If every key really is gone, first things first: breathe, this is fixable. You will be back inside your flat today. All that matters is the right order, and the crucial point most people miss comes only after getting in. The opening is not the problem. What happens to the old cylinder afterwards is.
I take these calls almost daily as a customer advisor. Sometimes someone cries, sometimes someone swears, usually the panic is bigger than the actual problem. My job is to put you back into a sequence. That is exactly what I am writing down here.
The first ten minutes: head first, then phone
Before you call anyone, settle two things. Is someone in danger right now? And is there perhaps a second key after all?
- Acute danger first. Is a child or a pet shut in, is the stove running, is something boiling on the hob? Then say so on the phone at once. That is a genuine emergency and gets priority, no serious firm will argue. If a baby is alone inside, the fire brigade may come too, and that is exactly right.
- Think the spare through. Is one with your partner, your parents, a neighbour, the office, the second coat? In many apartment blocks in Gallus or Bockenheim the management keeps one. A call to the management sometimes saves the whole door opening.
- Describe your location and the door honestly. Ground floor or fourth floor? Door only slammed or locked twice? Thumbturn cylinder inside? That decides whether this goes fast and damage-free.
If you strike gold at point two, the day is saved and you keep your money. If not, we go on.
Getting in: what it costs and how to spot a rip-off
If no spare turns up, a technician opens the door. Usually damage-free if it was only slammed, depending on the cylinder if it was locked. During the day a serious door opening runs 80 to 150 euros. At night, on a weekend or a public holiday a surcharge is added, but even then a simple opening should not exceed 250 euros.
A few clear warning signs that make me prick up my ears on the phone:
- No price range on the phone. Whoever flatly refuses to give you a ballpark is up to something. Any serious firm can quote a rough range straight away.
- An 0800 number, a call centre, a van from the other end of the country. Sounds like Frankfurt, sits in a dispatch centre, and the mark-up lands on your bill.
- Cash only, no receipt. Stay away. A firm that gives you no invoice does not want to be found.
- Drilling a door that is only slammed. A slammed, unlocked door is picked, not drilled. Whoever reaches for the drill at once turns 100 euros into 400 fast.
How to spot tricks like these early is covered in detail in the guide on spotting a locksmith rip-off. And the honest night and weekend prices I have put together in the price overview and in the piece on night, weekend and holiday rates. Better to read that in daylight than at three in the morning.
The point almost everyone misses: the cylinder has to come out
Now comes the real reason I am writing this. Getting in alone is not enough.
As long as you do not know where your keys are, someone could have them. If the address and the keys were together in the stolen bag, a finder knows exactly which door it is. Opening only restores access. Not security.
So my plain advice: after a true total loss, have the cylinder swapped. That is not upselling, that is the actual point of the callout. Whoever just opens your door and leaves you sitting with the old, now unsafe lock has not finished the job.
What does the new cylinder cost?
Here are honest figures so you are not taken for a ride on the phone:
| Component | Material price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Standard cylinder | 15 to 40 euros | fine for an interior door, too little for the front door |
| Security cylinder to DIN EN 1303 | 60 to 150 euros | with anti-drill and anti-pull protection, security card |
| Brands like ABUS, BKS, Winkhaus, EVVA | 90 to 180 euros | my recommendation for the flat door |
| Fitting by the technician | usually within the opening visit | a few minutes, if the size is right |
Important: a cylinder has a size, measured from the screw to the centre, inside and outside. If the technician is standing at your door anyway, he usually brings the matching size along. If you want to do it yourself later, the guide on changing a cylinder yourself explains it step by step, it is honestly no rocket science. We of course also handle the proper swap directly, see lock replacement.
Do not skimp on the cylinder of all things. A cheap DIY-store cylinder on the front door is exactly the part a burglar needs twenty seconds for with a pulling tool. Better 130 euros for a good piece than that uneasy feeling every night.
Locked out and in a hurry?
Price quoted up front, vetted partner business, ~22 minutes on site.
Two real stories from last week
Last week a customer called from Nordend. Handbag stolen at a cafe on Berger Strasse, keyring and ID with her address gone. At first she only wanted the door opened, to save the money for a new cylinder. I told her exactly what is written here: your address is now with someone who also holds the matching key. She had the cylinder swapped, about 130 euros in the end for the opening and a new security cylinder in the evening. A week later she got in touch and said she was glad to have paid that rather than lie awake at night.
And last week a second case too, quite different. A man from Sachsenhausen, keys apparently lost while jogging along the Main, somewhere between bridge and home. Here the address was not with them, no ID, no letter, nothing. I told him that in this case he could calmly just have it opened and skip the immediate cylinder swap, as long as there really was no clue to his address on the keyring. That is the difference. Keys alone without an address are a far smaller problem than keys with an address. Honest advice sometimes means advising against.
What to sort out at your leisure afterwards
Once you are back in and safe, the paperwork comes. That can wait until the next day.
Does insurance pay for this?
Some contents or liability policies cover the lock change after key loss, especially where third-party or work keys are involved. Keep the invoice and call your insurer. More on this in the guide on insurance and locks. It pays off more often than people think.
Who pays as a tenant?
That is the most common question on the phone. Rough line:
- You lose the key to a master locking system. Then you usually pay for the swap, and it can get expensive, because the whole system may have to be rekeyed. That is exactly what your liability cover is for.
- Normal wear on the lock. That is the landlord's affair.
- In doubt. Talk to the management before you have the whole system swapped on your own initiative. How tenant and landlord split the cost is covered in the piece on who pays for the lock change as a tenant.
A first neutral orientation on tenancy law comes from the consumer advice centre. The detail is ultimately set by your tenancy agreement.
Short questions, short answers
Do I really have to open at night, or can I wait until morning? If nothing is on the hob and no one is shut in, you can sleep at a friend's place and have it opened in the morning in daylight. That saves the night surcharge. But safety comes before saving, decide honestly.
Is it enough to swap just the cylinder, or the whole lock? In the vast majority of cases the cylinder is enough. The whole mortice lock is only swapped if it is mechanically faulty. Do not let anyone talk you into a new lock when only the key is gone.
What if I am not even sure whether the keys were stolen or just mislaid? Treat it like a loss with an address as soon as even one paper with your address was in the same bag. When in doubt, swap. That is the part that genuinely sets your mind at rest.
If you are standing at the door right now and cannot get in, call us, we are reachable around the clock via the emergency service, and everything else we sort out at contact. Bottom line: first get in safely, then swap the cylinder without fail, then sort insurance and landlord at your leisure. Do not skimp on the cylinder. It is the one part that genuinely lets you sleep at night.
