Mobile Locksmith in Killarney

A suburb that is almost all flats

Seeff counts only 24 freehold houses among roughly 1,935 homes in Killarney; everything else is sectional title. The 2011 Census found 5,203 people living on 0.42 km², which works out at more than ten times the density of Houghton Estate next door. So nearly every call here involves a block, a body corporate and somebody else's rules about the front entrance.

Riviera Road's older blocks

Killarney is known for its Art Deco and early modern apartment buildings. Daventry Court on Riviera Road, completed in 1933–34, is often described as one of the first multi-storey blocks in the suburb, and Whitehall Court, built in 1923, was turned into private flats after the Second World War. Buildings of that age often still have solid timber unit doors, mortice locks and frames that have been painted over many times. A door that has to be lifted or shoved before it will lock is usually a frame or strike problem rather than a dead lock. Why a door won't latch lists the things you can safely look at yourself before calling.

Newer blocks from the post-war and 1960s–70s building waves tend to have lighter doors with cylinder locks. The repair options differ, which is why the technician looks before quoting.

Your door, the body corporate's entrance

In a sectional title scheme, the lock on your own unit door is normally yours to repair or replace. The lobby door, the intercom panel, the parking gate and the lift belong to the scheme, so work on those has to be requested by the trustees or the managing agent, not by an individual owner or tenant.

Some schemes also set rules on the type of lock or the look of unit doors, and many leases require the landlord's consent before a lock is changed. Check first; our guide to upgrading an apartment front-door lock covers the usual sectional title points. Once you have the go-ahead, see lock replacement.

Getting through the building entrance

If your keys are inside, you may be locked out of the building as well as the flat. Before the technician arrives, try to arrange for a caretaker, concierge or neighbour to open the street door. Then send us:

1. the building name and street (Riviera Road, Killarney Avenue or a side street), and which side of the M1 it's on;
2. your floor and unit number;
3. a phone number that will be answered at the entrance.

Our article on being locked out of a flat or complex unit has a fuller checklist. For the lockout itself, see emergency lockout help.

Snapped key in the unit door

Keys that are used several times a day on the same cylinder wear thin and can snap. If that happens, don't push the remaining piece in further or try to turn it with pliers. Keep the broken-off half, as it shows what the key looked like. Broken-key extraction removes the fragment, and the technician then checks whether the cylinder is still fit to use.

Proof, price and payment

Before opening a unit door, the technician will ask for something that links you to the flat, such as a lease, a utility bill or a letter from the managing agent. Non-destructive entry is tried first. 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 is by EFT, cash or card.

Locksmith services available in Killarney

• 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 repairs

  Stiff keys, bolts that catch, doors that won't latch and gate locks that have seized: repaired on site where the fault allows.

• 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.

• Lock replacement

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

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
• Upgrading an Apartment Front-Door Lock: Sectional Title Rules
• Door Won't Latch or Close Properly: Common Causes

Nearby areas we cover

• Parktown
• Houghton
• Saxonwold

All Johannesburg areas