Berkeley, CA Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)
Key Facts
- Deadbolt spec
- 1-inch throw, hardened cylinder guard
- Hinge pins
- non-removable, welded/flanged/screw-secured
- Strike screws
- minimum 2.5 inches long
- Covered buildings
- R-1, R-3, M occupancies (rentals, hotels)
- Grandfather date
- locks installed before Dec. 9, 1973
Summary
Berkeley's minimum security ordinance requires every exterior door of a rental dwelling unit, hotel, or apartment house to carry a 1-inch single-cylinder deadbolt with a hardened cylinder guard, a deadlocking latch, non-removable hinge pins, and a strike plate fastened with screws at least 2.5 inches long.
A. All doors described in Section 19.80.030 and subject to the provisions hereof shall be equipped with a one (1) inch, single cylinder deadlock with hardened cylinder guard which unlocks from the outside with a key and inside by turnpiece, handle or knob. Doors shall also be equipped with a deadlocking latch having a guarded bolt which unlocks from the outside by key and inside by turnpiece, handle or knob. B. Deadbolts shall contain hardened inserts or equivalent, so as to repel cutting tool attack. The lock or locks shall be key operated from the exterior side of the door and shall be openable from the inside without the use of a key or special knowledge or effort. C. Outside hinges on all doors described herein shall be provided with nonremovable pins. Such hinge pins may be either welded, flanged, or secured by a screw. D. The striker plates shall be attached to the door jamb with screws having a minimum length of two and one-half (2-1/2) inches.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 8031-NS, passed July 28, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020). 030 reaches every exterior door of a rental dwelling unit, or of an area occupied by a single tenant, that is directly accessible from a street, yard, court, passageway, corridor, balcony, patio, breezeway, or garage, and extends to hotels, motels, and boarding and lodging houses. 5 inches long, shorter only where the jamb itself is steel or set in concrete or masonry. 060 applies a nearly identical specification to shared entry doors, stairwells, lobbies, and garages in hotels and apartment houses of two or more stories or more than four units, and additionally requires that both the deadbolt and latch retract with a single turn of the interior knob on main tenant exit doors. 020. 090 makes clear the City has no duty to inspect and no liability for failing to catch a noncompliant lock.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 19.80 carries no penalty section of its own, so a violation falls under the citywide default at BMC Chapter 1.20: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, though the enforcing officer or City Attorney may instead charge it as an infraction. A fourth infraction of the same section within one year may be elevated to a misdemeanor at the City Attorney's discretion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What deadbolt does Berkeley require on a rental unit's front door?
Do older Berkeley buildings have to retrofit their door locks?
Who is responsible for meeting Berkeley's minimum security law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berkeley
California rules heatmap·Compare Berkeley to another location·View the California building safety overview
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