Portable locks, security bars and jammers that hold a door shut without a single screw, what the Residential Tenancy Act lets a Vancouver renter do, and the point where a real lock is worth the call.
How to lock a door that has no lock, in one line: brace it from the inside. A portable door lock or a floor-braced security bar holds an inward-opening door shut without a screw, which is why both suit a rental. Wedges buy seconds, not security. A door you also need to lock from the outside needs a real lock.
A portable door lock is two pieces of steel. A flat claw slides into the strike plate opening in the frame, where the latch normally sits, and a stopper wedges against the inside face of the closed door so the door cannot swing in and the latch cannot be pushed back.
Because it uses the strike opening rather than the lock, the maker of the Addalock says the existing latch or deadbolt makes no difference. It needs an inward-opening door with a gap between door and frame wide enough for a quarter to slide into. No tools, one size, on in seconds.
Two limits matter. It only works while you are inside; the maker's own phrase is lock and stay, not lock and leave. And a door that has no latch at all usually has no strike opening either, so there is nothing for the claw to grab. That door wants a bar.
A door security bar is a steel tube that hooks under the knob or lever and angles down to a rubber foot on the floor. Push on the door and the force drives the foot into the floor instead of the latch into the frame. It is the renter's answer to a kicked door, and it packs into a moving box.
Master Lock's 265D bar adjusts from 27.5 to 42 inches in 20 gauge steel, and the top piece comes off so it can lie in a sliding door track. The heavier Buddybar is 8.2 pounds of 16 gauge steel, adjusts from 36 to 51 inches, and its maker warns against setting it on a throw rug.
Under-door jammers are the other kind: a low steel foot with a rubber pad that slides under the door and braces against the floor. They suit a door with no knob to hook under, but they need a finger-width gap at the bottom. On the polished concrete of a Yaletown loft, either type needs a floor it can bite into; carpet and unfinished hardwood grip better than glossy tile. Our post on renter-friendly apartment door security compares bars and jammers on suite doors in more detail.
A rubber wedge kicked under an inward-opening door stops a quiet push and fails to a shove. Treat it as a way to hear someone trying the door, not as a lock. Stacking furniture is slow, heavy and blocks your only exit, which matters more than anyone likes to think at two in the morning.
What holds is anything that sends the force into the floor or into the frame's strike rather than into a latch: a bar, a portable lock, or a proper deadbolt with a strike plate screwed into the stud. Nothing on this list survives a determined attack on a rotten frame, and everything on it has to come off in seconds in the dark. Keep the arrangement simple enough to undo half asleep.
Most bedroom doors in Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant shared houses carry a passage knob that turns but never locks, or nothing but a roller catch. If there is a latch and a strike opening, a portable lock works. If there is a knob or lever, a bar works. If there is neither, an under-door jammer is the last option that needs no screws.
Swapping the passage knob for a keyed knob is the tempting fix, and it is a lock change. Whether the Residential Tenancy Act applies to your bedroom door depends on what your tenancy agreement calls the rental unit: if you rent the room itself, that door is your unit's door and the rules below apply directly. Either way the hardware belongs to the landlord, so get written agreement first.
Section 31 of the Residential Tenancy Act says a tenant must not change a lock or other means of access to their rental unit unless the landlord agrees in writing or the Residential Tenancy Branch director orders the change. Locks on common areas such as a shared front door or laundry room need the landlord's consent as well.
It cuts both ways. Under the same section a landlord must not change the locks on your unit unless you agree and receive new keys, and cannot change the building's locks without giving every tenant a new key.
Section 25 is the one renters miss. At the start of a new tenancy, if you ask, the landlord must rekey or otherwise alter the locks so the previous tenant's keys no longer open the door, and must pay for it. The only exception is a landlord who already did that when the last tenant left. A rekey starts from $35 per cylinder on our pricing page, so it is not a big ask.
A bar, a jammer or a portable lock is not a lock change. Nothing is screwed, drilled or swapped, and the landlord's key still works, which is exactly why they are the renter's tools.
A privacy set is the bathroom-style knob or lever with a turn button inside and a small emergency release hole outside. It locks you in, keeps a housemate out, and opens with a flat screwdriver in an emergency. It fits any standard bored interior door in about half an hour, and because nothing is keyed, most landlords put their agreement in writing without a fuss.
A keyed knob or a deadbolt is for a door you lock behind you, such as a suite entry or a bedroom you rent under your own agreement. Fitting a lock you already bought onto an already bored door runs $80 to $130. A Grade 2 deadbolt supplied and fitted is $120 to $200, and a deadbolt added to a door never bored for one is $160 to $260, all from the pricing page. Our residential locksmith page covers the rest.
| Option | Door types | Holds against | Price band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portable door lock | Inward-opening doors with a latch and a strike opening, coin-width gap | A push, and a key turned from outside | Low retail, pocket-money bracket |
| Floor-braced security bar | Inward-opening hinged doors with a knob or lever; sliding doors with the top piece removed | Shoves and kicks, depending on floor grip | Low retail |
| Under-door jammer | Inward-opening doors with a gap underneath, no knob needed | Shoves; less on rugs or slick tile | Low retail |
| Rubber wedge | Any inward-opening door | A quiet push only | Cheapest |
| Privacy set, fitted | Standard bored interior doors | Housemates, not intruders | $80 to $130 to fit one you bought |
| Grade 2 deadbolt, supplied and fitted | Suite and exterior doors, with the landlord's written agreement | Kicks and prying, with a long-screwed strike | $120 to $200 |
Yes, for the door to your rental unit. Section 31(3) of the Residential Tenancy Act requires the landlord's written agreement, or an order from the Residential Tenancy Branch, before a tenant changes a lock or other means of access. A refusal you think is unreasonable can go to dispute resolution. Portable locks and bars need no permission because nothing changes.
Not in normal use. The claw sits in the existing strike opening, which already carries a steel plate, and the stopper presses on the door face. A hard shove against the door can leave a dent in soft paint where the stopper sits. Nothing is drilled, so there are no holes to explain at move-out.
A sliding patio door takes a security bar laid in the bottom track, which is what the Master Lock 265D's removable top piece is for. The Vancouver Police Department also suggests screws or a plate in the upper track so the panel cannot be lifted out. A pocket door has no frame to brace against, so its only option is a surface-mounted latch, which means screws and the landlord's agreement.
It stops the first kicks, which is usually enough to send someone elsewhere, provided the foot grips and the door is pulled tight. It is not a substitute for what the Vancouver Police Department recommends on any exterior door: a deadbolt with a one-inch throw and a strike plate held by long screws that reach the wall stud.
If the door needs a real lock, or you want a privacy set on before the new housemate arrives, call 604-227-9083 or book online. We quote on the phone and bring the hardware with us.
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