Identify your door and lock
The mechanism fitted to your door matters more than the town or property age. These are door and lock types to check for, not a claim about which types are most common in London.
- uPVC or composite: a lift-up handle and several locking points often indicate a multipoint mechanism, usually operated by a euro cylinder.
- Timber: a mortice lock sits inside the door; a rim nightlatch has a case on the inside surface. Some doors have both.
- Shared or managed entrances: check with the landlord or managing agent before changing communal locks. Do not alter a fire door or escape arrangement yourself.
Key stiff or refusing to turn
- Check that it is the correct key. Try an undamaged spare without force.
- If the door is already open and can remain safely open, compare the lock operation open and closed. Difficulty only when closed can point to alignment.
- Use only a lubricant approved by the lock manufacturer; do not add household oil or dismantle the cylinder.
- Stop if the key bends, catches or turns without operating the lock. Arrange a repair rather than risk snapping it.
uPVC handle will not lift or the door will not lock
Check for an obvious obstruction at the frame. Do not force the handle or adjust hinges without the right knowledge. Alignment, a gearbox fault and a cylinder fault need different repairs.
A locksmith can identify the mechanism, check the door alignment, replace a compatible failed part if needed, and test the locking points and keys before finishing.
Timber door latch or bolt catching
Look for visible rubbing where the latch or bolt meets the keep. Do not remove timber, file the keep or loosen a fire door fitting as a quick fix. The door alignment and lock condition should be checked before changing parts.
Locked out or a key has snapped
Contact someone who holds a spare key. Do not climb through windows, force the door or push tools into the lock. A broken key or failed mechanism needs professional assessment. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger; otherwise arrange a locksmith.
Arranging a repair in London
Tell us your full postcode privately when calling, whether the door is open or locked shut, and which checks you have tried. Coverage includes these postcode districts in Tower Hamlets, London:
- E1 — Aldgate, Bishopsgate, Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Spitalfields
- E1W — Wapping
- E2 — Bethnal Green, Haggerston, Shoreditch, Cambridge Heath
- E3 — Bow, Bromley-by-Bow, Old Ford, Mile End, Three Mills
- E4 — Chingford, Sewardstone, Highams Park
- E5 — Upper Clapton, Lower Clapton, Leyton, Stoke Newington
- E6 — East Ham, Beckton, Upton Park, Barking
- E7 — Forest Gate, Stratford
- E8 — Hackney Central, Dalston, London Fields
- E9 — Homerton, Hackney Wick, South Hackney, Hackney Marshes, Victoria Park
- E10 — Leyton, Temple Mills, Hackney Marshes, Upper Clapton, Walthamstow Marshes
- E11 — Leytonstone, Wanstead, Aldersbrook, Snaresbrook, Cann Hall
- E12 — Manor Park, Little Ilford, Aldersbrook
- E13 — Plaistow, West Ham, Upton Park
- E14 — Poplar, Isle of Dogs, Limehouse, Canary Wharf, Blackwall
- E15 — Stratford, West Ham, Maryland, Leyton, Leytonstone
- E16 — Silvertown, North Woolwich, Canning Town, Custom House, London City Airport
- E17 — Walthamstow, Upper Walthamstow
- E18 — Woodford, South Woodford
- E20 — Olympic Park, Stratford
- E98 — Non-geographic
- EC1A — St Bartholomew's Hospital
- EC1M — Clerkenwell, Farringdon
- EC1N — Hatton Garden
- EC1P — Non-geographic
- EC1R — Finsbury, Finsbury Estate
- EC1V — Finsbury, Moorfields Eye Hospital
- EC1Y — St Luke's, Bunhill Fields
- EC2A — Shoreditch
- EC2M — Broadgate, Liverpool Street
- EC2N — Old Broad Street, Tower 42
- EC2P — Non-geographic
- EC2R — Bank of England
- EC2V — Guildhall
- EC2Y — Barbican
- EC3A — St Mary Axe, Aldgate
- EC3M — Leadenhall, Lloyd's of London, Fenchurch Street
- EC3N — Tower Hill, Tower of London
- EC3P — Non-geographic
- EC3R — Monument, Billingsgate
- EC3V — Royal Exchange, Lombard Street
- EC4A — Fetter Lane
- EC4M — St Paul's
- EC4N — Mansion House
- EC4P — Non-geographic
- EC4R — Cannon Street
- EC4V — Blackfriars
- EC4Y — Temple
- N1 — Barnsbury, Canonbury, Kings Cross, Islington, Pentonville
- N1C — Kings Cross
- N1P — Non-geographic
- N2 — East Finchley, Fortis Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb
- N3 — Finchley, Church End, Finchley Central
- N4 — Finsbury Park, Manor House, Harringay, Stroud Green
- N5 — Highbury, Highbury Fields
- N6 — Highgate, Hampstead Heath
- N7 — Holloway, Barnsbury, Islington, Tufnell Park
- N8 — Hornsey, Crouch End, Harringay
- N9 — Lower Edmonton, Edmonton
- N10 — Muswell Hill
- N11 — New Southgate, Friern Barnet, Bounds Green, Arnos Grove
- N12 — North Finchley, Woodside Park
- N13 — Palmers Green
- N14 — Southgate, Oakwood, Arnos Grove
- N15 — West Green, Seven Sisters, Duckett's Green
- N16 — Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill, Shacklewell, Dalston, Newington Green
- N17 — Tottenham, South Tottenham
- N18 — Upper Edmonton, Edmonton
- N19 — Upper Holloway, Archway, Tufnell Park, Hornsey
- N20 — Whetstone, Totteridge, Oakleigh Park
- N21 — Winchmore Hill, Bush Hill, Grange Park
- N22 — Wood Green, Bounds Green, Bowes Park
- N81 — Non-geographic
- NW1 — Euston, Camden Town, Somers Town, Primrose Hill, Gospel Oak
- NW1W — Non-geographic, Euston
- NW2 — Cricklewood, Willesden, Neasden, Dollis Hill, Childs Hill
- NW3 — Hampstead, Chalk Farm, Primrose Hill, Swiss Cottage, Belsize Park
- NW4 — Brent Cross, Hendon
- NW5 — Kentish Town, Tufnell Park, Dartmouth Park, Gospel Oak
- NW6 — Kilburn, Brondesbury, West Hampstead, Queen's Park
- NW7 — Mill Hill, Arkley
- NW8 — St John's Wood, Primrose Hill, Lisson Grove
- NW9 — The Hyde, Colindale, Kingsbury, Queensbury, West Hendon
- NW10 — Willesden, Acton, Harlesden, Kensal Green, Neasden
- NW11 — Golders Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb
- NW26 — Non-geographic
- SE1 — Bankside, South Bank, Southwark, Bermondsey, Vauxhall
- SE1P — Non-geographic
- SE2 — Abbey Wood, West Heath, Crossness, Thamesmead
- SE3 — Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Westcombe Park
- SE4 — Brockley, Crofton Park, Western Ladywell, Honor Oak
- SE5 — Camberwell, Denmark Hill, Southampton Way Estate, Peckham
- SE6 — Bellingham, Catford, Hither Green
- SE7 — Charlton
- SE8 — Deptford, Evelyn
- SE9 — Eltham, Mottingham, New Eltham, Falconwood, Chinbrook
- SE10 — Greenwich, Maze Hill, Greenwich Peninsula
- SE11 — Kennington, Vauxhall
- SE12 — Lee, Grove Park, Chinbrook, Hither Green, Eltham
- SE13 — Lewisham, Hither Green, Ladywell
- SE14 — New Cross, New Cross Gate
- SE15 — Nunhead, Peckham
- SE16 — Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, Surrey Quays
- SE17 — Walworth, Newington
- SE18 — Plumstead, Woolwich
- SE19 — Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace, Crown Point, Norwood
- SE20 — Anerley, Crystal Palace, Penge, Beckenham
- SE21 — Dulwich, Dulwich Village, West Dulwich, Tulse Hill, Sydenham Hill
- SE22 — East Dulwich, Peckham Rye, Loughborough Junction, Herne Hill
- SE23 — Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Crofton Park
- SE24 — Herne Hill, Tulse Hill
- SE25 — South Norwood, Selhurst
- SE26 — Sydenham, Crystal Palace
- SE27 — West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Norwood
- SE28 — Thamesmead
- SW1A — Whitehall, Buckingham Palace
- SW1E — Buckingham Gate, Victoria Station
- SW1H — Buckingham Gate, Victoria St, Birdcage Walk
- SW1P — Victoria Station, the Houses of Parliament, Vauxhall Bridge, Pimlico
- SW1V — Vauxhall Bridge, Chelsea Bridge, Victoria Station, Pimlico
- SW1W — Belgravia
- SW1X — Belgravia, Knightsbridge
- SW1Y — St. James's
- SW2 — Brixton, Brixton Hill, Streatham Hill, Tulse Hill, Clapham Park
- SW3 — Chelsea, Brompton, Knightsbridge
- SW4 — Clapham, Stockwell
- SW5 — Earl's Court
- SW6 — Fulham, Parson's Green
- SW7 — South Kensington, Knightsbridge
- SW8 — South Lambeth, Vauxhall, Battersea, Clapham, Stockwell
- SW9 — Stockwell, Brixton, Clapham
- SW10 — West Brompton, Chelsea
- SW11 — Battersea, Clapham Junction
- SW12 — Balham, Clapham South, Hyde Farm
- SW13 — Barnes, Castelnau
- SW14 — Mortlake, East Sheen
- SW15 — Putney, Roehampton University
- SW16 — Streatham, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Streatham Park, Furzedown
- SW17 — Tooting, Mitcham
- SW18 — Wandsworth, Southfields, Earlsfield
- SW19 — Wimbledon, Colliers Wood, Southfields
- SW20 — Merton Park, Raynes Park
- SW95 — Non-geographic
- W1A — Non-geographic
- W1B — Portland Street, Regent Street
- W1C — Oxford Street (west)
- W1D — Soho (south east), Chinatown, Soho Square
- W1F — Soho (north west)
- W1G — Harley Street
- W1H — Marylebone
- W1J — Mayfair (south), Piccadilly, Royal Academy
- W1K — Mayfair (north), Grosvenor Square
- W1S — Hanover Square, Savile Row
- W1T — Fitzrovia, Tottenham Court Road
- W1U — Marylebone
- W1W — Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia
- W2 — Paddington, Bayswater, Hyde Park, Westbourne Green, Little Venice
- W3 — Acton, East Acton, Park Royal, West Acton
- W4 — Chiswick, Gunnersbury, Turnham Green, Bedford Park
- W5 — Ealing, Park Royal
- W6 — Hammersmith, Ravenscourt Park
- W7 — Hanwell, Boston Manor
- W8 — Kensington, Holland Park
- W9 — Maida Vale, Little Venice
- W10 — North Kensington, Queens Park
- W11 — Notting Hill, Holland Park
- W12 — Shepherds Bush, White City
- W13 — West Ealing, Northfields
- W14 — West Kensington, Kensington Olympia, Holland Park
- WC1A — New Oxford Street
- WC1B — Bloomsbury, British Museum
- WC1E — University College London
- WC1H — St Pancras
- WC1N — Great Ormond Street Hospital
- WC1R — Gray's Inn
- WC1V — High Holborn
- WC1X — Kings Cross, Finsbury (west)
- WC2A — Lincoln's Inn Fields, Royal Courts of Justice
- WC2B — Drury Lane, Aldwych
- WC2E — Covent Garden
- WC2H — Leicester Square
- WC2N — Charing Cross
- WC2R — Somerset House
Ask how attendance, labour, parts and out-of-hours charges are calculated before agreeing to work. Check replacements against your insurance policy and preserve safe escape from the property.