House Lockout in Erie, PA

Locked out of an Erie house

Census Bureau estimates for 2024 count 59 percent of Erie's homes as detached houses, against 43 percent in Pittsburgh and under 9 percent in Philadelphia. A detached house usually has more than one way in: the front door, a back or side door, sometimes a basement entry. Before you request help, check whether another door of your own home was left unlocked, and note which doors are held by a deadbolt and which only by the knob lock.

Converted houses and shared entries

In East Bayfront, the blocks from East Front Street to East 18th Street between State Street and the East Bayfront Parkway, the city's 2020 neighborhood plan says too many single-family homes were converted to multi-family use. In a house like that you can be shut out at the shared street door, at your own unit door, or at both, and the street door is normally the owner's to control.

City zoning policy for turning a rooming house into dwelling units bars shared entrances or common areas between units, with one exception: an entrance vestibule. In a rooming house converted under that policy, the one shared entry is the vestibule, and each unit has its own door. Contact the owner or manager as well as the locksmith; opening a door the owner controls needs their go-ahead. This is general information, not legal advice.

Waiting out the weather

NOAA's Pennsylvania climate summary says lake-effect snow can bring the state's northwest more than 100 inches a year. On a snowy night, wait with a neighbor, in a warm car or in a nearby shop rather than on the porch, and put that spot in your request. If a child or pet is alone inside, or you are getting dangerously cold, call 911.

What to have ready

• Photo ID with the address, or a lease or deed in your name if the ID shows an older address
• For a converted house, the owner's or manager's contact details
• Whether the keys are locked inside or gone

If your ID is inside the house, say so in the request. If the keys are gone rather than left inside, consider a rekey so the missing keys stop working. The house lockout page covers the service in general.