Which door you are locked out of

It depends on the building. Eastside Park, east of downtown, has about 1,000 homes in Tudor, Georgian colonial, Victorian, Italianate and Dutch colonial styles, and at one of those houses you are dealing with the house's own doors. In an apartment building there is a second layer: the shared entrance, your own unit door, or both.

Shared entrances and the code

This is general information, not legal advice. In a building of three or more units, N.J.A.C. 5:10-19.2 calls for a heavy-duty dead-latching lockset on the shared entrance, and the key to that outside cylinder must not also open your own unit door. Paterson's property maintenance code also requires the main entrance door to have a working doorbell that can signal each unit (Section 271-27), so you can ring a neighbor and ask to be let into the hallway.

If a landlord changed the locks

The Department of Community Affairs' Truth in Renting guide says self-help evictions, such as changing the locks while a tenant is out, are illegal in New Jersey, and tells a tenant facing one to call the police. Citing N.J.S.A. 2A:39-1, it adds that a person who enters a rental without a court order may be liable to the tenant for damages. That is a matter for the police and the courts, not for a new lock.

Waiting outside

NOAA describes New Jersey winters as moderately cold and occasionally snowy, and summers as warm and humid. In winter, wait in a shop, a neighbor's home or a car, not on the stoop; in summer, find shade and water. If a child, an older adult or anyone who needs medication is locked inside, call 911 first.

What to have ready

Proof you live there: photo ID showing the address, or a lease or deed if the ID lists an older one.
Which door it is: the shared entrance, your unit door or a house door.
Whether a landlord or superintendent controls the main entrance.
Your neighborhood or nearest cross streets, and a photo of the lock if you can take one.

More on the house lockout service. If old keys are still out there afterward, consider lock rekeying, or return to the Paterson page.

At the door

What house lockout covers

Help getting back into your home when you are locked out, with non-destructive methods tried first where the lock allows.

A conversation about the door, the lock, and your situation before anyone is sent
Non-destructive entry methods tried first where the lock allows
A proof-of-residence check before entry, or as soon as the door is open if documents are inside

ID and proof you may access the property are checked before any work.

House Lockout in New Jersey

Sources

Public records and references this page draws on. They are outside USA Locksmith Pros and open in a new tab.

House Lockout in Paterson, NJ