Returning home after a stressful day’s work (or you had a very long night out), only to reach into your bag or pockets to take out your keys and get some rest in your house. But unfortunately, you couldn’t find your keys. They’re lost. After searching yourself, your car and your bag, thoroughly, you still couldn’t find them, now you’re locked out of your apartment.
Being locked out of your apartment (especially if you locked yourself out), can be very frustrating. In a situation whereby you forgot your keys in the house and can see them just sitting inside, that’s going to cause further frustration.
But not to worry or panic just yet, there are a few things you can do to gain entry back into your apartment.
Call your roommate
If you live with a roommate, and you both keep separate keys, then you’re in luck. Just phone them, and as long as they’re in town, they’ll come to your rescue. If they are far from you, then waiting shouldn’t be a problem as long as it’ll get you inside your apartment without spending money on a locksmith or any other measures.
As long as your roommate is in town, you can meet them, and collect their key, or you could head into a nearby coffee shop or a close-by restaurant and chill for a while as you wait. In most UK coffee shops and restaurants, you will have to buy something first, can’t just sit without buying anything.
Read: How to open a locked door with a screwdriver
Leasing Office
Another thing you should do if you locked yourself out during business hours is head to your leasing office. There is usually one nearby in most premises. Head over there and inform them of the situation. Most leasing offices always keep extra apartment keys on the ground in case of maintenance emergencies. So if you tell them about your condition, and they happen to have a key, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
However, you cannot go to the leasing office after business hours. In such a case, you will have no choice but to call your building manager or landlord. Although, if you inform your landlord, locksmith, or building manager and tell them you’re locked out of your apartment, they are likely to charge you a certain fee, usually between £30 to £100 depending on the location of your residence.
Find another way in
If you don’t have a roommate, if you want to avoid calling your landlord, building manager, locksmith, and if you can’t reach the leasing office because it’s past business hours, you can always try finding another way into your apartment. However, if your apartment is in a tall building, high rise or those kinds of apartments that are difficult to access, you may not have any other way of getting back in.
But if your apartment isn’t a high rise and has multiple entrances, you will have to get resourceful and try to find a way in. Take a walk around and see if you can find a window that isn’t completely closed, or if you can make your way into your home by climbing up to the fire escape. In short, you’ll be breaking into your own home.
Get a locksmith
And finally, if you can’t reach your building manager, a leasing office isn’t nearby, no other way in, and your roommate is MIA, there’s only one thing left to do, and that is calling out a locksmith. This is a final resort. You can call a locksmith from your location, and they’ll have your lock changed, and you will have access to your home once again.
Although there are a few things to consider before calling out a locksmith to come work on a property that isn’t yours. One thing is, if you call out a locksmith and change the lock, your landlord might charge you a certain fee, in other words, you’ll have to pay two parties. Also, if the locksmith you hired causes any damage to the door, your landlord or building manager will probably charge you for that as well. Now you’ll have to pay both the locksmith and your landlord.
Read: How to open a locked door with a screwdriver
Conclusion
We all have a routine before leaving the house. Some of us double-check the stove, appliances, heaters, to make sure they are all turned off. We tend to check if the windows are locked, check for our wallets, smartphone and keys. If you aren’t doing that, then this is an excellent time to start. Always double-check for those little things you have on you before leaving the house or work.
Doing that will help lower the number of times you will lose your keys or something. If you have a habit of struggling to remember to do something, you can put up a poster, maybe on your Fridge that tells you to do so and so.
Conversely, it would be best if you create a particular spot for your keys only. Like hanging them somewhere as soon as you get back from work or elsewhere. Because once you’ve experienced the horror of locking yourself out, chances are you don’t want that to happen to you again.
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