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Station 2 of 7 · Guide 2 of 6

Locked out, or the keys are gone: who might hold a spare, and what about the old ones?

Who the official pages say may hold a key to a rented home, state by state, and the one answer every police page gives about a spare key left outside the door.

The plan, full width: the wall edge to edge, station 2 lit, the other stations dimmed and numbered OUTSIDE INSIDE Station 1: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 1 Station 2, this guide: Locked out, or the keys are gone: who might hold a spare, and what about the old ones? 2 Locked out, or keys lost Station 3: Is a broken lock in a rental an urgent repair? 3 Station 4: Can I change the locks when I rent? 4 Station 5: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 5 Station 6: Deadlocks at night: how do you get out if there is a fire? 6 Station 7: After a break-in: what happens tonight, tomorrow and in the weeks after? 7 The plan as a strip: the wall across the phone, station 2 lit OUTSIDE INSIDE Station 1: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 1 Station 2, this guide: Locked out, or the keys are gone: who might hold a spare, and what about the old ones? 2 Locked out, or keys lost Station 3: Is a broken lock in a rental an urgent repair? 3 Station 4: Can I change the locks when I rent? 4 Station 5: Someone may be in the house: what do the police say to do? 5 Station 6: Deadlocks at night: how do you get out if there is a fire? 6 Station 7: After a break-in: what happens tonight, tomorrow and in the weeks after? 7

Who might hold a spare key

Being locked out is one problem. Not knowing who else can walk in is the other. On who may hold a key to a rented home, the four states' pages answer differently, and none of them leaves it to chance.

  • New South Wales

    At the start of the tenancy, each tenant named on the agreement must be given a key, fob or other device needed to access the property and operate the locks. At the end, all of those keys and devices go back as they were provided. The landlord carries the duty to keep the locks and other security devices in place and working, so the home is reasonably secure.

  • Victoria

    The rental provider can keep copies of all keys, and the page suggests renters check that a spare set exists when the agreement is signed. Each person on the agreement gets a free set on moving in, and the same applies to security devices such as swipe cards. If a renter asks for another key, the provider can charge what the page calls a reasonable fee.

  • Queensland

    The owner or manager supplies and maintains every lock and provides the keys, and keys here include electronic key cards, swipe cards, fobs and remote controls. The manager must provide each person named on the agreement with a set of keys, and a key for each lock that forms part of the premises, down to a built-in cupboard.

  • Western Australia

    The landlord answers for the home having at least the minimum level of security, and the state's rules set minimum security levels for doors and windows in rental properties. On who else may hold a copy, the page adds a rule for after a violent relationship: a landlord must not give a copy of a key to a person the tenant has asked them, in writing, to leave out.

One page per state: NSW Fair Trading, Keys, locks and security devices in a rental property, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Locks and security, the Residential Tenancies Authority, Locks and security, and Consumer Protection WA, Rental home security.

A key left outside

The advice from the police pages is short and unanimous: no spare key belongs outside the door. What changes is the wording each force uses.

Victoria Police open their security list with it: no spare key hidden outside the home, and none left sitting in a window lock.

Tasmania Police say no hidden key outside the home, and that a spare left with someone you trust is the safer arrangement.

The Western Australia Police Force flyer puts it under two headings, SECURITY TIPS FOR HOME SAFETY and Secure the property: a spare key hidden outside is to be taken in. Under SECURITY TIPS FOR HOME SAFETY and Secure valuables, the same flyer says to lock away tools and ladders.

The other key rule is about the tag. A name and address written on it tells a stranger which door the keys belong to if they are lost, and Tasmania Police say keys to your home should never go to anyone you don't know well, tradespeople included.

From Victoria Police, Preventing home burglaries, Tasmania Police, Home/residential safety tips, and the Western Australia Police Force home safety flyer.

The keys that are still out there

A key that has been cut and handed on does not stop working because you moved house or changed housemates. Three pages set out what happens to it.

  1. Moving in

    On moving into a new home, Tasmania Police ask for a locksmith to be booked to change every exterior lock.

  2. End of a tenancy

    NSW Fair Trading: the tenant returns all keys and other security devices as they were provided at the start.

  3. End of a tenancy

    Consumer Affairs Victoria: renters give all keys and devices back to the rental provider when they move out.

  4. End of a tenancy

    Queensland's page is the one that names a cost: all keys, including copies the tenant made, go back to the manager, and failing to return them may mean an invoice for replacing the keys, including the cost of changing the locks.

  5. When a lock is changed

    NSW Fair Trading: whoever changed the lock gives the other side a key as soon as they reasonably can, and no later than 7 days.

  6. When a lock is changed

    Consumer Affairs Victoria: new keys reach the rental provider and the other renters as soon as possible.

Read from Tasmania Police, NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Residential Tenancies Authority.

If someone has to be called to the door

None of the pages linked here sets out what a locksmith may charge, or what to do in the hours of a lockout itself. What they do set is who may do the work, and two states name it directly.

NSW Police put locksmiths inside the security licence system: locksmiths must hold a Class 2C licence to work in the security industry, and the same class covers anyone involved in the sale, installation, maintenance, repair or servicing of security equipment.

Queensland's page puts it plainer still: in most cases you need a licence to be a locksmith. Tradespeople who take household door locks off and put them back on need one too, unless the building is being built, repaired or renovated.

From NSW Police Force, security licence frequently asked questions and the Queensland Government's security equipment installer licence page.

Related guides

If the lock is failing rather than the key missing, station 3 covers the repair rules in a rental, and station 4 covers changing the lock itself.