New York Locksmith Services

Homes and doors across New York

New York's housing is older than most of the country's. In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey, the median home in the state was built in 1959, against 1981 nationally. About 30 percent of New York's roughly 8.7 million housing units date from 1939 or earlier, more than double the national share of about 11 percent.

About 41 percent of New York homes are detached houses, compared with about 61 percent nationally. Around 16 percent are in buildings with two to four units, and about 17 percent are in buildings with 50 or more units, against about 7 percent nationally.

If a pre-1940 house still has its original door and lock hardware, it is worth asking about repairing the existing lock before replacing it.

How New York's climate affects locks and keys

State climate data put average annual temperatures at about 40°F in the Adirondacks and about 55°F around New York City. The state averages more than 40 inches of snow a year, varying with terrain and distance from the Great Lakes and the Atlantic.

• Lake-effect country. Arctic air crossing Lake Erie and Lake Ontario can drop as much as 48 inches of snow in a single storm, and parts of the Tug Hill Plateau and the Adirondacks see more than 175 inches in a season. Wind-driven snow and meltwater can work into exterior keyways and refreeze, so a key that will not turn may be iced rather than broken. Forcing it can snap the key in the cylinder.
• New York City and Long Island. The Atlantic keeps average snowfall there below 36 inches a year, though nor'easters occasionally bring more than 20 inches. Twelve hurricanes struck New York between 1851 and 2014.
• Inland flooding. Flooding is not only coastal: the state's climate report lists 2013 flooding in Niagara County and the Mohawk Valley and 2014 flooding on Long Island. Have any lock that has been under floodwater cleaned and tested before relying on it.

Renting in New York: locks and the law

The Attorney General's tenants' guide explains that the Multiple Dwelling Law applies in cities of 325,000 or more residents, while the Multiple Residence Law covers smaller cities and all towns and villages.

• Adding your own lock. Multiple Dwelling Law § 51-c lets a tenant in a multiple dwelling add a lock of up to three inches in circumference to the apartment entrance door, alongside the landlord's lock. The tenant must give the landlord a duplicate key on request; the guide warns that refusing can lead to eviction proceedings. A lease clause charging extra rent or fees for the added lock is void. The section excludes buildings run by a municipal housing authority, hotels, motels and college or school dormitories.
• Building entrances. Under § 50-a, class A multiple dwellings built or converted after January 1, 1968 need automatic self-closing, self-locking entrance doors, kept locked except when an attendant is on duty. Those with eight or more apartments also need a two-way voice intercom.
• Lockouts by a landlord. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 768 bars evicting someone who has lawfully occupied a unit for 30 consecutive days or more, or who has a lease, except under a warrant of eviction, another court order or a government vacate order. Removing, plugging or disabling the entrance-door lock, or changing it without giving the occupant a key, is covered. Intentional violations are a class A misdemeanor.
• New York City. HPD, the city's housing agency, says double-cylinder locks and key-locked window gates that need a key from inside the apartment are illegal and must be removed, because a delay in finding the key can hurt the chance of escaping a fire. Door locks that require a key to exit are one of ten conditions HPD always inspects for.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Regions and cities

New York runs from the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario shores and the Finger Lakes, through the Mohawk Valley and the Hudson River corridor, the Adirondacks and the Catskills, to New York City and Long Island. New York Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in New York.

• Buffalo
• Rochester
• Syracuse
• Albany

For other parts of the state, see New York service areas.

Before you book a locksmith in New York

The Attorney General's Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau prosecutes fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or illegal trade practices, and mediates thousands of complaints from individual consumers each year. The Attorney General's office accepts complaints online.

1. Get the work and the total in writing before anything starts, and keep it with your receipt. If you file a complaint, those papers are your record.
2. Locked out by a landlord, not a lost key? Treat it as a legal matter under § 768 first. HPD's guide tells New York City tenants to report lockouts to the NYPD by calling 911.
3. Shared entrance lock broken? HPD says the building manager, superintendent or owner should repair broken locks and intercoms immediately. In New York City, tenants can also report them to 311.