Is it illegal to change front door lock without locksmith?

[nightcrawler]

I never understand why the LL has to have a key?, an emergency would be a fire, and trust me, the fire dept dont need a key.

If there was smoke coming from under your door, the LL is NOT going to get a key and open the door to see whats going on, he will call 911.


since you own the apt, change the locka yourself, do not give the key to the owner of the building and call it a day.

I also own a co-op, I have my own locks and our buildings owner does NOT want anyones keys, for various reasons. He is a smart man.

[Febtober]

Originally Posted by nightcrawler

I never understand why the LL has to have a key?, an emergency would be a fire, and trust me, the fire dept dont need a key.

Not all emergencies are of the "your apartment is engulfed in flames" variety.

If there's a water leak, the super may need to gain immediate entry, and I don't know that the FDNY is exactly going to come rushing to break down the door for him.

It's also needed for welfare checks. I know it's the kind of thing no one ever thinks will happen to them, but it does happen every single day around the city. Usually elderly people loose contact with their family for several days and the NYPD will go out to make a welfare check on the individual. Unless the super can open the door, the only way they're going to find out that the resident has passed away is later when the stench becomes noticeable outside of the unit. If it's cold and/or a window was left open, this can take longer than you may think.

Hell, my smoke detector has malfunctioned before and gone off non stop for no reason until I took out the battery. If I was away on vacation, I can only imagine what my poor neighbors would have to go through until I got back.

[fmatthew5876]

The first thing I did when I moved into my apartment in the Bronx was replace the lock cylinders. It's really easy to do yourself. Just unscrew the lock on your door one time and it should be pretty obvious how it works. You can also get more secure systems such as multi-keys which cannot be reproduced without a proprietary card.

When I move out, I'll put the old cylinders back in and return the old keys to the LL.