Emergency Locksmith in Baltimore, MD

What makes a lock problem urgent here

A lock problem becomes an emergency when waiting puts someone at risk or leaves a home or business unsecured. Typical cases in Baltimore:

• Someone in danger. If a person or an animal is trapped and in distress, call 911 first.
• Cold nights. NOAA's climate summary counts nights below freezing across Maryland. Being shut out overnight with a baby, an older relative or someone who needs medication is urgent.
• After a break-in. Call the police first and let them see the damage before anything is touched. In a city historic district such as Federal Hill or Fells Point, the city's preservation guidelines ask owners to repair historic doors and hardware and say security bars should not go on doors, so a temporary fix now should leave room for a proper repair later.
• After high water. NOAA notes that rising sea level has increased tidal flooding. A door that has swelled, or a lock packed with silt, may no longer close or latch.

Lock changes for abuse victims

Maryland Real Property § 8-5A-05 gives a tenant who is a victim of abuse a lock-change route when a protective order, or a peace order based on abuse, requires the respondent to stay out of or vacate the residence. The tenant gives the landlord a written request with a copy of the order, and the landlord must change the locks by the close of the next business day. If the landlord does not, the tenant may have the locks changed without the landlord's permission and must give the landlord or its agent a duplicate key by the close of the next business day after the change. Keep the written request and the order together. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to include right away

1. Whether anyone is hurt, trapped or at risk right now.
2. The address or nearest cross streets, and which door is involved.
3. For a break-in, whether the police have been called.
4. Photos of the damaged door, frame or lock, if you can take them safely.

Before any work starts, ask for the total in writing and keep the receipt; the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division recommends attaching receipts or contracts to a complaint. See emergency locksmith, house lockout and the Baltimore page.