Which door locked you out

An Albany lockout starts with which door closed behind you. The South End's brick rows and Arbor Hill's Italianate rows are row-house areas, and a row house that is still one home has a street door that opens straight into one household. Around Clinton Square it is less simple: a 2019 state plan found 63 percent of housing units there in buildings with two to four units, so you may be shut out of a shared street door, your own unit door, or both.

Shared doors lock on their own

Section 133-60 of the Albany City Code calls for a self-locking door plus a deadbolt at the common entrance of one- and two-unit buildings, and a self-locking dead-latch on common entrance doors in buildings with three or more units. Step outside for a moment without your key, and the street door will not wait for you.

If a landlord changed the lock

If you rent and your key stopped working because the landlord changed, plugged or disabled the lock, that is a legal matter before it is a locksmith job. New York 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. Changing an entrance lock without giving the occupant a key is covered, and intentional violations are a class A misdemeanor. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to have ready

Before a door is opened, expect to be asked to show that you live there:

photo ID showing the address
a lease, deed or utility bill in your name, if the ID shows an older address
in a rental, the landlord's or manager's contact, since they may hold a spare

If your ID is inside, say so in the request, along with cross streets, whether it is the street door or a unit door, and the lock type: knob, deadbolt or keypad. See house lockout for the service, lock rekeying if a key was lost rather than left inside, and the Albany page for neighborhood details.

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 York

Sources

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

House Lockout in Albany, NY