Locked out of your house: what to do, in order

When a lockout is a 999 call

Call 999 straight away, before you try anything else on this page, if there is an immediate danger to life or a crime in progress, for example if:

• a child, or an adult who could not look after themselves, is shut inside on their own;
• someone inside is ill, hurt or otherwise at risk;
• something that could start a fire has been left on, such as a pan on the hob, the cooker or a heater;
• you think someone is breaking in, or is inside your home now. Do not go in or try the other doors: move somewhere safe and wait for the police.

Police guidance is to call 999 when there is an immediate danger to life, or a crime is happening right now, such as a house burglary (police.uk). West Yorkshire Police puts it the same way: a danger to life, or a crime in progress.

An ordinary lockout, with everyone safe and nothing left on, is not one for the police or fire service. The Master Locksmiths Association (MLA) says you should not bother the emergency services with it, and should contact a locksmith instead.

If you can smell gas from outside, move away from the building and ring the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 (in Northern Ireland, 0800 002 001).

If you get back in and find that someone broke in while you were out, and they have gone, report it to the police on 101, the non-emergency number.

Five ways back in, cheapest and quickest first

Work down the list and stop as soon as one step gets you in. Before you start, check your pockets, bag and car for a spare.

1. Another door or window you hold a key for

Walk round to any back, side or patio door, or a locking window, that opens with a key on your keyring. Only use a way in you would use on a normal day, from the ground. If it means standing on something, squeezing through a gap or damaging a frame, leave it and go to step 2.

If that gets you in, stop there. Deal with the locked door once you are inside and not in a hurry.

2. Someone who holds a spare key

Think through who has a key: a partner, housemate, relative, trusted neighbour, friend, cleaner or carer. Ring rather than text, so you know a key is on its way. If your phone is locked inside, ask a neighbour whether you can use theirs. Going to fetch the key yourself is often quicker than waiting for a locksmith.

If this gets you in, you're done, and nothing has been damaged.

3. If you rent: your landlord or letting agent

Ring your landlord or letting agent before a locksmith. They may hold a spare set or have a locksmith they already use, so look for an out-of-hours number in your tenancy agreement or the agent's emails. The locks are normally theirs as well. The National Residential Landlords Association explains that a tenant generally cannot change the locks without the landlord's written permission, and doing so can breach the tenancy. If a locksmith says a lock must be replaced, ask your landlord or agent first and keep their answer in writing.

In a block of flats, a locked communal entrance door is a matter for the building's managing agent or freeholder. Ring them, or the concierge if there is one.

If you own your home, go to step 4. If your landlord can let you in, stop there.

4. Your home emergency cover

If you have home emergency or home security cover, ring the provider before you book a locksmith yourself, and ask whether they would pay for one you book. Ask three things: are lockouts included, what counts as already having another way in, and does a call-out fee apply? Then ask when someone can come. Smart Plan's own wording is set out further down this page as a worked example of what to look for.

If this gets you in, stop here.

5. A reputable locksmith

If none of that has worked, call a locksmith, but spend a few minutes on the six checks below first. Bromley Trading Standards advises not to rush, even in an emergency, because a few minutes of research can prevent problems later.

Choosing an emergency locksmith: six checks

Which? (17 April 2024) reports the MLA's warning about bait-and-switch pricing, where a low quote is inflated once the locksmith arrives. Around 75% of MLA members say rogue locksmiths often quote an unusually low price. Run through these checks before anyone starts work.

1. Non-destructive entry first. A professional should try to open the lock without damaging it and use a drill only as a last resort. The MLA calls drilling as a first attempt "a common scam locksmith technique". If drilling is the first thing offered, ask why, and you can stop the job there.

2. Check the directory. Search the MLA's directory of approved locksmiths before you ring a number from an advert. Which? gives the same advice.

3. Send a photo for a quote. Which? suggests sending a picture of the lock and door before the visit, so the quote you get is more accurate.

4. Ask who is actually coming. Which? treats a call answered by a call centre, rather than a locksmith, as a warning sign. Bromley Trading Standards (3 February 2025) advises checking whether you are dealing with the firm directly or with a subcontractor, and asking for the name and contact details of whoever is coming. When they arrive, check that the name on the van, paperwork or ID matches the firm you agreed the price with.

5. Be wary of the cheapest advert and of cash only. Bromley Trading Standards warns about "very cheap advertised prices at the top of an internet search". Which? lists being forced to pay in a particular way, such as in cash, as a red flag.

6. Agree a fixed price before work starts. Citizens Advice explains that a quote is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, while an estimate is only the trader's best guess. Ask for a quote that covers the call-out, labour, any new lock and VAT, get it by text or email, and ask what would change it. Before they leave, ask for an itemised receipt.

What makes a locksmith cost more or less

Prices vary with the job and the time of day, so the only figure worth relying on is a fixed quote, ideally given after the locksmith has seen a photo of your lock.

The MLA's guide to house lockouts names three things that move the price of getting you back in: the time of day, with a call in the small hours costing more than one in the afternoon; how far the locksmith has to travel; and whether the lock is damaged. It adds that the time the job takes depends on the type of lock, and that a high-security anti-snap lock needs specialist tools to open.

After that, the bill depends on what the job turns into. Opening a working lock without damage is one job. Replacing a lock that has to come out is a bigger one, with the new lock on top. Cutting new keys from the snapped pieces adds again. A photo-based quote that names each of these is the simplest way to avoid a surprise on the doorstep.

If a locksmith overcharges you

If you agreed a quote, that is what you owe for the work quoted. Citizens Advice says that if a trader cannot give a good reason for raising the price, you can tell them you will only pay what was quoted.

If no price was agreed at all, the law says you must pay "a reasonable price for the service, and no more" (Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 51).

The usual 14-day right to cancel does not apply to a visit you specifically asked a trader to make for urgent repairs (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28(1)(e)). Regulation 28(2) keeps those rights for anything extra supplied on that visit: services beyond the urgent repair, and goods other than the replacement parts the repair needed, such as new locks for your other doors.

To dispute a bill, say so and put it in writing, setting out what was agreed and what you were charged. Do not let yourself be pushed into paying more on the spot, and keep the invoice, photos and messages. If you feel unsafe, move away to somewhere safe, and if you are in danger, call 999.

In England and Wales, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. In Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland; in Northern Ireland, Consumerline. Which? says the best way to complain to Trading Standards about a rogue locksmith is through Citizens Advice.

Key snapped in the lock

Stop turning the key and let go of what's left of it. Leave the broken piece where it is: getting it out is a job for a locksmith.

Do not dig at the broken piece or force the lock. The MLA says that trying to remove a broken key yourself is probably the worst thing you can do, because it can push the broken part further into the lock. It also lists forcing a jammed lock as one of the usual reasons keys snap in the first place.

Keep both pieces once the locksmith has the broken end out. The MLA says a new key can generally be made from a broken key, depending on how clean the break is, and that you need both parts to do it.

Then work out where you stand. If you are outside and the door is locked, go back to step 1, because another door or a spare key may still get you in. If the key snapped while you were locking up and the door will not lock, the home is not secure. Stay with it, or ask someone you trust to, until the lock is sorted.

Our older guide on a broken key stuck in a lock ends with advice on stopping a key breaking in the first place. For the stuck piece itself, our advice now follows the MLA: leave the removal to a locksmith.

Locked out with the key still in the lock on the inside

Your spare key may not go in or turn from outside while your own key sits in the lock on the inside. Do not force it, and do not try to push the inside key out. Tell the locksmith about it when you ring and send a photo of the outside of the lock, because it changes the job and the price.

Does home emergency cover pay for a locksmith? Smart Plan's terms

Only in set circumstances, and it is better to know them before you are on the doorstep. Here is what Smart Plan's security cover says, quoted from section 7 of the cover plan terms (PDF) and then put in plain words. Security cover only applies if your cover sheet lists it.

What security cover includes

Clause 7.1(b)(i), page 19: "Creating emergency access if you are locked out of your property where no other form of access is available (such as family member having a key)". So if anyone with a key, such as a family member, can let you in, that is your way in, and this clause does not apply.

Clause 7.1(b)(ii), page 19: "Repair and or replacement of locks and keys where the key is snapped in the lock or you have lost the keys needed to secure the property, whereby you do not have access to another key and or if lock is the only lockable point of access to the property". In plain words, a snapped or lost key is covered when you have no other key, or when that lock is the only lockable way into the home.

Clause 7.1(a), page 19: security cover has a cover limit of £500.00 including parts and labour.

What it does not include

Clause 7.2(c), page 20: "External doors which are locked (example of event, snapped keys in lock) where another lockable door give ability for access to the property". If you can get in through another lockable door, such as the back door, the locked one is not covered.

Clause 7.2(a), page 19: "Any works for any outbuildings, sheds, plant rooms, garages and or other buildings that do not allow for direct access to the main property". Being locked out of a shed, or a garage that does not open into the house, is not covered.

Clause 7.2(b), page 19: "Replacement of keys where an additional set/s is available". This clause is about new keys. Whether you can be let in when someone else holds a key is the 7.1(b)(i) point above.

Clause 7.2(e), page 20: getting you in is excluded where a door or window has warped or swollen.

Clause 7.2(h), page 20: "Any damage caused by our operatives to the property in order to gain entry, unless caused by our negligence". Non-destructive entry is the aim, but it cannot be promised for every lock.

Rented homes and flats

Let and rented homes can have Smart Plan cover. The general exclusions rule out works on equipment that is not owned by you (10.17, page 27) and works on equipment that is a shared and communal facility (10.18, page 27). So a communal entrance door is for the managing agent, and a rented home's locks usually belong to the landlord. If you rent, speak to your landlord and to us before relying on the plan for a new lock.

Fees and call-out hours

A £95 call-out fee may apply, only in the situations set out in the terms. For security cover, those situations include every attendance: clause 7.1(c), page 19, says a call-out fee is required before we attend. The fee also applies to a call-out requested in the first 30 days after a new agreement starts (9.1, page 23), and to a call-out where the problem turns out to fall under an exclusion (9.2, page 23), such as one of the lockout exclusions above. So if you set up a plan while you are locked out, the terms say you would pay the call-out fee before anyone attends, plus payment in advance for any further work (9.1), so the plan would not pay for this lockout.

Call-outs run Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00, unless it's an emergency breakdown (9.17, page 25). The terms do not say that a lockout counts as an emergency breakdown, so if you are locked out on an evening or at a weekend, ask about timing when you call.

Smart Plan, from UK Boiler Company Ltd, is a service plan, not insurance. Our home security cover page shows what the security module includes.

Security cover for next time

Security cover is for a future lockout where nobody else can get you in, within the terms above. If you would like it in place for next time, leave your number and we will call you back to talk it through.

Stop it happening again

Leave a spare key with someone you trust who lives or works nearby, and keep their number somewhere other than your phone. It is the quickest way back in, and it costs nothing.

If there is nobody nearby, a wall-mounted key safe is the alternative to a key under the mat or in a plant pot. Our 10 tips for home security explain which certification to look for in a key safe.

Save the number of a locksmith you have already checked and, if you rent, your landlord's or letting agent's out-of-hours number. Bromley Trading Standards advises finding a reliable locksmith before you need one and keeping the number to hand. If a key is worn, bent or sticks in the lock, get a new one cut before it breaks.

One trade-off to know about: once a spare key is within reach, Smart Plan's emergency access under 7.1(b)(i) will not apply, because there is another way in. For most households, that is the better position to be in.

Related help and sources

• Home security cover
• A broken key stuck in a lock (older guide)
• 10 tips for home security
• Landlord home emergency cover
• MLA: find an approved locksmith
• Citizens Advice consumer helpline
• NRLA: can a tenant change the locks?