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Email templates · Property manager

Email to ask your property manager to change the locks or fix a security problem

Something about your home no longer locks the way it should. The deadbolt does not catch, the building's entry door swings open, a window latch is broken, you lost a key, or someone who used to live with you moved out and still has one. Working locks are part of what nearly every state requires a landlord to provide, so this is not a favor you are asking for. Putting the request in writing starts the clock on the landlord's duty to respond and records exactly when you told them. It also settles the question of who pays: a rekey after a lost key is often charged to the tenant, while a broken lock is the landlord's cost, and you want that agreed before the locksmith arrives.

Before you send

  • Exactly what is wrong and since when. If a lock is physically broken, a photo or short video helps.
  • Your unit number and the best times you can be home to let someone in, or whether they can enter with the office key.
  • Your lease's section on locks and keys. Many leases say the tenant may not change locks without permission and set a fee for lost keys.
  • Whether anyone else has a key who should not. If a former roommate or partner is still on the lease, the manager may need them off the lease before rekeying.
  • If you feel unsafe right now, call the police first and the manager second. An email is for getting the fix scheduled, not for an emergency.
Subject Security repair needed at [address and unit number]: [broken deadbolt / lock change] 
Hi [property manager name],

I'm writing to request a security repair at [address and unit number].

[One or two sentences describing the problem: which lock or door no longer secures and since when, or who still has a key and when they moved out]. Because this affects whether my home can be secured, I'd like it treated as an urgent repair rather than a routine one.

Could you [rekey the lock and provide me new keys / repair or replace the lock / fix the entry door] by [date, within a few days]? I'm available [days and times] to give access, or you're welcome to use the office key if you call ahead. If your policy is to charge for a rekey after a lost key, please tell me the cost before the work is scheduled.

Please confirm you received this and the date it's scheduled for. Thanks for handling it quickly.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A reasonable manager schedules a locksmith or maintenance visit within a day or two and confirms by email. Ask for the new keys to be handed to you in person, not left in the unit.
  • A bad answer is "we'll add it to the maintenance queue" with no date. Reply the same day, restate that the home cannot be secured, and ask for a specific date. Keep every reply on the same thread.
  • If nothing happens within a few days, look up your state's repair rules. Many states let a tenant make an urgent repair and deduct the cost from rent after written notice and a reasonable wait, but the notice and waiting period must be followed exactly, so read the rule before you act.
  • Do not change the locks yourself without written permission unless your state's rules clearly allow it. If you must, keep the old lock and offer the manager a key right away.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get my property manager to fix a lock 
Hi StandIn,

Please get my property manager to [rekey my door / fix a broken lock / repair the building entry door] and confirm a date.

The property manager: [company name and the contact's name and email].
My unit: [address and unit number].
The problem: [what is broken or why the lock needs changing, and since when].
When I'm home for access: [days and times, or whether they may use the office key].
Cost: [I expect the landlord to cover it / I'm willing to pay a lost-key fee if they tell me the amount first].

Follow up if they do not schedule it within two days, and let me know as soon as there is a confirmed date.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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