Emergency Response
Stolen keys are an access problem, not a lost property problem. The question is not whether you can get back in, it is whether whoever has your keys also knows where they fit. If your keys were taken together with anything showing your address, treat it as urgent and have the cylinder rekeyed the same day. If your address was not exposed, you still change the lock, but you can do it on a normal schedule.
That single distinction decides everything else on this page. A lost key ring probably ended up in a gutter or a lost and found. A stolen one was taken deliberately, often along with a wallet, a phone or a bag, and those things carry an address. Our guide to losing your apartment keys covers the calmer version of this. What follows is the version where someone took them.
Before you call anyone, sit down and list what left with the keys. The answer sets your urgency level.
If any item on that list went with the keys, you are in the urgent category. If the keys were pulled out of a coat pocket on a train with nothing else, the risk is real but far lower, because a bare key ring is nearly useless without a door to try it on.
Do these in sequence rather than all at once, because some are free and some need a locksmith.
Report the building fob or key card to your super or managing agent immediately and ask them to deactivate it. This usually takes minutes, costs little, and closes the biggest hole. See lost building key fobs for how that process normally runs and what buildings typically charge for a replacement.
This is the one that matters. Rekeying retires every existing copy of that key, including the one in a stranger's pocket. For a single cylinder it is fast work, and it is the correct answer in nearly every stolen key situation. See rekeying versus replacing a lock for why you rarely need new hardware.
Easy to forget, and it is the one lock that protects your identity documents, bank mail and replacement cards. If your mail key was on the ring, change it. Our guide to mailbox lock replacement in NYC covers who owns that lock and who is allowed to change it.
A stolen car key is its own project, because a modern key is a programmed credential rather than a cut piece of brass. The fix is usually to have new keys made and the old ones deprogrammed so they no longer start the car. See lost car key replacement and locksmith versus dealership for car keys.
Storage cage, bike room, basement, garage, a relative's apartment, your workplace. Walk the ring in your memory, key by key, and tell anyone whose door was on it. A workplace key belongs to your employer and they need to know today, not next week.
People skip this because they assume a report accomplishes nothing. It does three useful things, none of which is catching anybody.
You can report a theft at any NYPD precinct, and if you are not sure which precinct covers you, 311 can point you to it. Bring identification and a list of what was taken, including which keys and which locks they open.
On insurance, read your policy rather than assuming. Coverage for lock changes after a theft varies by policy and some renter policies address it directly while others do not. Our guide to renters insurance and lockout coverage explains where to look.
Tell your super or managing agent the same day, in writing if you can, even if you plan to handle your own cylinder yourself. They need to know because a stolen credential affects the whole building, not only your door, and because a written notice is the record that you reported it.
Who pays depends on the lock. A tenant generally covers a change to their own apartment cylinder; a building generally covers its own common door credentials and hardware. The gray areas are real and worth settling in a short email rather than an argument. See whether the tenant or landlord pays the locksmith.
Two things worth knowing in New York. A tenant has a right under state law to install an additional lock on the apartment door and to give the landlord a duplicate key on request, so adding a second lock is not something you need permission to want. And if the building or a former employee holds a key to your unit, that is a separate conversation covered in who legitimately holds a key to your apartment.
Sometimes the money or the schedule is not there until tomorrow. Reduce the exposure in the meantime:
If the thought of waiting is the problem, call. Rekeying a single apartment cylinder is routine after hours work, and that is what lock change and rekey service exists for.
Three different decisions, and a theft is a reasonable moment to consider the third.
what to do after a break-in changing locks after a roommate moves out emergency lockout service contact us
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Yes, and the urgency depends on whether your address went with them. If the keys were taken along with identification, mail, a phone or a car registration, have the cylinder rekeyed the same day. If a bare key ring was taken with nothing identifying attached, the risk is much lower, but you still change the lock because a key that opens your door is in someone else's hands.
Yes. A lost key ring usually ends up somewhere nobody can connect it to a door. A stolen one was taken deliberately, and it is often taken together with a wallet, bag or phone that reveals where you live. That combination of a working key and a known address is what makes theft the more urgent of the two situations.
It is worth filing one. It will not usually recover anything, but it creates a dated record for an insurance claim, gives you something concrete to show a landlord or managing agent, and documents the timeline if anything happens later. You can report a theft at any NYPD precinct, and 311 can tell you which precinct covers your address.
As a general rule a tenant covers a change to their own apartment cylinder and the building covers its own common doors and access credentials, but the specifics depend on your lease and your building. Report it in writing the same day, ask who handles what, and settle it by email rather than in person so there is a record.
Report it to your super or managing agent immediately and ask them to deactivate the fob in the access system. That takes minutes, usually costs little, and closes the largest hole, because a fob gets a stranger past the front door into a corridor where they can try doors without being noticed from the street.
Use anything on your door that cannot be opened with a key from outside, such as a chain, a door guard, a surface bolt or an interior thumb turn. Never add anything that blocks your own exit or sits on a fire escape window. Tell a neighbor so somebody else is watching your door, and if you do not feel safe, stay somewhere else for the night.