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We will rekey it. After the sheriff, not before.
This is the one job where saying yes too quickly costs everybody money. Here is exactly where the line sits and why we hold it.
What California actually says
Civil Code section 789.3 prohibits a landlord from changing the locks, using a bootlock, removing doors or windows, or cutting off utilities to force a tenant out.
The penalty is not symbolic. The statute provides for $100 for each day the conduct continues, with a minimum of $250 per separate violation, and the tenant recovers actual damages and attorney's fees on top.
Penal Code section 418 sits behind it and makes forcible entry or forcible detainer a misdemeanor.
The locksmith who turned the key is not a bystander in any of that. Which is why we ask the questions we ask.
The line, stated plainly
- Yes. The tenant has moved out and handed back the keys. Same day, usually within the hour.
- Yes. A sheriff has carried out a writ of possession and you can show us the paperwork. That is what the sheriff's lockout is for, and the locksmith is normally expected at it.
- Yes. The unit is genuinely abandoned and you have followed the statutory abandonment process rather than decided it looks empty.
- No. A notice has been served and the time has run out, but nothing has been enforced.
- No. A judgment exists but the sheriff has not been out.
- No. They have stopped paying, they are difficult, they have gone away for two weeks, or you have simply had enough.
California Civil Code §789.3; California Penal Code §418.
The local layer, which keeps getting thicker
Several cities we cover have added their own just-cause and relocation rules on top of state law, and a notice that fails them is worth nothing.
- San Mateo adopted a Residential Tenant Protection Program at chapter 10.100 by Ordinance 2025-11, effective 31 December 2025. Just cause starts at 11 months of lawful occupancy, no-fault evictions owe one month's rent in relocation regardless of income with half due within 15 calendar days of service, and failure to comply strictly voids the termination notice.
- Redwood City replaced its chapter 42 by Ordinance 2554, effective 1 January 2026. Just cause after 12 months, a written lease of at least a year must be offered, and relocation runs well past one month for income-eligible households.
- Mountain View has the voter-approved Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act from 2016. Most buildings of three or more units built before 1995 carry both rent stabilization and eviction protection; 1995 to 2017 carries eviction protection.
- San Francisco adds Administrative Code section 37.10B on tenant harassment to the picture.
We are not your lawyer and we will not pretend to be. What we will do is ask for the writ before we touch a cylinder, which is the one check that keeps all of this from becoming your problem.
San Mateo Ordinance 2025-11 and SMMC ch. 10.100; Redwood City Ordinance 2554 and Municipal Code ch. 42; City of Mountain View on the CSFRA; San Francisco Administrative Code §37.10B.
What happens on a sheriff's lockout day
The sheriff posts the notice, returns at the stated time, and takes possession of the unit. You are expected to have a locksmith there so the property can be secured immediately.
We arrive with the hardware to rekey every exterior cylinder on the spot, so you are not standing in an open unit waiting. If the unit has a mailbox lock, a garage remote or a building fob, raise those with us beforehand, because the remote and the fob are the two people forget and they are the two that still work the next day.
Anything left inside is the tenant's property and there is a statutory process for it. That is not something we handle, and anyone who offers to clear it for you is doing you no favors.
Questions
They have not paid in three months. Surely that is different?
It is not, legally. Civil Code 789.3 does not care why. Get the judgment, get the writ, and we will be there on the day.
The tenant left and told me so by text. Is that enough?
If they have actually gone and handed back the keys, yes. If they have gone away and still have their things and their keys, no. The safe version of this is the statutory abandonment process.
Can you come to the sheriff's lockout?
Yes, that is a normal booking. Tell us the time the sheriff gave you and how many doors.
Do I need new locks or just a rekey?
A rekey, almost always. It kills every existing key and keeps your hardware. New locks only where something is worn out or broken.
Need someone 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.