Broken Lock in newbuild house

sahra252

Hello 
I'm in need of some advice 
I have bought a new house last year in july. Yesterday evening I came home and couldn't get in my house because the lock seemed to be broken. As I had no other way of getting in the house I had to call out a locksmith. 160 pound later I was back in my house the lock was broken which was only a year old. I have a 2 year warranty with the company who built the house, unfortunately their office was closed at that time otherwise I would of called them. Now my question do they have to pay for my cost of the locksmith. 
Thank you in advance 

Aylesbury_Duck

You need to dig out the warranty terms to see what they cover, but I wouldn't be surprised if locks are considered a wear and tear item.  There may even be a requirement to have them lubricated annually or something like that to preserve the warranty if they are included - have you done so?

Whenever I've moved into a house, I've changed the locks straight away anyway.  You have no idea who has keys to your house, even though it's a new build.

stragglebod

Plus the lock that comes with the house will be the cheapest one the developer could source.

JJ_Egan

Broken suggests damaged .

Aylesbury_Duck

stragglebod said:

Plus the lock that comes with the house will be the cheapest one the developer could source.

Very true.  With metal parts as soft as foil.

visidigi

Was it the lock or the mechanism to take the deadlocks out of the door? 

GraceD_17

If I were you i'd keep a close eye on your property, locks don't just 'damage' without reasoning, perhaps someone attempted to pick the lock?