key broken in lock. who pays locksmith, landlord or me?

judybear_2

Hello, some advice required please!

My boyfriend has been locked in our flat all day as a small bit of his key snapped off in the lock as he was trying to leave for work.

I have two texts on my phone, the oldest one from july this year asking the landlord if they could get someone to look at the door lock as it could be quite stiff and difficult to lock/unlock sometimes.

Last time there was an issue with the lock and it was replaced and new keys were issued, the letting agent dealt with it and we paid nothing.
We recently stopped using the letting agent and now go directly to the landlord instead. He's saying we should get a locksmith out as its not part of the contract as the keys are ours.

So who should pay? I believe if they had checked out the lock when we reported it, it could have been replaced at a lesser cost if required.

Do I have the right to bill the landlord for the locksmith?

Thanks

spacey2012

What type of Lock cylinder as in upvc door or a old style mortice lock.
If its a upvc cylinder lock, put another key in the other side and open it
Remove the long screw from the centre of the edge of the door where the lock is and the lock will just pull out, bang and coax the broken bit out, put it back and re - fit the long screw.
Very very basic DIY and certainly less expensive than a locksmith.
If the bit wont come out a new lock is about a tenner from any diy store


http://www.handymanknowhow.co.uk/safetyandsecurity/changing%20the%20lock%20on%20a%20UPVC%20door.htm

Paully232000

spacey2012 wrote: »

What type of Lock cylinder as in upvc door or a old style mortice lock.
If its a upvc cylinder lock, put another key in the other side and open it
Remove the long screw from the centre of the edge of the door where the lock is and the lock will just pull out, bang and coax the broken bit out, put it back and re - fit the long screw.
Very very basic DIY and certainly less expensive than a locksmith.
If the bit wont come out a new lock is about a tenner from any diy store


http://www.handymanknowhow.co.uk/safetyandsecurity/changing%20the%20lock%20on%20a%20UPVC%20door.htm

Sorry to hear about the OP, and not sure why i read this thread but glad I did.
Was, this week going to call a locksmith to change three door locks as I have just moved house. Now i can do it myself, on all three as the same locks as in the link you provide.
Thanks you have just saved me some money.

Building_Surveyor

Faulty lock and a key snapped in a lock can be two entirely different things.

I believe you are responsible for this, but to save money... DIY it yourself.

G_M

Not straight-forward.

It comes down to blame/responsibility:

If tenant breaks the key (eg using too much force, using wrong key etc) then tenant is liable.

If the lock was faulty, LL is liable to maintain it, or repair/replace consequential damage.

So a lot depends how boyfriend snapped the key.

However, in this case it seems you have already previously reported the ;ock as faulty and the LL has ignored, thus you have good grounds to argue it was his failure that was responsible. Did the LL even inspect after you reported it?

If thisis the only entry/exit then clearly you need to fix urgently. If you canopen the door, then you can easily remove the lock and cheaply replace it (DIY).

If you canNOT open the door (ie no internal knob or key), then you may need a locksmith callout.

Do it as cheaply as possible, and if using a locksmith get seveal quotes and keep them so you can show the LL you chose the cheapest.

Argue the liability afterwards, either amicably on the phone (follow up in writing) or in writing from the start.

Building_Surveyor

G_M wrote: »

Not straight-forward.

It comes down to blame/responsibility:

However, in this case it seems you have already previously reported the ;ock as faulty and the LL has ignored, thus you have good grounds to argue it was his failure that was responsible. Did the LL even inspect after you reported it?

.

The OP stated the lock was previously faulty but was replaced by the landlord...

G_M

Building_Surveyor wrote: »

The OP stated the lock was previously faulty but was replaced by the landlord...

Ah - maybe...

I read it as two separate previous problems:

One dealt with free by the agents (when agents were still being used), and then a 2nd issue (in July) when he went direct to the LL and this text was (apparently) ignored.

But the post is ambiguous.

Building_Surveyor

OP it could be difficult to prove anyway...

Secondly I wouldn't text your landlord asking for repairs, put everything in writing... What if they changed their number, lost signal, lost their phone, text didn't get through or whatever... They could easily say they didn't receive it.

theartfullodger

Disagree: IMHO - Very straightforward:

Landlord is legally responsible for sorting lock: Including if necessary getting workman & paying him.

However you may be the cause of the failure in which case LL can take steps to recover £££ from you - either through court or from deposit (which you can argue about..)

If you think you might have been the cause you may wish to get it fixed yourself - but make sure whoever fixes it doesn;t damage lock/door...

Cheers!

spacey2012

To see what size lock you require, measure the length from the bolt hole outwards to the edge of the old lock and inwards to the other edge in MM.
This gives you the size code for the lock your door needs
50/50 are often standards but they do come in 40/60 60/40 and other sizes

G_M

spacey2012 wrote: »

To see what size lock you require, measure the length from the bolt hole outwards to the edge of the old lock and inwards to the other edge in MM.
This gives you the size code for the lock your door needs
50/50 are often standards but they do come in 40/60 60/40 and other sizes

You're making a lot of assumptions about the type of lock..