Mobile Locksmith in Auckland Park

A suburb of flats

When we checked MyProperty's Auckland Park page, apartments made up 16 of the 17 homes listed for sale, alongside what the portal calls "character-filled older residences". The 2011 Census counted 3,276 people in 1,661 households, which works out to fewer than two people per household. That points to a lot of small flats and single tenants.

A flat lockout has a different shape from a house lockout. Between the street and your door there may be a pedestrian gate, a lobby, an intercom and a stairwell, and the building's caretaker or managing agent may need to know a locksmith is coming. Before you call, read locked out of a flat or complex unit, and see emergency lockouts for how we handle them.

Key handovers between tenants

Rentals turn over quickly in a suburb like this, and every handover raises the same question: how many keys to this door are still out there? Our suggestions:

• count the keys at check-in and check-out, and write the number on the inspection list;
• if keys are missing at check-out, change the cylinder or the lock before the new tenant moves in;
• in a sectional title block, check the body corporate rules on unit-door locks first.

More on this in key control for landlords and apartment front-door upgrades. The work itself is lock replacement. Tenants should get the landlord's go-ahead before any lock is changed.

Student residences have their own rules

OpenStreetMap marks several student buildings in the suburb, including a University of Johannesburg residence on Richmond Avenue and private student accommodation such as Kingsway Place. If you live in a residence, the residence office controls the locks. Speak to them first: we won't change or open a residence door without the people responsible for the building agreeing.

Kingsway, Henley Road and Richmond

Kingsway Avenue and Henley Road are the two names most people here give as directions. The university's Auckland Park Kingsway Campus has its address on Kingsway Avenue, and Wikipedia gives Radiopark's as 35 Henley Road. Ditton Avenue and Main Road also cross the suburb, and University Road runs through it.

Richmond, the small area on the Parktown side, is covered on this page too. It had 991 residents in 2011. Empire Road and Barry Hertzog Avenue both pass through it, which makes them handy reference points.

Office doors after hours

Auckland Park isn't only residential. Media24 has an office on Kingsway Avenue, according to OpenStreetMap, and there are smaller businesses throughout. If you're stuck outside an office or studio at night, see commercial locksmith work and office lockouts after hours. Bring, or have someone send, something that shows you're authorised to be there.

Cost

R250 call-out fee. The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. Payment: EFT, cash or card.

Locksmith services available in Auckland Park

• Emergency lockouts

  Keys inside, a lock that refuses to turn, or someone stuck behind a deadlocked door. Phone any hour and we drive out to you.

• Residential locksmith

  Door locks, gate locks and home safes at houses, flats, townhouses and cluster homes, sorted at your front door.

• Lock replacement

  New cylinders, deadlocks, nightlatches, multipoint gearboxes and gate locks, supplied and fitted at your door.

• Commercial locksmith

  Offices, shops, practices and storerooms: lockouts, lock repairs, lock changes and office safes, done at your premises.

• Broken-key extraction

  Half a key left in the door, gate or padlock? We remove the broken piece and check whether the lock still works.

• Car keys & lockouts

  Locked car with keys inside, a sheared-off car key or a lost one: we meet you wherever the vehicle is.

All of these are part of our mobile locksmith service in Johannesburg.

Useful guides

• Locked Out of Your Flat or Complex Unit: What to Do
• Key Control for Landlords and Short-Let Hosts
• Upgrading an Apartment Front-Door Lock: Sectional Title Rules
• Locked Out of the Office After Hours

Nearby areas we cover

• Melville
• Parktown
• Westdene

All Johannesburg areas