House Lockout in Hartford, CT

Which door is holding you out

A lockout in Hartford depends on the building. Upper Albany is almost entirely large two-family frame houses from the early 1900s, so the locked door may be the shared front door, your own unit door at the top of the stairs, or the back stair. Different people can control each one, and getting through one does not always get you home.

In Asylum Hill, insurance companies moved in from the 1920s and many single-family blocks gave way to one-bedroom and efficiency apartment buildings. If you are shut out of the lobby rather than your unit, the street entrance belongs to the building, so the manager is the person to reach. South Green's apartment houses, many built between about 1860 and 1900, raise the same question. A single-family cape, like those in Southwest and Blue Hills, usually has just the one door to sort out.

If you rent

Under Hartford Municipal Code Section 18-24, the rental license application for a building with three or more units must name a person responsible for emergency response at the property, someone who can be reached at any time. A tenant who is locked out can ask the landlord who that contact is. Because the program covers buildings with three or more units, a tenant in a two-family should ask the landlord directly. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to have ready

• Something that shows you live there: photo ID with the address, a lease, or a bill in your name.
• Your neighborhood and nearest cross streets.
• Which door: building entrance, unit door, rear porch or stair, or a storm door latched from inside.
• Whether the key is inside, lost, or snapped off in the lock.

Waiting outside in winter

Hartford averages two days a year below 0°F, according to NOAA's state climate summary. If you are outside without a coat, wait in a car, a neighbor's hallway or a nearby store rather than on the porch. If someone inside may be unable to reach the door, call 911 before anything else.

See house lockout service, broken key extraction if a key snapped in the lock, lock rekeying if lost keys may be in someone else's hands, or the Hartford page.