If someone double locked your front door and you couldn't get back in...

[chicaguapa]

...would you expect them to pay to get the locks changed?

We rent our house and the LL arranged for someone to come and service the boiler this morning. He arrived as I was leaving for work so I let him in. DD came home from school and couldn't get in as the boilerman had double-locked it when he left. We all only use the Yale lock so none of us has a key for the Chubb lock as they are in the house.

DH has contacted the boilerman and he has put the spare keys the LL gave him through the LL's door. The LL doesn't have his phone switched on though we have left a voicemail and sent a text to say that we are locked out with two DC and really need to get in.

We had a joke saying that we hoped the LL hasn't gone on holiday (we know where he lives and he's not home either) but wondered who would be liable to pay for the locks to be changed if the LL can't let us in?

I think the onus would be in you to tell the workman not to double lock the door. If I was given keys for a property to do work and secure it afterwards, I'd lock all the doors properly. Have you checked that your contents insurance is valid if you're only using the Yale? Mine wouldn't be. It specifies the type of lock.

Agree that if he has keys, the workman should secure the property as well as he could. I just didn't even know he had a key! As far as I was concerned, I'd let him in the house as was arranged and he would just close the door when he left.

You live and learn eh?

You would be liable. Where are you now? Are you still locked out?

This happened to me once but I was locked in! It was a shared house and with only one Chubb key which the LL had given to the cleaner. Cleaner was unaware I was upstairs getting ready for work. In order to get out I had to climb out of a downstairs window onto the roof of the garage and in the process put my foot through the garage window.

I was still charged for breakage.

your insurance isn't valid if you have a mortice lock and don't use it.

It's a new build house, but not a high crime area.

We've never used the Chubb lock or said on insurance that we do. MIL works in insurance and said never put type of locks on your policy or a burglar alarm as if you forget to use it one day and you get burgled, you won't be covered. I was just wondering about who would have to pay for changing the locks in this instance. I guess it's difficult to apportion blame to either us, workman or LL who's presumably given keys to the workman without telling us.

Still locked out and waiting to hear from the LL.

I've been locked in in a similar situation to Thingiebob and couldn't get out at all. I had to spend the whole day in the house until my flat mate came home.

I've locked myself out so many times over the years, but I've never changed locks. Once, I borrowed a ladder from a shop down the road and guy who beought it squeezed in through the bathroom quarterlight, once I managed to force the back door, and several times I called the fire brigade (that's what you did in my youth, btw).

You could call the fire brigade, but expect to wait and expect to be billed.

Are there no windows open even a crack?

Most insurance policies will have a minimum standard already written into the policy conditions - 5 lever mortise deadlocks and window locks as standards when I did it (10+ years ago!) might be worth checking to ensure your covered.

our insurance says minimum 5lever mortice locks.

In fact, when I had insurance on my own behalf in my house, the insurance stated that Yale type locks were not counted as sufficient security.