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Locked Out Of The House
The door has shut behind you, the key is inside or lost, and you are standing outside with no way in.
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What's happening?
Being locked out is a situation, not a fault, and the way out of it depends entirely on what kind of lock is holding the door. A night latch that has closed on its own snib is a different job from a mortice deadlock that has been locked from the inside, and both are different again from a uPVC multipoint that has been lifted and thrown. A competent locksmith opens the great majority of domestic locks non-destructively, which means picking or manipulating the mechanism so the same lock still works afterwards. That is worth knowing before you call anyone, because the single most common way homeowners lose money in this situation is by accepting a drill when the lock never needed drilling. The Master Locksmiths Association is direct about this: rogue traders reach for the drill immediately, claiming a lock is too high-security to pick, because destroying the lock guarantees they can sell you a replacement.
What usually causes it?
- A night latch on the latch, closing behind you when the door was pushed to
- Keys left inside on a hook or a worktop, out of reach through the letterbox
- Keys lost, stolen or left at work, so there is nothing to open the door with
- A key snapped or bent in the lock, leaving part of it in the barrel
- Someone inside has deadlocked the door and cannot answer
- The lock mechanism has failed while the door was closed, so even the right key will not open it
- A uPVC door thrown and locked with the only key on the inside
Is it dangerous?
Being outside is not dangerous in itself, but it becomes a real problem quickly with a young child or a pet shut inside, with something left cooking, in cold or wet weather, or late at night. Those are the situations to say plainly on the phone, because they change how urgently a locksmith comes out. Do not try to climb in through a window at height — falls at home cause more serious injury than almost anything else.
Can I fix it myself?
Check every other door and window first, calmly and properly — back doors, patio doors, a downstairs window left on a vent. Ask whoever else holds a key, including a neighbour or a family member you left a spare with. What is not worth doing is forcing the door or attacking the lock with tools from the shed: you will usually fail, and you will turn a lock-opening job into a door repair. Card-slipping a latch also damages the door edge and does not work on a deadlocked door at all.
When should you call a locksmith?
Call a locksmith once you have run out of legitimate ways in. Ask two questions before agreeing to anything: what is the total price including call-out, parts and VAT, and will they attempt non-destructive entry first. A locksmith who will not give a figure over the phone, or who says the lock will have to be drilled before they have seen it, is the pattern the MLA warns about. There is no government licensing scheme for locksmiths in the UK, so vetting is on you — check whether the company is a real local business rather than a national call centre passing the job on.
What will the locksmith actually do?
- Identify the lock type and whether the door is latched, deadlocked or thrown on a multipoint
- Attempt non-destructive entry by picking or manipulating the mechanism so the lock survives
- Check for signs the mechanism itself has failed, rather than just the key being absent
- Only drill as a last resort, explaining why the lock cannot be opened any other way
- Replace or refit the lock afterwards to the right standard, and cut fresh keys
Frequently asked questions
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