Yikes! You’ve just come back to your rental apartment and … what, you can’t find your keys? You’ve checked every pocket, your pocketbook, backpack, and there’s no familiar jangle. If you live alone in a studio or one bedroom or if your roommates are not around, what do you do? The answer depends on what time it is. If it’s 2 PM, the solution is quite easy. But, if it’s 2 AM, it’s going to take a little more effort and time.
Open during office hours
No Fee Rentals’ office is open Monday – Friday 9 AM to 7 PM. Just give us a call and one of our maintenance team will come over with a key to unlock your door. However, please note, being locked out of your rental apartment doesn’t exactly qualify as an emergency (fire, flooding – now those are emergencies!). Therefore, we will help you out as soon as possible, which doesn’t always equal “within the next 10 minutes.” Also keep in mind that this also means if, and this is an important “if”, we have a copy of your key. In the vast majority of instances, we do. However, on a rare occasion, some tenants will switch their keys and fail to provide our office with a copy. If we do not have a key copy and must drill out and change the lock, the cost is $50. We strongly recommend that you:
- Put the No Fee Rentals office number in your phone contacts for situations such as this
- Check with our office to make sure we have a working copy of your key
Nights and weekends
Now, on the other hand, if you are locked out of your rental apartment and it’s a night or weekend, our staff cannot help you, but a locksmith can. This kind of after-hours service can get expensive, so be prepared. We suggest keeping a spare key with a friend or trusted neighbor, or somewhere where you can get to it. We know of people who keep their spare key in their office desk or gym locker (for those with workplaces or fitness centers that have 24/7 access).
All is not lost
Let’s say your key is not turning up anywhere. No Fee Rentals can lend you the house copy of the key to your rental apartment for a few hours so you can get a new one made. Yes, we can make a copy for you — we charge about $25 per key, while a hardware store will only charge a few dollars. And while you are locked out, there is some comfort in knowing that all No Fee Rental buildings have keypad access. Rather than wait in the cold on the street, you can wait inside the vestibule or lobby until help arrives.
We hope you never lose your key to your apartment rental, but these tips should help you know what to do and where to turn for help.