Massachusetts Locksmith Services

Homes and doors across Massachusetts

Massachusetts housing skews old. In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey, about 30 percent of the state's roughly 3.06 million homes were built in 1939 or earlier, and fewer than 9 percent in 2010 or later.

Only about half are detached single-family houses. Roughly one in five sits in a building with two to four units, the category that includes the three-decker: a light wood-frame building, usually one apartment per floor with utility porches at the back, built mostly in the industrial cities of central New England between 1870 and 1920. Worcester is its likely birthplace; it is also closely tied to the mill city of Fall River and to Boston neighborhoods such as Dorchester, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

What that means for locks:

• More than one exterior door. Some three-deckers have one front door for all three units; others have one entrance for the first floor and another for the two above. Add the rear porch doors, and a household can depend on several locks, some shared with neighbors.
• Older hardware. If a pre-war door has a mortise lock set into a pocket in its edge, swapping it for a modern cylindrical lock can mean altering the door, so lock rekeying or repair is often the simpler first step.

How Massachusetts weather affects locks and keys

NOAA's state climate summary puts January temperatures in the low 20s °F in western Massachusetts and around 30 °F near the coast. Boston's 2014–15 winter set a seasonal record of 110 inches of snow. The summary also calls the coastline highly vulnerable to nor'easters, tropical storms and hurricanes.

• Frozen cylinders. Meltwater can refreeze inside an exterior lock overnight. Use a dry lock lubricant rather than oil, and never force a key that will not turn; a twisted key can snap and need broken key extraction.
• Doors that move with the seasons. Old wood doors swell and shrink with the seasons; if you must shove the door before the deadbolt throws, the strike plate needs adjusting.
• After coastal storms. Where nor'easter flooding or spray reaches doors, rinse, dry and relubricate exterior hardware afterward.

Renting in Massachusetts: locks, keys and rekeying

This is general information, not legal advice.

• Required locks. The State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410.270, requires owners to maintain locks so every dwelling unit entry door can be secured against unlawful entry, other exterior doors have an operating lock, and openable exterior windows can be secured. In a residence with more than three units, the main entry door must close and lock automatically, with limited exceptions. Owners must give occupants keys to the main entry, their unit and common areas.
• Lock costs at move-in. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, a landlord may require only first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit no larger than the first month's rent, and the purchase and installation cost of a key and lock at or before the start of a tenancy.
• Lock changes for survivors. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 26, a tenant, co-tenant or household member who reasonably believes they face an imminent threat of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or stalking at the premises may ask the owner to change the unit's locks. The owner has 2 business days to make a good-faith effort to change them or give permission; otherwise the tenant may change them, with locks of similar or better quality, and give the owner a key if the lease requires it. Any fee is capped at the reasonable local charge for the work. When the threat comes from someone in the unit, the request must include a protective order under chapter 209A or 258E, or a court or law enforcement record.
• Lockouts by a landlord. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15F, a tenant removed or excluded by the landlord without a valid court order may recover three months' rent or three times the damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Where we take requests in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Massachusetts.

• Boston
• Cambridge
• Worcester
• Springfield

If a lock job goes wrong in Massachusetts

Under M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9, the state's consumer protection law, a person injured by an unfair or deceptive act or practice can sue in court. At least 30 days before filing, the consumer must send a written demand for relief that identifies the claimant and reasonably describes the act and the injury. A business that makes a written settlement offer within 30 days, which the claimant rejects, may have its liability limited to that offer if the court finds it reasonable.

1. Keep the paperwork. A demand letter must describe what happened, so keep any written estimate, the invoice and photos of the work.
2. Renters, check who owns the lock. The sanitary code makes entry locks the owner's responsibility, so read your lease or ask the owner before replacing hardware, unless you are using the § 26 survivor process.