Locksmith Services in Boston, MA

Homes and locks in Boston

In several Boston neighborhoods the front door is part of a regulated streetscape. Beacon Hill, the oldest historic district in Massachusetts, has detailed door rules (below). Back Bay, Bay Village and the South End each have their own district commission, and the city takes design review applications for all 10 historic districts. Check with the commission before replacing a visible door or adding exterior hardware; rekeying existing locks leaves the door unchanged.

Boston also has roughly 10,000 triple-deckers, prominent in Dorchester, South Boston and Charlestown. In many, one front door opens onto an internal staircase serving all three floors; others have a second front entrance for the ground-floor unit. That usually means a shared entry key on top of each unit's own doors, so a move-out rekey should include it.

Businesses and buildings

The city's Main Streets program backs neighborhood business districts, each run by an independent nonprofit, such as Chinatown, Fields Corner and Mattapan Square.

On Beacon Hill, storefronts fall under the same district review as houses. Window grilles must be mounted within the window reveal and secured into mortar joints, not into the masonry or onto the face of the building, with shop drawings provided to the commission for approval.

Car trouble in Boston

When the city declares a snow emergency, cars parked on posted main roads are ticketed and towed, so sort out a car lockout on one of those roads before the ban begins. If your car is missing after a storm, check the city's towed-vehicle page before treating it as theft or a lost key.

• Some garages offer reduced rates to Boston residents with a resident parking sticker, from two hours before a snow emergency is declared until two hours after it is lifted.
• Space savers are allowed only during a declared emergency and must be removed 48 hours after it ends. They are banned in Bay Village and the South End.

Local rules worth knowing

Historic Beacon Hill District. Under Chapter 616 of the Acts of 1955, as amended, exterior features open to view from a public way cannot be altered without a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission. Violations carry fines of up to 1,000 dollars per day. Its guidelines on doors say:

• Original doors and hardware are kept, or duplicated in the same material and style if beyond repair.
• Only paneled doors are permitted; flush and metal-clad doors are not.
• Replacement hardware should replicate the original or be of an appropriate design.
• Buzzers, key keepers and intercom panels belong within the entryway where possible, with brass or bronze faces; lighted or backlit panels are not allowed.

Rental registration and inspection. Boston's rental ordinance, CBC 9-1.3, requires every rental property to be registered with the city by July 1 each year. Rental units must be inspected at least once every five years, once the Inspectional Services Department selects the property; owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer rental units are exempt from inspection. The owner or an authorized adult must be present, and each tenant's consent is collected beforehand on a department form, so plan key access to each unit.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Boston

Include the neighborhood and nearest cross streets, plus how to reach the door: a shared triple-decker entry, a buzzer panel or a garage level. Massachusetts Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Boston. See house lockout, car lockout and commercial locksmith services, the Massachusetts page or nearby Cambridge.