It’s 7:47 on a Saturday morning. Your tenant is standing outside her Fishtown rowhome in slippers, phone at 12%, keys gone. She’s calling you. Do you drive over? Charge a fee? Tell her to call a locksmith on her own dime? After 15+ years managing rentals across Philadelphia, I can tell you the answer isn’t as black-and-white as most landlords think — and getting it wrong costs you either money, tenants, or both.
Here’s exactly how I handle lost keys, what your lease should say word-for-word, and where I draw the line between being a helpful property manager and running a free 24/7 locksmith service.
Who’s Legally Responsible When a Tenant Loses Their Keys?
In Pennsylvania — and specifically under Philadelphia’s landlord-tenant rules — lost keys are the tenant’s responsibility. Full stop. The landlord’s job is to deliver the unit in habitable condition with working locks at move-in. What happens to those keys after the tenant signs the lease and takes possession is on them.
That means the tenant pays for:
- The locksmith call — typically $85–$150 during business hours in Philly, and $175–$300 after hours or on weekends
- Replacement keys — $5–$15 per copy at a hardware store
- A full lock re-key if they want one — $75–$150 per door
- Full lock replacement if the locksmith has to drill — $150–$400 depending on the hardware
None of that should come out of the landlord’s pocket. But here’s the catch: if your lease doesn’t spell this out clearly, you’re going to end up arguing about a $200 bill with a tenant who swears she never agreed to pay it. And in a Philly Municipal Court dispute, ambiguous lease language usually gets read against the landlord.
What Your Lease Should Say About Lost Keys
Every lease we use at Grow Property Management includes specific language on lockouts and lost keys. If yours doesn’t, fix it before the next renewal. At minimum, your lease should cover these four points:
1. Tenant Bears the Cost
State clearly that any lockout, lost key, or lock replacement caused by the tenant is billed back to the tenant. We add the charge to the next month’s rent statement so there’s a clean paper trail — never take it out of the security deposit mid-tenancy, because Pennsylvania law is strict about how and when that deposit can be touched.
2. Preferred Locksmith Clause
Our lease requires tenants to use our preferred locksmith. Why? Because random locksmiths pulled off a Google search will sometimes drill a perfectly pickable lock in 30 seconds because drilling is faster and bills higher. That turns a $90 service call into a $400 hardware replacement — and guess who ends up eating that when the tenant claims she “had no choice”? Controlling the vendor protects the property.
3. After-Hours Lockout Fee
If a tenant wants me to come out — not a locksmith — we charge a $75 after-hours service fee. This isn’t about being greedy. It’s about setting expectations. Otherwise you’ll get a 2 a.m. call every other weekend from tenants who see you as the cheaper option.
4. Lock Change Approval
Tenants cannot change locks without written landlord approval, and if they do, they must provide a working copy of the new key within 24 hours. This matters for emergencies, code inspections, L&I access, and any legal entry your lease already permits. A tenant who re-keys without telling you has effectively locked you out of your own property.
The $25 Lockbox That Prevents 90% of These Calls
Years ago I started installing a small combination lockbox on every property we manage. Inside is a spare key. The tenant gets the combo at move-in, and if they lock themselves out at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday, they can let themselves back in without calling anyone — not me, not a locksmith, not their cousin with a crowbar.
This single $25 investment has saved me dozens of Saturday morning trips and saved tenants hundreds in locksmith bills. It’s one of the simplest things a landlord can do, and most don’t bother. If you own a rental in Philadelphia and you don’t have a lockbox on it, install one this week. Mount it somewhere out of obvious sight — inside a gated side yard, behind a downspout, on a basement bulkhead — not right next to the front door.
The one situation a lockbox doesn’t solve? When a tenant loses both her regular key and forgets the lockbox combo — which is exactly what happened in the story I’m about to tell you.
A Real Saturday Morning Lockout
A Saturday last spring — the day I block off for family — I got the call from a tenant who had lost her keys. She had the lockbox combination written down somewhere, but she couldn’t find that either. So now she’s standing outside the unit, no keys, no backup, kid in the stroller, and asking for help.
Professionally, I had every right to say: “Call our preferred locksmith. You’ll be billed for it.” That’s literally what the lease says. That’s the answer most property management companies would give. And honestly, that’s the answer that makes financial sense.
But I drove over and let her in anyway.
Why I Still Show Up Sometimes (And Why I Don’t Always)
Here’s my honest take after years of doing this: showing up personally once in a while isn’t a business decision — it’s a relationship decision. A tenant who’s having the worst morning of her month remembers who helped her. That tenant renews. That tenant tells her friends. That tenant doesn’t fight you on a $30 late fee six months later.
But — and this is the important part — I only do it when it’s a one-time situation with a tenant who’s otherwise reliable, pays on time, and treats the property well. If someone is locking themselves out every other month, the lease gets enforced to the letter. Compassion turns into a doormat fast when you don’t have boundaries.
This is one of those judgment calls that comes up constantly in this business. If you’re new to managing rentals, it’s worth understanding the difference between handling things yourself as a DIY landlord versus hiring a property manager — because these decisions look very different when it’s your weekend on the line every single time the phone rings.
The Habitual Lockout Problem
Some tenants lose keys constantly. I had one who locked herself out four times in eight months. After the second time, we had a conversation. After the third, we enforced the lease and billed the full locksmith fee plus our $75 service fee. After the fourth, we sent a written notice recommending she keep a spare with a neighbor, a coworker, or in her car.
If you’re a landlord dealing with a tenant who treats you like a 24-hour concierge, you need to draw the line in writing. Send a notice. Reference the specific lease clause. Bill them through the rent ledger. It’s not personal — it’s protecting the precedent for every other tenant you manage. The minute one tenant learns you’ll show up for free, word travels.
What to Do If You Manage the Property Yourself
If you self-manage and you’re the one getting these lockout calls, here’s the playbook:
- Install a lockbox at move-in. $25 on Amazon. End of problem for 90% of cases.
- Pick a preferred locksmith in your tenant’s neighborhood — one for South Philly, one for North, one for West — and put their names and numbers directly in your lease.
- Write the cost-responsibility clause into the lease in plain English, not legalese, so there’s no argument later.
- Decide your personal policy on after-hours response before you get the call — and stick to it.
- Document every lockout in writing (a follow-up text or email is fine) so you have a paper trail if it becomes a pattern you need to address at renewal.
Screening the right tenant up front prevents most of these headaches too — the tenants I’ve had the fewest lockout issues with are the ones who scored well on our Philadelphia tenant screening process before they ever got the keys.
If lockouts, repair calls, and weekend emergencies are eating your life, that’s usually the moment landlords start looking for help. We work with a lot of owners who hit that breaking point — you can see how our Philadelphia property management services work if you want to hand this stuff off.
The Bottom Line on Lost Keys in Philadelphia
Legally and contractually, lost keys are the tenant’s responsibility — they pay for the locksmith, the new keys, and any lock changes. Your lease should say so in plain language, name a preferred locksmith, and set a clear after-hours service fee. Install a $25 lockbox and you’ll eliminate most of these calls before they ever reach you.
But beyond the contract, there’s a human element. Helping a good tenant out of a jam once in a while builds the kind of loyalty you can’t buy with marketing. Just don’t let kindness turn into an expectation. Set the rule, enforce it consistently, and make exceptions only when you choose to — not when you’re pressured to.
That balance is what separates a property manager from a property babysitter. If you’re a Philadelphia rental owner trying to figure out where your own line should be, reach out to our team — happy to talk through how we structure these policies across the 200+ units we manage across the city.
