House Lockout in Salem, OR

Which door you are locked out of

A house lockout is getting back into a home when the key is lost, left inside or no longer turns. What the job involves depends on the house.

• Court Street. In the Court Street–Chemeketa Street Historic District, Court Street is a 99-foot-wide boulevard of larger, older houses. A big house can have several exterior doors, so say which one you are at and whether the others are locked.
• Chemeketa Street. It is narrower and mostly bungalows and cottages, some facing Mill Creek. Give the street and the closest cross street.
• Gaiety Hill. The Craftsman bungalow is the most common style in the Gaiety Hill–Bush's Pasture Park district. Say if the front door is the original one.
• 1970s houses. About 16.3 percent of Salem's homes date from that decade. Say whether the deadbolt was thrown or only the knob lock was set, since a house of that era may have both.
• Manufactured homes. Mobile homes are 6.7 percent of Oregon's housing stock, and their doors and locksets can differ from a standard house's, so mention it.

Have these ready

• Photo ID that shows the address. If it lists an old address, add mail or a utility bill for the house in your name.
• A lease and your landlord's contact details if you rent, or a deed or closing papers if you recently bought.

If a landlord changed the locks

A landlord who changed the locks to shut a tenant out is a legal problem, not a lockout. ORS 90.375 lets a tenant who was unlawfully removed or excluded ask a court to restore possession or end the rental agreement, and to recover up to two months' periodic rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater. This is general information, not legal advice.

While you wait

Most Oregon areas get the bulk of their precipitation in winter, so a lockout then can mean waiting in wet weather. Wait somewhere sheltered, such as a car or a neighbor's home. If a child is alone inside, or a stove or bath is running, call 911 first.

Send the street address and say if you are in West Salem, across the Willamette River in Polk County. If the keys were lost rather than left inside, ask about rekeying once you are in. The Salem page describes the districts named above.