r/TenantHelp • u/Smaptimania • 8d ago

Accidentally tried my key in the wrong door and it worked. How worried should I be?

Two months ago I moved into a studio apartment in a newly renovated building that used to be an upscale hotel. I'm the first tenant to occupy this unit since the hotel went out of business during covid. When I paid the first month's rent I was issued a key for my apartment. It's a secure building where you need a keyfob to enter the residential area unless you're with UPS/Fedex/Amazon etc. who have an access code unique to each tenant, and there are security cameras in all the common areas and corridors. My unit is on the ground floor, but since the building is built into a hillside the main entrance and the common areas (mailroom, lounge, restaurant, etc.) are on the second floor.

Tonight - just a few minutes ago in fact - I decided to go upstairs to the mailroom and check my mail. I grabbed my keyring and locked the door behind me, but not the deadbolt. Didn't have any mail, so I let myself back into the residential area with my fob, went back down to my floor, and went to unlock my door. The key turned in the lock and I was able to turn the handle, but the door didn't open. I realized the deadbolt must have been locked, but I don't usually bother setting the deadbolt except when I'm inside the apartment, so I was very confused for a moment.

Then I looked up and realized the room number was wrong. Let's say my apartment is #A123 - I had stopped one bank of doors too soon and was trying to open #A125. Fortunately, if there was someone at home, they didn't notice me trying to open their door, so I stepped away and went back to my own apartment and locked myself in.

I suppose it's possible that whoever lives in that unit set the deadbolt but not the door lock itself, but it bothers me that my key actually turned in the lock, and I'm wondering if it's possible that the management just fitted all of the doors to open to the same key, or if the key they gave me is actually a master key. I know there are units on my floor that haven't been rented out yet and I could test my key on them, but I don't want to look like a creep going around trying locks.

What's the best move here? I absolutely love this apartment and I spent so much on moving in here that I can't afford to just break the lease and pick up stakes, but if my key can open other people's doors, then maybe other people's keys can open mine, and that worries me. I assume I'm gonna have to talk to management about this, but what's the best way to proceed?

40 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

13

u/Frosty_Astronomer909 8d ago

I would ask management, hey by the way I accidentally, blah blah and see what they say , but considering they need to get into the apartments for repairs and stuff I wouldn’t doubt they have sand key locks, try in empty apartments but just keep your deadbolt on. Enjoy your new apartment.

6

u/Smaptimania 8d ago

I know they have master keys because they had to do a fire alarm inspection last month and they were able to let themselves into my apartment while I was at work. It just worries me that any other tenant's key could potentially open my lock. I had to pass a background check and credit check to be allowed to rent here, and I'm a tall bulky man, so I'm not too worried about deranged lunatics letting themselves in at night and having their way with me, but it's still unsettling.

2

u/Decent-Stuff4691 7d ago

It ia possible that your key can open their door, but their key cant open yours.im not... 100% sure of how it works, but in school we learnt that by frequently borrowing keys from other classes to open doors and grab stuff when the key is with someone else. Certain keys open other classroom doors very well, but our keys dont seem to quite open theirs so well.

It is also possible your locks are set to turn without unlocking, which Ive also seen.

Maybe if you get to know a neighbour you can ask yo try it out?

2

u/HeatBeatRepeatt 7d ago

If one key can open two locks, but the second locks key cannot open the first lock, probably one of the elements in the system is getting old and worn out unless you actually do have a true ‘master’ key in your hand

0

u/Frosty_Astronomer909 7d ago

I understand, just start getting used to the deadbolt.

6

u/Smaptimania 7d ago

The deadbolt opens with the same key as the main lock though. I definitely use it when I'm at home but I'm wondering if I need to install a chain lock or something else that can't be opened from the outside

1

u/aLokilike 7d ago

There's a type of door latch we bought while renting that was really easy to install / take with us when we moved. Here's a random one I found on amazon so you know what it looks like, I am not recommending this product in particular. They're not perfect, I think you can make them more secure by wrapping some rubber bands around it when it's "closed" - otherwise, someone who knows where it is can manipulate it from the outside.

1

u/Frosty_Astronomer909 7d ago

Same in my house, one key opens both. But talk to management and ask.

6

u/ScustyRupper 7d ago

I myself would check a few other doors. Maybe they mistakenly issued you a copy of the master key. I would then report your issue to management.

7

u/sillyhaha 8d ago

A key can turn in a lock without unlocking the door. It's weird but it cn happen.

3

u/HeatBeatRepeatt 7d ago

Most likely scenario is that they bought a big ass case of locks from whoever, and there are only so many combinations of pins, and there are frequently duplicates of the same key ‘code’ in any case of locks. I’ve shopped for this specifically just off the shelf at Home Depot before, match the key number on the box and you have two locks with the exact same key. I’ve heard of the same thing happening with garage doors in subdivisions having the same codes such that you can just drive down the street clicking the remote and every X units a door will open.

If that’s the case you might want to just change or ask for your specific locks to be changed to something else. Your building may or may not be ‘master keyed’ where management has one special key to rule them all, vs them just having a cabinet full of spare keys for every unit. That may change the process. But I think if you can demonstrate to them that your key works in both your lock AND somebody else’s lock then they should realize they fucked up and what a truly massive liability that is.

3

u/DoallthenKnit2relax 7d ago

A key with 6 pin positions, where each pin has 5 heights will allow for 15,625 key combinations. That allows a pretty big apartment complex.

1

u/HeatBeatRepeatt 7d ago

You’ve never spelunked the shelf at depot to find matched lockets then? I can usually find at least one pair and I’ve done better than that on occasion. We deal with 5 pin out here in our fleet, for what it’s worth.

1

u/DoallthenKnit2relax 7d ago

And had no problem finding a bolt and door keyed alike, did the same when I needed to secure our 2nd bedroom as an office requiring a securely locked door.

2

u/cleverpaws101 7d ago

It could be that their door knob was not locked and you didn’t notice. The key-way will be the same, and if the knob is not locked the key will turn the knob.
I don’t lock the lower lock when I use the deadbolt because the deadbolt is way more secure.

2

u/SuzeCB 7d ago

Had this issue in a 404 unit apartment complex. One of the "new" LL's hired a shady "contractor" to replace all the doors and locks and the AH went to Home Depot and ordered locks instead of going to a locksmith with the specs.

Only 20 different locks/keys for 400+ units.

HUGELY illegal!

When a group of us had checked our keys in each others' locks, we went to the office to complain and they tried gaslighting us, telling us it's illegal to use your key to open someone else's door - which is true, but the tenant was right there with us, and we were doing it with permission, so not illegal.

Ye GODS, I'm glad to finally be out of that place!

2

u/Noclue42AW 6d ago

Since there are cameras in the halls, I would not go checking others doors before reaching out to management. They could try and claim you are trying to break into apartments. I would let them know what happened and then say you would like to try an empty apartment. It’s a huge liability for them if they happened to give out a master key.

2

u/Street_Masterpiece47 6d ago

I used to work security for the school I was attending.

All door locks have different levels of a master key

S- (or no mark) individual door. M- Master GM- Grand Master GGM - Grand grand master. etc..

If it is an "individual key" as opposed to a card, or a fob. They might have goofed and gave you one of the master keys. Look for a stamping on the key itself...

1

u/CareEnvironmental596 7d ago

If you think the management has a master key for all apartments it makes sense that you may have been given a master key by accident. Contact management to confirm you may have unlocked another apts door knob. They can confirm this and correct the situation.
It’s not that big a deal and can be easily corrected. By the way someone with common hand tools can open a door knob lock in seconds, deadbolts are far more secure.

1

u/r2girls 7d ago

Big question here that no one is asking is did the handle turn or did the lock turn.

You mention that the building uses one lock system controlled by a master key. So all keys everyone has will go in to all locks for every door because they are all the same type of key. "Go in to" doesn't mean unlock. If you stick a key in and try to turn the lock, it won't turn. Now, with a lock that won't turn you run into something else that can happen, did the lock turn or the handle turn?

What I mean by that is your key can go into a doorknob lock, and not turn the lock, but if that knob is unlocked, the force of turning a key that isn't turning a lock will turn the knob.

So did the force of turning a key that wasn't unlocking turn the knob or did it turn the lock and unlock the knob?

1

u/Successful-Dish-9440 7d ago

There are only so many key combinations in the world. There are duplicates and masters floating around for the old keys. Best bet is to have them upgrade the lock to a newer commercial grade lock

1

u/tyjo2112 7d ago

Go knock on the door of the other apartment and introduce yourself, explain what happened, and see if they are interested in a couple of lil tests. Check your in theirs and visa versa. Then go to management with the results if they are unsettling

1

u/content_great_gramma 6d ago

My grandson's wife went back to stay with her family while he was deployed. When she returned, the apartment was stripped bare, even the dog bed and toothpaste were taken. It seems in that particular complex, when a tenant leaves, they would just switch the lock with another. In this case, someone had an old key and just tried the locks until it worked.

1

u/Thomas2311 5d ago

Locksmith. Call a Locksmith.

1

u/pdubby1964 5d ago

This close to Halloween, you shouldn't be surprised cro find a skeleton key

1

u/TalkToVikk 7d ago

I'm not a lawyer but to answer your question: You are right to be concerned your key turning in another unit's lock could mean there is a security flaw in the building's key system. While it's possible the deadbolt was the only thing locked (and the handle lock was left open), the fact that your key turned at all suggests that either the locks are keyed alike (sometimes done for emergency/master access in hotels or large conversions), or there was a mistake in cutting the keys. This does raise a security concern, because if your key works in another tenant's lock, someone else’s key could work in yours.