Smart locks
House lockouts
Re-keying
Deadbolt upgrades
Schlage
Kwikset
Car keys & fobsNon-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Get your free estimateLocksmith in Santa Monica, CA
Rekeying is the service Santa Monica calls for most, and the housing stock here explains why: hundreds of pre-1980 apartment buildings and rent-controlled units change hands constantly, which means key control changes constantly too. Add salt-laden ocean air that corrodes exterior hardware faster than anywhere inland, and you get a city where locks fail in specific, predictable ways. Glendale Lock & Key has served Santa Monica since 2018, and we work on the lock you already have, whether that’s a 1940s mortise lock in a Wilshire corridor courtyard building or a Schlage deadbolt on a beachfront condo. Call (855) 791-2710 for an exact quote before anyone is dispatched.
Why Santa Monica Homes Are Different
Santa Monica’s housing stock spans three distinct eras, and each one shapes the kind of lock work we do. South of Wilshire, you’ll find 1920s and 1940s California bungalows and courtyard apartments, many still running original mortise locksets that big-box stores don’t stock parts for. In the 90403 and 90404 ZIP codes, mid-century dingbats and low-rise condos dominate, and most of them left the builder with Kwikset or Weiser hardware that’s now decades past its service life. Up in 90402, custom homes often carry Baldwin or Schlage hardware in oil-rubbed bronze finishes that need matched replacements when a cylinder fails.
The bigger issue is the ocean. Within a mile of the beach, salt-laden marine air and coastal fog accelerate pitting and corrosion on exterior deadbolts, gate latches, and mailbox locks. We regularly see locks in Santa Monica’s beachfront buildings seize up after just three or four years, where the same hardware inland would run for a decade. Sand gets into gate locks and patio door tracks in ways that require more than lubrication. And rent-controlled apartments add a legal layer: tenants often cannot change their own locks without landlord consent, which means we perform plenty of landlord-approved rekeys where the tenant gets new keys and the landlord keeps a working copy, a specific arrangement we handle constantly in 90401 and 90403.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main Santa Monica Services
Two services dominate the calls we take from Santa Monica: car key replacement and emergency lockouts. Here’s what each one looks like on the ground here.
Car Key Replacement in Santa Monica
Santa Monica’s mix of residential streets, beach parking, and office traffic means a lost or broken car key tends to strand people in awkward places: a metered spot on Main Street, a garage off Colorado, a hotel lot near the pier. We program modern transponder and chip keys on-site for most makes, so you don’t need a tow to a dealership. Ocean air is not a factor inside a car key, but the sheer variety of vehicles in Santa Monica, from older commuter sedans to newer EVs, means the job is never one-size-fits-all. For the full breakdown, see Car Key Replacement in Santa Monica.
Emergency Locksmith in Santa Monica
A lockout in Santa Monica rarely happens at a convenient hour. It’s 1 a.m. outside a rent-controlled apartment on Euclid, or a deadbolt snapped on a beachfront condo after a day of salt fog. We treat emergency response as a constant, not an afterthought, and we carry hardware for the brands Santa Monica actually has on its doors, not just whatever is cheapest to stock. If you’re locked out now, the fastest path is Emergency Locksmith in Santa Monica.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Rekey Locks in Santa Monica
Rekeying in Santa Monica is rarely a casual upgrade. It’s what you do the day you close on a 1930s bungalow south of Wilshire and realize you don’t know who else has a key. It’s what a landlord in 90403 does after a tenant moves out to restore key control without replacing eight locksets. And it’s what a beachfront condo owner does when the ocean air has finally gummed up the original cylinders and a simple rekey plus cleaning restores smooth operation. Rekeying lets you keep the hardware you have while eliminating every key you can’t account for, and that matters in a city where people come and go every month. When the hardware itself is too far gone, we still handle full lock replacement on Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale. Full details are on our Rekey Locks hub page.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You’ve just bought a Santa Monica home or taken over a lease and can’t verify how many previous keys are floating around.
What it costs in Santa Monica
Most rekey jobs in Santa Monica fall between $95 and $190, depending on the cylinder type.
How we do it
We remove the cylinder, swap the internal pins to match a new key, and test the lock with the new key before we hand it over.
Keyed Alike
Signs you need it
You’re carrying four keys for one property and want every entry door, deadbolt, and gate to turn on a single key.
What it costs in Santa Monica
Keying locks alike in Santa Monica seldom exceeds $20 per cylinder, added to the standard rekey labor.
How we do it
We pin each cylinder to the same cut depths so one key operates all of them, then verify function from both sides of every door.
What Rekey Locks Costs in Santa Monica
| Item | Typical range in Santa Monica |
|---|---|
| Rekey service call and first cylinder | $95 – $160 |
| Additional cylinders | $18 – $25 each |
| Keyed alike conversion (per cylinder) | $15 – $20 |
Prices run higher here than in Glendale or Torrance when we’re dealing with corroded beachfront hardware that needs extra cleaning before the pins will seat. The price we quote on the phone for rekeying in Santa Monica is the price on the invoice; there’s no call-out surcharge added on arrival.
Can you rekey my locks if I rent in Santa Monica?
Yes, with landlord consent. Most Santa Monica landlords we work with want a rekey between tenants, and we provide the tenant with new keys while giving the owner a working copy. Bring your property manager’s written OK to the appointment.
Is rekeying better than replacing locks in Santa Monica?
For most Santa Monica homes, yes. Rekeying preserves original hardware that matches the era of the building, costs less than replacement, and fully eliminates old-key access. Replacement is only necessary when the hardware is physically worn or seized from corrosion.
Brands We Service in Santa Monica
We service Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale hardware across Santa Monica, with pins and common replacement cylinders stocked for same-day work. If you have a Baldwin or Sargent lock, we’ll note it at the quote stage and bring the right parts. Our our brands page covers the full lineup.
Pricing for Locksmith in Santa Monica, CA
| Service | Typical range in Santa Monica |
|---|---|
| Rekey service call and first cylinder | $95 – $160 |
| Additional cylinders | $18 – $25 each |
| Keyed alike conversion (per cylinder) | $15 – $20 |
| Deadbolt installation | $120 – $220 |
| Door knob or lever replacement | $90 – $180 |
| Mortise lock repair | $180 – $320 |
| Car key replacement (basic) | $120 – $250 |
| Car key replacement (transponder/chip) | $180 – $350 |
| Emergency lockout | $85 – $180 |
| Gate lock repair | $110 – $240 |
Santa Monica pricing runs slightly above the LA average because so much of the hardware we touch has been eaten by salt air, and extraction or disassembly takes longer. Regardless of the job, you’ll get a firm phone quote before we dispatch anyone, and that is the price on the invoice.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Santa Monica
We cover every Santa Monica ZIP code and the distinct housing within each. Our typical response across the city is 30 to 45 minutes for emergency calls, with rekey appointments scheduled in advance.
- Ocean Park
- Sunset Park
- Wilshire-Montana
- Mid-City
- North of Montana
Service Area – Cities Near Santa Monica
While this page is focused on Santa Monica, we also work the neighboring communities along the coast and east toward downtown LA. That includes Venice, CA to the south, Century City, CA and Culver City, CA to the east, and Beverly Hills, CA to the northeast.
Serving Santa Monica, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Santa Monica area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Locksmith in Santa Monica
We’re usually on-site in Santa Monica within 30 to 45 minutes for emergency calls, depending on traffic and your location. Beachfront areas and the Wilshire corridor can add a few minutes, but we’ll tell you the ETA when you call.
No city permit is required to rekey or replace a residential lock in Santa Monica. If you’re in a rent-controlled unit, tenant lock changes generally require landlord consent, but the work itself needs no city filing.
Yes. Rekey jobs are scheduled for a two-hour window that fits your day, and we’ll confirm the hardware brands on your doors before arriving so the service call goes faster. Call (855) 791-2710 to pick a time.
If you need a rekey, a car key, or an emergency locksmith in Santa Monica, call (855) 791-2710. We’ll quote the full price on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and you’ll know exactly what the job costs before we start.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees — talk to a local locksmith pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you — the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Santa Monica Customers Say
"The old deadbolt was mounted crooked by whoever lived here before and had been sticking for years. He redrilled and reset it properly rather than just replacing the hardware."
— Neil Rao"Quoted a price on the phone and honored it. After the last locksmith I called, that alone is worth a review."
— Dana Schaefer"Got me back in and the price was fair for the hour. He did arrive closer to 45 minutes than the 20 he estimated, which felt long standing outside, but he was honest that traffic was the problem."
— Megan Norris