Changing your locks

Every exterior door must have a keyless bolting device (a bolt you lock from inside without a key). Your landlord can keep you out without a court order only for real repairs, construction, or an emergency. It is also allowed if you left for good. A lock change for late rent is allowed only if your lease allows it and you got advance written notice. Then the landlord must post a notice and give you a new key on request, even if you do not pay.

Colorado has a law just for renters who have been hurt. This law covers domestic violence or abuse, stalking, or unlawful sexual behavior. If one of these things has happened to you, this law can help you. You can tell your landlord about it. You must also give your landlord the proof that the law asks for. Once you do that, your landlord cannot stop you from changing your locks. This includes electronic locks. Your landlord cannot charge you money for this. Your landlord cannot punish you for it in any way. If your lease has words taking away this right, those words do not count.

A protective or restraining order (a court order to keep someone away from you) can name you as a protected person. If you give your landlord a copy of that order, your landlord must change your locks or let you change them yourself. Your landlord must tell you within 6 hours whether they will change the locks. If your landlord agrees to change the locks, your landlord must do it within 48 hours.

These rules are for a Connecticut renter with a restraining or protective order (a court order that requires someone to stay away from your home). Your landlord may tell you that you must change the locks yourself. If your landlord does not change the locks, or does not let you change them in time, you can do it yourself. The new locks must be as good as or better than the old ones, and installed properly. You must give your landlord a key within 2 business days, unless you have a good reason not to. If you skip these steps, your landlord may charge you for changing the locks or change them again. Get legal help first.

If your landlord changes your locks because of a protective order, your landlord must pay anyone hired to do the work. Your landlord must also give you a key before or when the locks are changed. Your landlord may charge you the actual cost of the lock and the cost of hiring someone to install it. Your landlord cannot evict you just for not paying this fee. Your landlord can sue you for it, or take it from your deposit when you move out.

If a protective order requires you to stay away from your home, your landlord will not give you a key to the new locks. Your landlord also cannot let you back in, unless a court order allows it so you can get your things. You still owe rent under your lease, and are responsible for damage to the home, even while you are kept out.

You may put a new lock on your door at your own cost, if you meet 3 conditions. You must tell your landlord in writing and give your landlord a key. The lock must fit the system already in place. The installation must not damage the door.

In Georgia, your lease usually says you cannot change the locks without your landlord's permission. If the lease says nothing about locks, the handbook says you may technically change them. You must then give the landlord new keys when you move out. You must also follow any other lease terms about the landlord's access. Changing locks against your lease terms can put your lease at risk. Read your lease first.

In Cook County only, your landlord must change your lock, or put in a new key, before you move in. This way, the old renter's key no longer works. This state rule applies in counties with more than 3,000,000 people, and Cook is the only Illinois county that large. It does not apply to buildings of 4 or fewer units where the owner lives, or to a room in an owner's home. If a theft happens because the lock was not changed, the landlord must pay for the loss.

If you or a household member faces a real and immediate threat of domestic or sexual violence, you can ask for new locks. Give your landlord written notice signed by all tenants on the lease. Add 1 proof of your choice, such as a court paper, a victim services letter, or a police report. Legal aid can help. Your landlord then has 48 hours to change the locks or let you change them. If not, you may change the locks yourself. Then give the landlord a key within 48 hours.

A tenant in Maine may not change the lock without telling the landlord. The tenant must give the landlord a copy of the key within 48 hours of the change. A victim (someone who has been subject to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking) may change the locks at their own cost. The victim must give the landlord a copy of the key within 72 hours.

If a Maine tenant changes the lock and gives no duplicate key, the landlord may enter in an emergency by any reasonable means necessary. The landlord may charge the tenant reasonable costs for any resulting damage. If the tenant refuses to give a key, the landlord may end the rental with a 7-day notice. Changing the lock without giving a key puts your home at risk.

Your landlord can change your locks for a short time if your home cannot be locked or kept safe. They must try in good faith to give you notice, so you can get back in quickly.

Your landlord can change, alter, or add locks or other security devices on your home. But your landlord must give you a key or another way to get in right away when this happens. Usually, changing your locks without doing this is unlawful interference with your right to stay in your home.

You may not remove a lock, or replace or add a lock your landlord did not supply, without your landlord's written permission. If you do, you must give your landlord a key.

New Jersey has no court decision that requires you to give your landlord a key, or that stops your landlord from keeping one. Your lease can still require you to give your landlord a key. New Jersey courts have generally allowed this when it covers emergencies that could risk life or property.

If your lease does not clearly require a key, you can refuse to give your landlord one. If you refuse to give a key your lease does require, your landlord can try to evict you for refusing. A court can also stop your landlord from holding a key if you prove your landlord abused the right to enter your home.

You can change your own locks. But the law says you must give the landlord a copy of the new key.

In Oregon, some renters get an extra safety right for their locks. That right is for renters who have gone through domestic violence, sexual assault, a bias crime, or stalking. If this is true for you, you can ask your landlord to change your locks so you feel safe at home. You do not have to prove that it happened.

Say you asked for new locks under Oregon's safety rule for victims of some crimes. Your landlord must quickly change the locks at your cost, or let you change them yourself. If your landlord does not act quickly, you can change the locks yourself, but you must give your landlord a new key. Your landlord may later disagree, so keep a copy of your request. Get legal help first if you can.

You cannot change the locks on your home without your landlord's permission.

You may add extra security devices to your home, like a chain lock approved by your landlord or a fire alarm. The devices must not cause lasting damage to your home. You must give your landlord a copy of all keys and instructions for these devices. When you move out, you must pay your landlord back for removing the devices and fixing any damage they caused.

If your landlord or someone working for your landlord sexually assaults you, you may change or add locks. The same is true if your landlord or someone working for your landlord stalks you (follows you) or harasses you (bothers you often). You pay for the new locks yourself. You must tell your landlord in writing within 7 days. Include a copy of a protection order or a report from a qualified helper (a qualified third party).

After you give notice that you changed or added locks, your lease ends automatically on the 90th day. To keep your lease, you must tell your landlord in writing within 60 days that you do not want it to end. In some cases you must give your landlord a copy of the new key at that time.