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 estimateLocksmith in Englewood, IL
Rekey Locks is the service Englewood calls for most, and for good reason. The neighborhood’s brick two-flats and greystones change hands constantly, and every new owner, landlord, or property manager needs the same thing: working locks that only their people can open. Valor Locksmith has served Englewood since 2013, and we’ve rebuilt, rekeyed, and replaced lock hardware on hundreds of these aging buildings. Call (877) 870-5926 when you need a locksmith who knows this housing stock.
Why Englewood Homes Are Different
Most of Englewood’s housing was built between 1900 and 1940. These are brick two- and three-flats, greystones, and small apartment buildings with original mortise locksets, rim cylinders, and doors that have transoms and side-lights. Rekeying one of these is not a five-minute drill. The mortise body has to come out of the door, the cylinder gets repinned, and the whole assembly goes back in while the door stays square. In buildings that sat vacant or went through foreclosure, we often find locks that were drilled, broken, or swapped by someone who did not know the hardware. Half the work is undoing previous bad repairs.
Chicago winters make it worse. Englemwood’s exterior door cylinders seize when temperatures drop below freezing. Deadbolts freeze, keyways ice over, and wooden frames that have swelled and shifted all summer suddenly refuse to let the bolt throw. We get a spike in winter lockouts and snapped deadbolts every year when the first hard freeze hits. Much of the work here is bringing decades-old mortise and rim hardware up to modern deadbolt standards, not swapping a Kwikset knob in a suburban front door.
The other thing that sets Englewood apart is vacancy. A significant share of the neighborhood’s buildings are vacant or recently rehabbed. Boards come down, new owners take possession, and every exterior door has to be secured before anyone moves in. That means rekeying front and rear entries, often on the same visit, while matching mismatched vintage hardware across both doors.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main Englewood Services
Rekeying is what keeps Englewood’s rental properties and rehabs secure after turnover, but two other calls fill our schedule: car key issues and urgent lockouts. Here is what each involves in this part of the city.
Car Key Replacement in Englewood
Losing a car key on the South Side is not like losing a house key. If you park on the street, you’re standing next to a vehicle you can’t move, and that is a bad position. We replace broken, lost, and worn-out car keys for most makes, including transponder and chip keys that a hardware store cannot cut. Englewood’s older residential streets are tight, so we work on-site at your vehicle wherever it sits. Call Valor for automotive key replacement without a tow – full details are on our Car Key Replacement in Englewood page.
Emergency Locksmith in Englewood
An emergency in Englewood usually means one of three things: a tenant locked out of a third-floor walk-up, a landlord facing a broken lock on a vacant unit, or a family locked out of their car on a cold night. Winter is the busiest season. Frozen cylinders and snapped deadbolts do not wait for business hours, so neither do we. When you’re locked out, a steady voice on the phone and a fast arrival matter more than anything else. Valor shows up. Read more about our rapid-response process on the Emergency Locksmith in Englewood page.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Rekey Locks in Englewood
Rekeying in Englewood is almost always about turnover. A landlord needs every unit off the old tenant’s key before the new tenant moves in. A buyer who just closed on a two-flat off 63rd Street wants the previous owner’s keys dead and the new ones in hand the same day. And a renter whose landlord is dragging his feet on changing the locks calls us directly because state law gives tenants the right to security after turnover. We rekey instead of replace whenever the lock itself is solid – save money without sacrificing security. Rekey Locks is one of the core services we built this company around.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You have a key you don’t want working in your lock anymore: a former tenant, a contractor who never returned a copy, or a key that’s simply missing.
What it costs in Englewood
Expect $65 – $180 per lock for a standard pin-and-tumbler rekey, and $85 – $220 when mortise cylinders from a greystone’s vintage lockset are involved.
How we do it
We remove the cylinder, replace the internal pins to match a new key, and reinstall it so the old key no longer turns – usually while you watch.
Rekey Service
Signs you need it
A property has changed hands and you don’t know how many copies of the old key are floating around Englewood or beyond.
What it costs in Englewood
Rekeying both entries of a typical two-flat runs $130 – $360 if the hardware is in good shape and no cylinders need replacement.
How we do it
We rekey every exterior lock to a single new key, test each door, and hand you keys on the spot – no second trip, no placeholder.
Keyed Alike
Signs you need it
You’re carrying a ring with four different keys for one building: front door, rear door, common area, and your unit.
What it costs in Englewood
Keying multiple locks alike typically lands between $90 – $150 to set up, plus $65 – $180 per cylinder we adjust.
How we do it
We repin all the locks to one shared key while each cylinder keeps the same exterior hardware and deadbolt strength.
What Rekey Locks Costs in Englewood
| Item | Typical range in Englewood |
|---|---|
| Standard lock rekey (per cylinder) | $65 – $180 |
| Mortise cylinder rekey (vintage two-flat hardware) | $85 – $220 |
| Full two-flat rekey (front, rear, and common locks) | $260 – $640 |
These are honest ranges for Englewood’s housing stock. The final number depends on how many cylinders you have, whether the lock bodies are damaged, and whether we’re matching mismatched hardware across multiple doors. We quote the full price on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and that is the price on the invoice. No dispatch fee added when we arrive.
Can you rekey a building with vintage mortise locks?
Yes. We rekey mortise cylinders every week in Englewood’s greystones and brick two-flats. If the cylinder threads are stripped or the body is cracked, we’ll quote a replacement before doing anything.
Will my old key stop working after a rekey?
Yes, the old key is permanently disabled the moment the new pins are installed. It will turn partially or not at all. Call (877) 870-5926 for an exact quote – the estimate is free.
Brands We Service in Englewood
We stock and service Schlage, Kwikset, and high-security Sargent hardware, including the mortise and rim cylinders common in Englewood’s older buildings. Many of these parts are on the truck, which means faster turnaround when a cylinder needs replacing. Our brands include eight lock platforms, from entry-level residential to hardened commercial lines.
Pricing for Locksmith in Englewood, IL
| Service | Typical range in Englewood |
|---|---|
| Lock rekey (per cylinder) | $65 – $180 |
| Mortise cylinder rekey | $85 – $220 |
| Rekey service, full two-flat | $260 – $640 |
| Keyed alike setup | $90 – $150 |
| Car key replacement | $160 – $380 |
| Emergency lockout call | $95 – $250 |
Two things push Englewood pricing up: the age of the hardware and the condition of the door itself. A greystone mortise lock from 1925 is a slower, more delicate job than a modern deadbolt, and a frame that has shifted over eighty winters needs adjusting before any new lock will throw cleanly. Whatever the job, you get the full price on the phone before we dispatch, and that is the price on the invoice. No bait pricing, no surprise trip fees.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Englewood
We work throughout Englewood and answer calls on every block. Response time across the area is consistently quick on weekdays and nights, with emergency dispatches prioritized whenever a family is locked out or a property is unsecured.
- South Englewood
- West Englewood border
- 63rd Street corridor
- Normal Avenue area
- Halsted corridor
Service Area – Cities Near Englewood
Valor Locksmith serves Englewood and the surrounding South Side communities from our base in Ashburn. If you manage property or live nearby, we also handle rekeying and car key work in West Englewood, IL, Auburn Gresham, IL, New City, IL, and Greater Grand Crossing, IL. Same phone number, same truck stock, same honest pricing.
Serving Englewood, IL — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Englewood 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 Locksmith in Englewood
For emergency lockouts we dispatch immediately and our response time across Englewood is consistently fast, with no price bump for night or weekend work. Standard rekey and car key jobs are scheduled at a time that works for you, and we arrive when we say we will.
In Illinois, tenants have the right to secure their own unit, but rekeying a common entry often requires landlord involvement. If you own the building, no permission is needed. We’ll advise you honestly, including whether a rekey or full replacement is the better call for your situation.
Yes. Our Englewood work centers on the neighborhood’s rental stock, two- and three-flat buildings, and cars parked on Englewood residential streets. From single mortise cylinders to full building rekeys, we cover it.
If you need locks rekeyed, a car key replaced, or help getting back inside your home in Englewood, call Valor Locksmith at (877) 870-5926. We will quote you the full price on the phone before anyone is dispatched. Free estimates, honest ranges, and a locksmith who knows this neighborhood’s hardware.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees — talk to a local locksmith pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you — the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Englewood Customers Say
"Locked out at eleven at night with a kid asleep in the car. He was there in 25 minutes, had the door open in under two, and did not do the thing where the price goes up once he's standing in front of you."
— Wade Bennett"Told me over the phone that what I needed was a five dollar part from the hardware store, not a locksmith. I called him back a month later for real work because of that."
— Beatriz Morales"Key snapped off in the deadbolt. He extracted it without damaging the cylinder, which I did not think was going to be possible."
— David Yang