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 Rekey Locks Across Malibu
Rekeying a lock in Malibu typically costs $25 – $45 per cylinder for standard pin-and-tumbler hardware, and the job is usually finished the same day we arrive. That price is confirmed in writing before a tech ever heads up PCH toward your place. No number that changes at the gate. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll walk you through exactly what your locks need, what it costs, and when we can be there.
Malibu is not a grid-locked inland city. Your driveway might be gated, your house might sit off a canyon road, and the lock on your front door might be a Baldwin or Schlage unit installed by someone you never met. That changes how a rekey should go. We serve the full stretch from Point Dume to Big Rock, and we quote the job the same way whether it’s a single deadbolt off Latigo Canyon or a full key set at a beach house near Zuma.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Malibu’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Rekey Locks is a big part of what we do in Malibu. Most calls come from homeowners and property managers who need old keys dead before a new tenant, new owner, or new house cleaner starts. We are led by Kevin Yoon, and every tech who shows up in Malibu is background-checked, uniformed, and carrying a written price that was agreed before dispatch. Not a rough estimate. A price.
The Relay Visibility Guarantee is the reason people in Malibu call us back. You get a live trackable arrival time, before-and-after photos of the work, and a written guarantee stamped on every job. The 365-Day Done Right Promise means if the rekey isn’t done right, we make it right. Free second visit if the repair fails. No charge, no argument.
Response time to Malibu from our Los Angeles dispatch usually runs 45 to 75 minutes depending on PCH traffic and where exactly you are, but the arrival window is live-tracked, not a four-hour guess. You’ll know when we’re coming. That matters when you work from a phone and don’t have time to sit around waiting.
Rekey Door Lock in Malibu
Rekey Door Lock in Malibu usually means one of two things: a tenant or housekeeper just left and you don’t want their old key working, or you bought a place and have no idea how many copies of the existing key are floating around Point Dume, Big Rock, or the Colony. The fix is the same either way. We swap the internal pins inside the cylinder so the old key stops turning. No new hardware. The lock stays exactly where it is, but the old key becomes a dead piece of brass.
What a Single-Cylinder Rekey Involves
We remove the cylinder, replace the pin stack to match a new key code, and reassemble the lock. A standard Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt takes about 30 minutes per cylinder. A Baldwin or Medeco unit takes longer because the pins are tighter-tolerance and sometimes require a key code card from the manufacturer. You’ll get a new key set and a key-control record when we are done.
When Malibu Homeowners Call for This
The calls pick up right before lease turnovers on PCH and right after a sale closes in the hills above Malibu. Also after a break-in attempt, a lost key, or a contractor who never returned the one key they were given. In gated neighborhoods like Serra Retreat, verifying who is at the gate is part of the job, and our techs expect that.
Rekey Service in Malibu
Rekey Service in Malibu covers the full visit: the drive out, the cylinder work, the new keys, and the written record of who holds what. We don’t treat the service call as one line item and the rekey as an add-on surprise. You get a written price before anyone leaves the shop. That price includes labor, pins, springs, and the new key set. No gate fee. No PCH surcharge. No “oh, this is a high-security lock” markup unless we told you that on the phone first.
Multi-Cylinder Rekeys for Rentals and Guesthouses
A lot of Malibu properties have a main house, a guesthouse, and a detached garage. If you have three or four doors on the same key, we rekey them all to match one new key. That’s usually $25 – $45 per cylinder depending on brand and finish. We’ll tell you the total before dispatch, not after the tech counts the doors.
Keypad, Deadbolt, and Mixed Hardware
Some Malibu homes mix a smart keypad with a traditional deadbolt. We can rekey the mechanical portion of a smart lock, but if the keypad has its own cylinder, that gets rekeyed separately. We’ll check every lock on the property so the old key doesn’t still work somewhere. That’s a common miss with other companies, and it’s a real security problem when the old tenant still has a working key to the side door.
Trusted Brands We Service in Malibu
We rekey Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, Medeco, Yale, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy hardware. In Malibu, we see a lot of Baldwin on front doors in the Colony and Point Dume, and a lot of Schlage and Kwikset on canyon rentals and guesthouses. We carry pin kits and replacement parts for all of these on the truck, so the job doesn’t stall because a spring kit had to be ordered. If your lock is a Medeco or Mul-T-Lock, we can handle the rekey, but those cylinders often require a key code card to cut new keys, so tell us the brand when you call.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Malibu Homes
- Old tenant keys still working somewhere. The front door gets rekeyed, but the side door, back door, or guesthouse stays on the old key set. We check every cylinder on the property before we start, not just the door you pointed at.
- Drilled locks from previous “locksmiths.” A lost key shouldn’t mean a destroyed cylinder. Non-destructive entry tools open most pin-and-tumbler locks without a drill. If your old tech drilled it, you paid for a new cylinder you didn’t need. We open first, rekey second.
- Salt air and cylinder wear. Malibu’s ocean air is hard on brass and steel. Cylinders near the beach corrode faster, and worn pins make keys stick or turn rough. A rekey replaces those pins anyway, which often improves how the lock feels.
- No key-control record. After a rekey, you should know exactly how many keys exist and who has them. We give you a written record for every job in Malibu. That’s part of the price, not an extra.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Malibu, CA
A standard single-cylinder rekey in Malibu runs $25 – $45 per cylinder for Schlage, Kwikset, and most Yale hardware. Baldwin and Medeco cylinders run $40 – $75 per cylinder because the pin tolerances are tighter and the labor is slower. A typical three-door house with matching hardware lands around $120 – $210 total, including new keys and the written record. If you also need a key cut from a code, that adds $10 – $25 per key depending on the blank. You’ll get the full line-item price on the phone before dispatch. No call-out fee added at the gate. No bait quote. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you the number it will actually cost.
We Also Serve Cities Near Malibu
If you’re just outside Malibu, we run rekey calls into Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and Calabasas. Same written price before dispatch, same live arrival tracking. If you’re off the 101 in Calabasas or up Kanan Road toward Agoura, call and we’ll give you a time and a price.
Serving Malibu, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Malibu 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 Rekey Locks in Malibu
Yes. The price is set in writing before a tech leaves for your place. You’ll get a line-item figure for labor, pins, and keys. That is the price on the invoice. There’s no gate fee, no PCH trip charge added after the fact, and no “it’s a high-security lock” surprise. If we can’t confirm the price on the phone, we won’t dispatch. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you the number upfront.
About 30 minutes per standard cylinder. A single Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt is done in half an hour. A Baldwin or Medeco cylinder takes longer, sometimes 45 to 60 minutes per cylinder, because the pin stack is tighter. A three-door house with matching hardware is usually done in 90 minutes to two hours on site. The drive to Malibu depends on PCH traffic, but your arrival window is live-tracked, not estimated.
We can rekey both. Schlage and Kwikset cylinders use standard pins and are quick to rekey. Baldwin uses the same fundamental pin-and-tumbler design, but some Baldwin models have a two-piece cylinder that takes longer. Neither needs to be replaced just to change the key. Replacement only makes sense if the cylinder is physically damaged or corroded beyond repair, which we’ll tell you before we touch it.
We open before we drill. Non-destructive entry tools work on most pin-and-tumbler cylinders used in Malibu homes. Drilling is the last resort, and if we ever think it’s needed, you’ll know before it happens. Once we’re in, we rekey the cylinder so the lost key is dead. You don’t pay for a new lock unless the cylinder was already broken. Call (409) 405-4485 if you’re locked out or just lost a key.
You’ll have the tech’s name before dispatch, and you’ll get a live tracking link that shows the vehicle as it moves through Malibu. The tech arrives in uniform with a company ID. We also send before-and-after photos of the work as part of The Relay Visibility Guarantee, so you have a visual record of exactly who did what. In gated Malibu neighborhoods, we’re used to being vetted at the gate. That’s fine. We’d rather you check.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Malibu since our founding in 2008.
Need a rekey done right the first time? Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate. We answer live, we quote in writing, and we get it done.






