House Lockout in Provo, UT

Which door you are locked out of

The first question in a Provo house lockout is which door. Franklin is the Central District neighborhood near Center Street, I-15 and 600 South. The city's plan for it describes single-family houses converted under earlier zoning, with accessory apartments allowed in most of its residential zones. A house like that can have a shared outside door and a separate door for each unit. Getting through the common entry does not open your own unit, so say which door is shut and who else lives behind it.

Townhouses bring more doors. Census Bureau estimates count about 11 percent of Utah County homes as attached townhouse-style units. Such a home can have a front door, a patio door and a garage door; list each one and how it locks.

Renters, student housing and landlords

The 2023 General Plan puts the rented share of Provo's occupied homes at 59 percent. Keys change hands at both ends of the school year, when students return in August and leave near the end of April, so a spare you are counting on may have gone with a former roommate.

In BYU contracted housing, the Off-Campus Housing Handbook requires a key or entry device for each student, so call the manager first. A spare may be on hand; a key gone for good means changed locks under the same handbook.

Being shut out by an owner is a different situation from a lost key. Utah Code Section 78B-6-814 makes it unlawful for an owner to willfully exclude a tenant except through judicial process, with an exception for abandoned premises. This is general information, not legal advice.

Waiting outside and what to have ready

Wait somewhere safe, such as your car or a neighbor's home, rather than on the step. Then gather:

• the street address and the nearest cross streets
• which door is locked, and a photo of the lock if you can take one
• photo ID that shows the address, or a lease, deed or utility bill that does
• for a rental, the landlord's or manager's permission and, in an apartment, the complex and unit number

See the house lockout page and the Provo page. If a key is lost for good, see lock rekeying.