Smart locks work well in Burnaby — but not every model suits a strata suite door, a BCIT-area rental unit, or an older townhome in South Slope. Know before you buy. This guide covers what actually works here, what strata bylaws typically allow, and which brands we install most across the city.
Burnaby's housing mix makes it one of the more interesting cities to think about smart locks in Metro Vancouver. You have new concrete high-rises at Metrotown and Brentwood where strata bylaws govern exactly what you can touch on a suite door. You have dense rental housing near BCIT on Willingdon and near SFU on Burnaby Mountain where landlords and property managers are increasingly interested in remote access management. And you have the older single-family and townhome stock in Burnaby Heights, Government Road, and Deer Lake where the door prep is a standard North American bore pattern and a smart lock installs in twenty minutes. The right approach differs across all three.
This is the first thing Burnaby condo owners ask, and the answer depends on your specific strata's bylaws. BC's Strata Property Act divides the building into strata lots (your suite) and common property. The suite door is typically a boundary — the interior face and the lock hardware belong to you as the owner, while the door itself and the exterior face may be considered common property or limited common property.
In practical terms, most Burnaby strata bylaws allow owners to install a deadbolt on the interior face of their suite door, provided:
If your building uses a master key system, this is an important constraint: your new smart lock must accept the same key profile as the rest of the building's system. This isn't always straightforward. Call us before purchasing — we can tell you which models are compatible with common master key profiles used in Burnaby strata buildings.
When in doubt, email your strata council a brief description of the lock you want to install before you buy. Most councils respond within a week and most will approve a standard deadbolt replacement. Getting written approval protects you if there's ever a dispute.
The rental corridors around SFU Burnaby Mountain and BCIT on Willingdon Avenue have some of the highest tenant turnover in the city. Students and short-term renters move in and out on academic schedules, and managing key handover is a real operational problem for small landlords and property managers.
For landlords in these areas, a smart lock with a keypad or temporary access codes addresses the turnover problem directly: you can issue a new PIN for each tenancy without touching the physical hardware. When a tenant leaves, deactivate their code. No rekeying required, no lost key chasing.
Under BC's Residential Tenancy Act, a landlord cannot change the locks on a rental unit without the tenant's consent during an active tenancy — but between tenancies, lock changes and rekeying are a landlord's right and responsibility. A smart lock that supports multiple user codes makes this cleaner: you're not changing locks, you're issuing and revoking access codes. That said, confirm with your property manager or a tenancy lawyer if you're unsure about your specific situation — tenancy law has nuances.
For tenants in Burnaby rentals: you generally cannot install a new lock without your landlord's written consent. A smart lock that replaces the existing deadbolt cylinder without modifying the door falls into a grey area. Get written permission first. Some landlords will agree if they're given a copy of the access code or the physical key that came with the smart lock.
For detached homes and townhomes in Burnaby Heights, Capitol Hill, Buckingham, and similar neighbourhoods, strata constraints don't apply and the main questions are practical:
Wi-Fi locks connect directly to your home network and allow remote access from anywhere. Bluetooth locks require your phone to be within range — useful for keypad-less entry when you're at the door, less useful for remote management. Z-Wave locks integrate with smart home hubs (SmartThings, Home Assistant, etc.) and are popular with home automation enthusiasts. For most Burnaby homeowners without a smart home hub already in place, a Wi-Fi lock or a Bluetooth lock with a bridge accessory is the practical choice.
Smart locks run on AA or AAA batteries. Most quality locks deliver six months to a year of normal use on a set of batteries, and they alert you when power is low. In Burnaby's climate — cold winters, damp year-round — lithium AA batteries outperform alkaline in cold weather. If you're installing on an exterior-facing door that gets cold, this matters.
Most Burnaby homes built in the last few decades have a standard 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" backset and a standard 2 1/8" bore hole — compatible with the vast majority of smart locks. Older homes in Burnaby Heights and Government Road may have non-standard door prep or older hardware that requires an adapter plate. We assess this on arrival and carry common adapters.
We work with several brands regularly across Burnaby installs. Without endorsing one over another, the models we see perform reliably in local conditions include the Schlage Encode Plus (Wi-Fi, keypad, solid build), the Yale Assure series (clean strata-friendly profile, good master key compatibility options), and the August series in retrofit configuration (preserves your existing deadbolt exterior, good for strata applications). We supply and install — you're not left sourcing hardware and hoping it fits.
A smart lock installation from us includes assessing the door prep, installing or adapting the hardware, testing the lock operation (mechanical and electronic), setting up the initial user codes or app pairing, and confirming the physical key backup works. We also check that the door alignment is correct — a misaligned door is the most common reason smart locks fail to operate smoothly, and it's almost always a door adjustment issue rather than a lock defect.
If you're replacing an existing smart lock that's failed, we handle removal and disposal of the old unit as part of the job.
A smart lock is a straightforward upgrade for most Burnaby homes and many strata suites. The main work is verifying compatibility before you buy. If you want a recommendation for your specific door and situation — call or message us before you order anything. We'd rather spend five minutes on the phone than have you return a lock that doesn't fit your strata door or your existing master key system.
Further reading and the services most relevant to smart locks in Burnaby.
Pick-, drill- and bump-resistant cylinders with keys that can’t be copied at the hardware store. Cut, pinned and registered in-shop.
Residential Security Container (RSC) burglary classification: a key-locked security container designed to provide entry…
Car keys are priced by vehicle. Pick what you need and we’ll collect your make, model & year to text you an exact quote.