote is built on that count, which is why walking the property first matters.
Can a whole house be rekeyed in one visit?
Yes. One technician carries the pins, blanks and spare cylinders to rekey every door, gate and garage entry on the property in a single visit, cut your copies on the van, and test every lock from both sides before leaving. The only thing that splits a job across visits is an unusual mortise cylinder or restricted key blank that has to be ordered.
Can every door in my house be keyed to one key?
Yes, as long as the cylinders share a keyway. Most Los Angeles homes have Kwikset (KW1) or Schlage (SC1) hardware. If one door is a different brand, we swap that cylinder so the whole set works on a single key, and you hear about the swap on the call before anyone arrives.
Should I rekey the garage door and side doors too?
Yes. The garage pedestrian door, the door from the garage into the house, side and kitchen doors and any gate lock are the doors previous keyholders are most likely to still have keys for, and they are out of sight of the street. A whole-house rekey should include every keyed exterior cylinder, including the ones you rarely use.
Do landlords in Los Angeles have to rekey between tenants?
California does not have a statewide law that forces a rekey at every turnover, but Civil Code 1941.3 requires a working deadbolt on the main entry, landlords are responsible for providing a secure unit, and most Los Angeles property managers rekey between tenants as standard practice. Several units can be keyed alike to a manager’s key where the building is set up for it.
