Non-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.
Fast, Reliable Lock Installation & Rekey Across North Hollywood
Lock installation and rekeying in North Hollywood typically runs $25-$45 per cylinder for standard pin-tumbler locks, $85-$180 per lock for new deadbolt installation, and $150-$400 for smart lock installation depending on the hardware. Most jobs we handle in North Hollywood are completed the same day we’re called, and every quote is a firm written price before a technician gets in the van. If you’re a property manager along Burbank Boulevard dealing with a turnover rekey list, or a homeowner south of Magnolia upgrading a 1960s bungalow lock, call (331) 310-8471 and you’ll speak to a live person who can tell you exactly what the job will cost.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is North Hollywood’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We work the eastern San Fernando Valley’s densest apartment corridor every week. That matters because North Hollywood’s buildings have a specific set of problems: 1968 dingbat apartments with original Kwikset cylinders, hollow-metal doorframes in NoHo Arts District conversions that were never prepped for modern locks, and wooden frames that swell in the July heat and bind deadbolts. A locksmith who only works single-family homes in Sherman Oaks won’t recognize half of what we see on a typical Vineland Avenue service call.
Daniel Novak built the company on a simple rule that’s been in place since 2002: the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. Haven Standard Clause 1. No technician is permitted to change that number at your door. Every visit ends with a documented photo record of the work, and every technician is background-checked and uniformed. We’re not a referral network or a dispatch service with subcontractors. Novak Lock & Security is independently owned and operated.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in North Hollywood
We handle the full range of Lock Installation & Rekey work across North Hollywood, from a single deadbolt replacement in a 1950s bungalow off Magnolia to a forty-unit master-key rekey on Burbank Boulevard. These are the services our North Hollywood customers call for most.
Smart Lock Installation
Smart lock installation in North Hollywood runs $150-$400 including the lock, depending on whether you want a Yale Assure keypad, a Baldwin Evolved, or a retrofit kit that works with your existing deadbolt. The critical step on older doors is the frame inspection. We routinely find that the strike plate from a 1970s original installation is too shallow for a smart lock’s bolt, and unless we replace it with an ANSI Grade 1 plate, the lock will bind before it ever pairs with your phone.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry locks are the standard upgrade for North Hollywood rental units because property managers can change codes between tenants instead of cutting new keys every turnover. A keypad deadbolt installation runs $85-$220, and we stock Yale and Baldwin models so there’s no waiting on a parts order. One caution for apartment owners: verify your entry door closes flush every time. A keyless lock on a frame that’s drifted out of alignment will fail to throw the bolt, and the deadbolt needs that full throw to actually lock.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks in North Hollywood apartments and live-work units typically run $120-$250 installed. The biggest local mistake we see is a property owner buying a residential keypad lock online and mounting it on a hollow-metal commercial door in the NoHo Arts District without an adapter plate. The bolt never throws fully. We carry the adapter plates and will tell you before we start if your door needs one. The written quote includes that hardware, not a surprise add-on at the end of the job.
Biometric Lock
Biometric and electronic lock installation runs $250-$500 in North Hollywood, and it’s a growing request from live-work studio owners who want audit trails and no keys to lose. These locks need precise alignment between the bolt and the strike plate, more precise than a standard deadbolt. On the older wooden frames that are common in the bungalows south of Magnolia, that often means a strike plate replacement and frame reinforcement as part of the job, which we include in the written scope before we begin.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Hollywood
We’re factory-authorized on Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Sargent locks, which matters when you want a restricted key system that can’t be duplicated at a kiosk. We stock Sargent and Baldwin cylinders and parts for North Hollywood jobs, so a rekey on a commercial space in the Arts District doesn’t wait on a distributor shipment. For high-security needs, Mul-T-Lock’s patented key control means no one can copy your key without your authorization, and we can register and manage that system for you. If you already have a lock from another brand, we service those too. Call us at (331) 310-8471 and tell us what’s on your door. We’ll tell you what the work costs.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in North Hollywood Homes
- Swollen frames that bind deadbolts. The San Fernando Valley is an inland heat basin, and North Hollywood regularly hits 105-110°F in summer. Wooden door frames in 1960s and 1970s apartment buildings expand in that heat, the deadbolt bolt no longer aligns with the strike plate, and tenants stop locking the deadbolt altogether. We replace warped strike plates and realign the throw.
- Worn original cylinders that accept old keys. Many North Hollywood apartment buildings still have their original Kwikset or Schlage B-series cylinders from the 1970s. They’re decades past their lifespan. A freshly rekeyed worn cylinder can still open with an old key, or worse, with a bump key. We replace worn cylinders with bump-resistant pins as part of any legal rekey job.
- Landlords skipping the frame inspection during turnover rekeys. The most common failure we see from property managers treating the legal rekey as a key swap only. The law requires rekeying, but if the frame has swelled and the deadbolt doesn’t throw, a rekeyed lock protects nothing. We inspect and correct the frame as part of every rekey job, not as an upsell.
- Residential locks on commercial hollow-metal doors. NoHo Arts District live-work conversions often have old industrial doors with hollow-metal frames that were never prepped for modern mortise or cylindrical locks. A residential smart lock bolted onto that frame will fail. We cut adapter plates and do a full frame retrofit so the bolt actually seats.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in North Hollywood, CA
Standard rekeying in North Hollywood runs $25-$45 per cylinder. A new deadbolt installation runs $85-$180. Smart lock installation runs $150-$400 depending on the lock you choose and the condition of your door frame. Key duplication runs $3-$12 per key for standard keys, and $15-$45 per key for Mul-T-Lock or other restricted systems. The written quote covers labor, hardware, and any strike plate replacement the door needs. There is no call-out surcharge added when the technician arrives, and the price you hear on the phone is the price you pay. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1, and it’s been the rule since 2002. We also offer a Free Second Opinion on Any Written Estimate from a competitor. Bring us the quote and we’ll review it at no charge.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Hollywood
Novak Lock & Security serves the entire eastern San Fernando Valley from North Hollywood, and we make regular runs into Studio City, Universal City, Van Nuys, and Burbank. If you’re just over the hill or a few exits down the 170, the same written-price rule applies. One phone call to (331) 310-8471 gets you a firm quote whether you’re on Lankershim or Magnolia.
Serving North Hollywood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Hollywood 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 - Lock Installation & Rekey in North Hollywood
Yes. California Civil Code §1941.3 and Los Angeles city ordinances legally require landlords in North Hollywood to rekey every unit lock between tenancies, and a court can hold you liable for damages if a former tenant enters the unit and harms a new resident. Rekeying costs $25-$45 per cylinder in North Hollywood, which is far less than the liability. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll schedule the rekey around your turnover date, not ours.
Because the wooden door frames expand in the Valley heat. North Hollywood regularly hits 105-110°F in summer, 10 to 15 degrees hotter than coastal LA, and the older apartment stock’s wooden frames swell against the deadbolt bolt. The striker misaligns and the bolt binds. If your tenant has stopped using the deadbolt because it’s hard to lock, the lock isn’t protecting anything. We replace warped strike plates and realign the throw. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
In most cases, yes. Smart lock retrofit kits work with your existing deadbolt, and installation runs $150-$250 on a standard North Hollywood apartment door. The deciding factor is the frame condition. If the strike plate is original and the frame has swelled, we’ll need to replace the plate and possibly reinforce the frame, which is included in the written quote before we start. We’ll tell you on the phone whether your door is a candidate. Call (331) 310-8471.
The kiosk duplicates a key and sends you on your way. A locksmith reads the key’s cut pattern, checks the keyway, and can cut from a worn original, which kiosks often can’t do. For North Hollywood apartment managers, we also keep master-key system records so each duplicate key is cut to the correct assignation. Standard key duplication in North Hollywood runs $3-$12 per key. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you exactly what your key costs to duplicate before you leave the house.
Yes. The NoHo Arts District conversions we service routinely have old hollow-metal doors with commercial mortise or cylindrical locksets that big-box retailers don’t stock cylinders for. We carry Sargent and Baldwin commercial cylinders and the adapter plates those older frames require. A rekey on that hardware runs $35-$75 per cylinder, and we can rekey it to match an existing master system if you have one. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote. The estimate is free.
The North Hollywood Rekey Mandate: Why This Market Is Different
North Hollywood’s apartment corridor is one of the few places in Los Angeles where rekeying isn’t optional. California Civil Code §1941.3 and LA city ordinances legally require landlords to rekey every unit between tenancies, and this mandate creates a recurring contract pipeline that doesn’t exist for locksmiths serving single-family neighborhoods across the hill in Studio City or Toluca Lake. Property managers here don’t call once when a lock breaks. They call every time a lease turns over, and they need a locksmith who can handle a thirty-unit master-key rekey without losing track of which key goes to which unit. We’ve built a documented system for exactly that.
We rolled up to a 1968 dingbat on Burbank Boulevard near the NoHo Arts District where a property manager handed us a ring of thirty-two Kwikset keys and a court-mandated rekey list. Several original pin-and-tumbler deadbolts had swollen wooden frames from a July 108°F heat wave, binding the bolts so hard the tenant had stopped using the deadbolt entirely. A flimsy knob-lock was holding a ground-floor unit. We pulled the lock cylinders, rekeyed all units to a new master key system with bump-resistant pins, replaced three warped strike plates with ANSI Grade 1 hardware, and restored the deadbolt’s throw before the next lease signing. That’s a North Hollywood job. A locksmith who’s never worked this corridor would still be counting keys.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving North Hollywood and the eastern San Fernando Valley.
Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate on lock installation or rekeying in North Hollywood. A live person answers, the price is written before we start, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise stands behind the work.
Lock Installation & Rekey in Nearby Areas
