San Jose · Santa Clara County
The lock on the door tells you when the street joined the city.
San Jose did not grow outwards evenly. It annexed neighborhoods in waves across four decades, and each wave brought the hardware of its own era.
Four decades of annexation, four kinds of door
- Cambrian, annexed from 30 July 1954. Early post-war tract housing, which is where simple bore-hole knob sets with no deadbolt at all are still common.
- Almaden, from 1959, built out through the sixties and seventies. Larger lots, attached garages, sliding patio doors at the back.
- Berryessa, from 1964.
- Evergreen, with 51 separate annexations through the 1960s, which is why two streets a block apart can be entirely different builds.
If you are calling about a sliding patio door that will not lock, or a knob set with no deadbolt beside it, you are almost certainly in one of those.
Downtown and the conservation areas
Then there is the older city. Hanchett Park and Hester Park (1906–1935), Naglee Park, North Willow Glen (1885–1955) and Palm Haven are conservation areas with genuinely old building stock.
That means mortise locks, original rim hardware, doors that have moved with the house, and frames nobody wants to cut into. Different parts, different approach, and not a job to hand to someone who only works on tract housing.
Words you will hear
The historic-building exemption, which matters here
California Civil Code section 1941.3 makes a landlord fit a deadbolt with a throw of at least thirteen-sixteenths of an inch on a rental's main entry.
But the duty does not apply to a building designated as a historical structure. In San Jose that catches real buildings: Hensley, River Street, Lakehouse, Reed and St James Square.
If you own or rent in one of those, the hardware conversation is different, and it may start with the City rather than with us. We will tell you where you stand before quoting anything.
California Civil Code §1941.3, read via a secondary publisher. The State's own site was unreachable at the time of writing.
Evictions, and what we will not do
We get this call in San Jose more than anywhere else we work, so here is the straight answer.
A landlord may not change the locks on an occupied rental without a court order. The California Attorney General's bulletin on the point is explicit, and Civil Code section 789.3 puts the exposure at $100 per day with a $250 floor, plus the tenant's attorney's fees. Penal Code section 418 makes a forcible entry a misdemeanor.
The lawful route is a writ of possession executed by the Santa Clara County Sheriff, on form EJ-130, with a fee of $180.
Once the sheriff has executed, we will do the work the same day. Before that, we will not, whoever asks and whatever the tenant has done.
California Attorney General Bulletin 2022-DLE-05; Civil Code §789.3; Penal Code §418; Santa Clara County Sheriff civil fee schedule.
Getting there
We come down 101 or 280 depending on which side of the city you are. In an emergency we aim at 20 to 30 minutes.
San Jose is large enough that the cross street matters more than the city name. Tell us both when you call.
Questions people ask here
My sliding patio door will not lock properly.
Very common in Almaden, Evergreen and Cambrian. Usually the latch hook has worn or the door has dropped in its track.
Often repairable rather than replaceable. Either way, add a secondary bolt and an anti-lift device, because the factory latch on a 1970s slider is not a lock.
There is no deadbolt, just a knob.
Standard on early post-war tract housing and still extremely common here. Fitting a deadbolt is an hour's work on most of these doors.
If you rent, Civil Code 1941.3 is probably on your side. Ask the landlord first.
I live in a conservation area. Can you change the lock without damaging the door?
Usually yes, by rekeying or by replacing just the cylinder rather than the whole lock body.
Send a photo of the door edge and the lock face on WhatsApp before buying anything.
Need a locksmith in San Jose now?
A person answers, at any hour, in English or Spanish. If it is not urgent, we will hold a day and a time for you instead.
Or leave your details and we will call you.