All Forum Posts by: Peter Cooke

How many units in the building? Not one single neighbor has an extra key common door key they'll loan you for long enough to make a copy??? (If that's true, you have some sh*t neighbors). I'd be really surprised if you there wasn't SOMEONE that would help you our hearing that story.

Try offering $20 bucks for the loan of the key. I'd be willing to bet you $20 that'd I be able to get a key to that common door ;)

Did you ask the landlord why you just can't borrow his key and make a new copy? What did he say?

Before doing anything else, almost certainly, some tenant, sometime hid a key somewhere around those apartments in case they got locked out or because their third cousin was coming to visit, something...make sure you look all around the common grounds for hidden keys.

Anyhow, unless the landlord changes the common door keys EVERY SINGLE time a tenant moves out, then it's not a security issue.  If it's not a security issue, let's speculate!

Perhaps the landlord lost his copy of the key and doesn't want to admit it. Are the mailboxes inside or outside? it's going to be a hassle for the landlord if he has to go give the post office new keys and coordinate with all the tenants. Perhaps you could appeal to his laziness.

If you must re-key, My mobile locksmith guy charges $60 to come rekey and about $2.50 per key.

Go borrow the key from a neighbor, make a copy and tell the A-hole you found the key.

I could see charging for your apartment, your mailbox, and any common entrance lock that has to be changed because you lost your keys. When you say whole building, do they mean all of the other apartment locks? That would be ridiculous and you shouldn't pay.