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Accounts · Landlords, property managers, HOAs, businesses
Locksmith Accounts for Landlords, Property Managers and Businesses
Turnover rekeys done before the cleaners leave, master key systems that stay under control, gate and storefront hardware, one invoice a month. Built for the people who own the doors of El Cajon.
(619) 837-7178Unit turnovers, done before the cleaners leave
Between a move-out and a move-in there's a window of a few days. The rekey goes in that window, not after the new tenant has asked twice.
You text us the unit number and the date. We show up with cylinders already pinned, rekey the entry door, the deadbolt and the patio slider if there is one, and leave a set of tagged keys with your maintenance person or in your lockbox. Each door we touch gets a photo for your file, with the unit number visible, so you have proof the lock was changed and what condition the door was in. Keyed-alike setups, where every lock in the unit takes one key, or master-keyed setups, where your maintenance key opens everything and each tenant key opens one unit, both work on a turnover schedule.
We do this on the courtyard and garden complexes from the 1960s and 70s along Mollison, Madison, Chase and Second Street, the fourplexes off Broadway in Bostonia, and the two-on-a-lot properties that local families have held for decades. Same process for a duplex as for a 60-unit building; the invoice is just shorter.
Master key systems that stay under control
A master key system is only as good as its key control. Standard keyways can be copied at any kiosk, which means your "do not duplicate" stamp is a suggestion. For properties that need real control we use restricted or patented keyways: the blanks aren't sold to the public, we're the only ones who cut them, and every key we cut is logged against your authorization and the unit it opens.
When a tenant leaves, we rekey that one unit inside the system without disturbing your master. When a maintenance key goes missing, we can tell you exactly which doors are exposed and re-pin those. A system designed on paper first, with room to grow, is cheaper than one you outgrow in two years; we design it with you, on the property, before any cylinder is touched.
Deadbolts, gates and what California requires
California Civil Code 1941.3 sets a floor for rental housing: a deadbolt on each main swinging entry door, working locks on windows that open, and locks on common-area doors and gates that lead to the units. Tenants know about it, and a habitability complaint about locks is one of the easier ones for them to win.
We walk a property with you, door by door, and hand you a checklist: which units are missing a deadbolt, which sliders have no working lock, which gate self-closer has failed, which windows won't latch. Then a quote to bring it all up, unit by unit, so you can do it in phases. That checklist is yours to keep whether or not you hire us for the work.
Common areas: gates, laundry rooms, mailboxes
The pool gate that doesn't latch, the laundry-room door with a lock from 1978, the trash enclosure the neighbors use, the pedestrian gate on the alley. We install and repair gate locks and self-closers, keyed and code-operated laundry-room locks, and padlocks for enclosures, and we key them into your system so maintenance carries one key.
Cluster mailboxes: we change the individual compartment locks when a tenant leaves or a key is lost and give you the new keys. The carrier arrow lock on a USPS-owned box belongs to the post office, and we leave it alone.
Storefronts and light industrial
The same owners who hold apartment buildings in El Cajon often hold a strip center or a storefront too, so commercial work runs through the same account. On Main Street and Broadway that means storefront rear doors, panic bars and exit hardware on the alley side, door closers, and rekeying an office suite the week someone leaves. The markets and bakeries along Main and East Main need the rear delivery door to be as solid as the front, and a good rear-door deadbolt is usually the cheapest fix on the list.
Out on Fletcher Parkway and around Gillespie Field, it's roll-up doors, hasps and shrouded padlocks on industrial units, cabinet and gate locks in the yard, and keyed-alike sets so a foreman carries one key. We can rekey a shop after an employee walks out the same day you call.
How accounts work
- One call to set up. Property addresses, unit count, who authorizes work, who gets the invoice. We send a W-9.
- Per-unit and per-lock pricing. The rates below, printed on your statement, with volume pricing when the unit count earns it.
- Net-30 invoicing. One statement a month per property. Cards, ACH or check.
- One contact person. Your manager or maintenance lead texts one number and gets the same tech who knows the property.
- Lockout line for your tenants. Tenants call us directly for lockouts. We open a door only with manager authorization or a verified lease and ID; we never open on a name alone.
Per-unit terms
Turnover rekey $95 per unit or $20 per lock · master key setup from $350
Full landlord and property rates, including volume pricing and after-hours lockouts for tenants, are at pricing: landlord and property rates. Hardware upgrades inside the units are priced on the security upgrades page.
Questions property managers ask
Can tenants copy the keys?
With a standard Kwikset or Schlage keyway, yes; any kiosk at the hardware store will cut one. That is why turnover rekeys matter. If you want keys that can't be copied, we set the property up on a restricted keyway: the blanks are controlled, only we cut them, and only on your written authorization. We keep a log of every key cut so you know how many exist for each unit.
Who pays for tenant lockouts?
Your call, and we set it up when we open the account. Most owners have the tenant pay us directly at the published lockout rate, so it never touches your invoice. Some managers prefer to be billed and recover it from the tenant. Either way we open a door only after we've confirmed the person is the tenant of record, by ID and lease or by a call to your office.
Do you work with HOAs?
Yes. Pool gates, pedestrian gates, mail kiosks, clubhouse doors and the pump-room padlock nobody has a key to. We take direction from the board or the management company, keep a key log for the association, and can key the common areas so one key works for maintenance and a different one for residents.
Can you handle 40 units in a day?
With notice, yes. We prep the keyed-alike or master-keyed cylinders in the shop the day before, bring two techs, and work down the unit list with your maintenance person or a key to each door. Typical turnaround is a set number of units per tech per day; we'll give you a real figure when we see the property.
Do you bill the owner or the management company?
Either. One W-9, net-30 terms, and a statement per property so an owner with three buildings in Bostonia and one on Madison sees each one on its own. Cards, ACH and checks are all fine.
Set up a property account
Fill this in and we'll call you back during office hours to confirm the details. Prefer to talk? (619) 837-7178 or [email protected].
Tenant looking for your own unit? What you're allowed to change yourself is on the household rekey page. Where we go: service area.