House Lockout in Stamford, CT

Which door locked you out

Stamford has about 45 neighborhoods and villages, and entry differs from one to the next.

• Harbor Point. This redevelopment in the South End includes apartment buildings where management may control the lobby, garage and elevator doors. If your fob still opens the lobby, the trouble is the unit door, and the manager should hear about it before anyone works on the lock.
• Shippan Point. About 1,100 homes sit on this Long Island Sound peninsula, condominiums among them. A large house can have more than one exterior door, and a condominium may add a shared outer door to your own, so say which door is the locked one.
• North Stamford. North of the Merritt Parkway, this is the city's largest section by land area and its least densely populated, so give the full street address and the nearest cross street.

Statewide, about 15 percent of Connecticut homes are in buildings with two to four units. In one of those, say whether the shared front door opens and only your own unit door is locked.

Showing that the home is yours

Opening a door for someone means confirming the home is theirs. Photo ID showing the address helps, as does a lease, a deed or a bill in your name. If the papers are inside, a landlord or building manager who can vouch for you may be able to help.

A landlord who changes the locks to keep a tenant out is a separate matter. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-214, a landlord, lessor, owner or agent who, without a court order, keeps a tenant out of the unit or away from their possessions commits criminal lockout, a class C misdemeanor. This is general information, not legal advice.

Waiting outside in a Stamford winter

With about 34 inches of snow in a typical year, a lockout in January is more than an inconvenience. Wait in a car, a lobby or a neighbor's home rather than on the step, and do not force a door or window. If a child or anyone who cannot get out is inside, call 911 first.

Send the neighborhood, building name and the door involved through the contact page. The house lockout page describes the service, and lock rekeying applies if the keys were lost or stolen.