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 estimateFast, Reliable Emergency Locksmith Across Hollywood
Emergency locksmith service in Hollywood, CA typically costs $95 – $250 for a standard lockout, with most technicians arriving within 20 – 35 minutes depending on where you are in the 90028 zip code. We work the full stretch from the boulevard up into the hills, including the courtyard apartments off Wilcox and the newer mixed-use buildings near Vine. If you’re locked out right now, call (866) 497-9415 and we’ll give you an exact price before anyone heads your way.
Hollywood isn’t a one-size-fits-all neighborhood. A lockout on Hollywood Blvd during a film shoot is a different job than one on a hillside street above Franklin. We know that because we’re here constantly, and we scope every call for the building and the street before we dispatch.
Why Greystone Locksmith Is Hollywood’s Preferred Emergency Locksmith Company
Most of our Hollywood calls come from renters in courtyard apartments, building managers running short-term rental units, and studio-adjacent offices along the boulevard. That’s a very specific kind of locksmith work. Gil Tanner built Greystone around the idea that a technician should walk up to any lock, from a 1920s mortise cylinder to a battery-backed keypad, and know exactly what they’re looking at without guessing.
We carry restricted keyway blanks, mortise lock parts, and keypad components on the van. That matters in Hollywood because so many buildings use Medeco or Mul-T-Lock cylinders that a budget locksmith can’t legally duplicate. When a tenant is locked out and the property manager is unreachable, we can still perform non-destructive entry and then work with the manager after the fact on key control. We don’t drill a lock just because a keyblank is hard to find.
Response time to the 90028 core is usually 25 minutes or less, and up to 40 minutes for hillside streets where parking is tight. We quote the full price on the phone and that’s the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added when we arrive.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Emergency Locksmith Services in Hollywood
24/7 Emergency Lockout
Locked out of a courtyard apartment on Whitley Ave at midnight? We’re available around the clock. Hollywood’s rental turnover means we see a lot of lockouts where the tenant’s key is a worn copy of a restricted blank, or the property manager changed the lock and the new key never made it to the occupant. Our Emergency Locksmith team handles non-destructive entry first, then figures out what happened with the key. We rekey on site when the manager authorizes it, and we document everything for building records.
Lock Picking
Most Hollywood lockouts on mortise locks and single-cylinder deadbolts can be resolved with picking rather than drilling. That’s the goal on every rental, because the door and hardware belong to the building owner. A 1920s Spanish-Revival courtyard door with original hardware is not something we want to drill through. We pick when we can, and we’re honest when the cylinder is too worn or the keyway is too restricted for a clean pick. On hillside bungalows above the boulevard, we also see a lot of gate locks and garage door locks that need picking before we even get to the house.
Broken Key Extraction
Heat-baked exterior locks are a real thing in Hollywood. Keys snap more often in the summer, when brass gets brittle and cylinders are hot from direct sun. A broken key in the mortise lock of a 1920s apartment door is a common call for us south of Hollywood Blvd. We extract the broken piece with needle-nose extractors or spiral picks, then test the cylinder for damage. If the key snapped because the cylinder is worn, we’ll tell you before we leave, because it’ll happen again.
Eviction Lock Change
Property managers in Hollywood handle evictions regularly, especially in the short-term rental and month-to-month market. We do lock changes and rekeys on short notice, with proper documentation for the manager’s file. For restricted keyway systems, we can cut new keys only with management authorization, which protects the building’s key control. We work with landlords from Echo Park to West Hollywood on turnover rekeys, and we understand that a lock change after an eviction has to be done fast and recorded correctly.
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 Hollywood
We service Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Yale, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy. In Hollywood, the mix skews toward Medeco and Mul-T-Lock on multi-tenant buildings, with Schlage and Kwikset on the single-family bungalows and older apartments. We stock common cylinders, keyblanks, and mortise components on the van so a 90028 job doesn’t stall waiting on parts. High-security hardware like Medeco and Abloy requires a locksmith who knows it cold, and that’s a big reason building managers call us back.
Common Emergency Locksmith Problems We See in Hollywood Homes
- Restricted keyways on rental buildings: Many apartments and condos in Hollywood use Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, or Abloy cylinders with keys that can’t be copied at a hardware store. When a tenant loses a key, the lockout becomes a key-control verification job, not just a lockout.
- Original mortise locks on 1920s doors: The Spanish-Revival courtyards and older bungalows still have their original mortise lock bodies. They don’t accept standard replacement cylinders, so a rekey has to be done with the right mortise cylinder and trim, not a quick swap.
- Heat-damaged keypads and smart locks: Intense sun on exposed doors along Hollywood Blvd bakes keypad electronics and battery compartments. We see failures where the mechanical part of the lock still works but the keypad won’t power on. A simple diagnosis usually beats a full replacement.
- Gated hillside access above the boulevard: Streets above Franklin and Hollywood Blvd have narrow driveways with gates and steep steps. A service van often can’t park close, so a tech has to carry tools up. We plan for that on every hillside call, which keeps the job on schedule.
Pricing for Emergency Locksmith in Hollywood, CA
A standard lockout in Hollywood typically runs $95 – $180 for picking and entry, assuming a common cylinder and normal access. Broken key extraction usually runs $120 – $220. Rekeying an apartment mortise lock runs $150 – $300 depending on the cylinder and whether new keys need to be cut for a restricted keyway. Eviction lock changes run $180 – $350 per door. While we’re out there, we quote the exact number before starting any work, so you know the total before we touch a tool.
What affects the price: whether the lock is a standard or restricted keyway, whether it’s a mortise or cylindrical lock, the time of day, and how far up the hillside we have to walk. None of that is hidden. Call (866) 497-9415 and Gil or our dispatcher will walk through the job with you and give you a firm quote on the phone. That’s the price on the invoice.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hollywood
Greystone handles emergency lockout and rekey work throughout the corridor, including Hollywood, Universal City, West Hollywood, Koreatown, and Echo Park. If you manage units across this stretch of Los Angeles, one call covers all of it. Same team, same van stock, same flat phone quote.
Serving Hollywood, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the 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 – Emergency Locksmith in Hollywood
Yes. Film shoots and street closures on Hollywood Blvd can slow traffic, but we know the side streets and parking structures well enough to work around them. During a closure, we’ll usually route in from the south or east and walk to the building. Call (866) 497-9415 and tell the dispatcher exactly what street is closed, and we’ll plan a route that gets us there without sitting in the closure.
We can pick or bypass the lock to get you inside without damaging the door or the cylinder, even on a restricted keyway like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock. What we can’t do is cut a new key for that system without authorization from the building or property manager, because that would break the building’s key control. Once the manager is reachable, we can rekey the cylinder to a new restricted key and provide documentation. If you’re locked out now, call us – we’ll get you in first and sort out the key authorization with management after.
Yes, in most older Hollywood apartments we rekey the existing mortise cylinder rather than replacing the entire lock body. The original 1920s mortise lock is usually in fine shape; the cylinder is what holds the old key. We swap the cylinder or repin it, cut new keys if the keyway allows, and you keep the original door and hardware. That’s usually $150 – $300 depending on whether the keyway is standard or restricted.
Yes. We extract broken keys from mortise locks regularly in Hollywood’s older courtyard buildings, and our goal is always to preserve the original lock body. We use extraction tools rather than drilling, and after the key is out we test the cylinder for damage or wear. If the cylinder is worn enough to break another key, we’ll recommend replacing just the cylinder, not the whole mortise unit. Call (866) 497-9415 for a quote on extraction.
Yes. Hollywood’s exposed doors along the boulevard and south-facing apartment entries get hours of direct sun, and we see keypads fail from heat and battery expansion more than mechanical issues. We diagnose whether it’s a dead battery, a fried circuit board, or a misaligned latch, then repair or replace just what’s needed. We carry keypad components for the common brands and can usually fix a heat-failed keypad same day. Call us with the brand and model, and we’ll bring parts on the first trip.
What to Do When a Simple Lockout Isn’t Simple in Hollywood
In Hollywood’s dense rental market, a routine lockout often involves a restricted keyway or a building-owned lock, which means the key on your ring may be a copy that was never supposed to exist. We got a call from a tenant locked out of a 1920s Spanish-Revival courtyard apartment on Wilcox Ave, just south of Hollywood Blvd. The original mortise lock had a restricted keyway, and the tenant’s key was a worn-down copy that had finally stopped turning. Our tech used non-destructive entry to open the door, then rekeyed the cylinder to a new restricted keyway that the property manager could control building-wide.
That’s the job we do here more than any other: getting someone back inside without damaging a door that belongs to the freeholder, then making the key situation right so the building’s security isn’t compromised. If you’re a tenant, call us and we’ll work with your manager after you’re inside. If you’re a manager, call us and we’ll document everything so your key control stays intact. Either way, the price is quoted before we dispatch, and it’s the price on the invoice. Call (866) 497-9415 now for an exact quote, and we’ll be on our way.
Written by Gil Tanner, Owner at Greystone Locksmith, serving Hollywood and surrounding Los Angeles communities.