How to Get Back Into a Locked Apartment in Las Vegas

Locked out of your Las Vegas apartment by accident? Call the office, then a spare key holder, then a licensed locksmith. Locked out by your landlord? Nevada calls that an unlawful exclusion, and you can file for expedited relief at your local Justice Court within 5 judicial days.

• The leasing office or its emergency maintenance line is the cheapest first call, even after hours
• App and keypad locks often have a backup code you can request from your phone
• A good locksmith asks for proof you live there, so think about what you can show
• Police are for danger, like a child or someone at risk inside, not for a routine lockout
• A landlord who changes your locks without a court order can owe you up to $2,500 plus your actual damages
• The court clock is short. File within 5 judicial days, and the hearing comes within 3 more

We open apartment doors all over Henderson and Las Vegas, and the calls that come after dark tend to sound alike. The office is closed. The keys are on the kitchen counter. The door clicked shut behind a trip to the trash chute.

Two very different problems hide behind the words "locked out of my apartment." One is an accident, and it ends with a phone call. The other is a landlord blocking you from your home, and it ends in court. We will walk through both, in the order you need them.

Which Kind of Lockout Is This?

Answer one question before you dial anyone. Did you lock yourself out, or did someone lock you out on purpose?

If the keys are inside, or lost, or the keypad will not take your code, that is an accidental lockout. The steps below get you in tonight, usually for the price of one call.

If the key you have always used suddenly does not fit, check for a notice on the door. A new lock with no court paper is a red flag. Nevada law defines "exclude" as blocking entry by locking doors or by other means, in NRS 118A.090. Skip ahead to the landlord section, because the deadlines start running that day.

Make These Calls in Order

Each call below is cheaper and faster than the one after it. Work down the list and stop when the door opens.

1. The leasing office. Many complexes keep a key for every unit. During office hours, staff may walk over and let you in once they check your name against the lease.
2. The after hours or emergency maintenance number. It is often on your lease, the office door, or the resident portal. Some complexes treat a lockout as an emergency, and some do not. Read your lease for a lockout fee before you assume it is free.
3. A roommate or a spare key holder. A partner, a friend across town, or a family member with a copy. Text before you pay anyone.
4. Every other door you are allowed to use. A patio slider on the ground floor, or a door from an attached garage in a townhome. Never climb a balcony or force a window. A fall or a broken frame costs far more than a locksmith.
5. A licensed locksmith. When nobody answers, a mobile locksmith can come to the door at any hour. More on what they will ask for below.

One thing that trips renters up is the office refusing to send maintenance at night. That is a policy choice, not a law, and it varies by complex. If the lease says the office can let you in, ask what it charges. If it says nothing, a locksmith is often the faster path.

Keypad and App Locks

Some complexes in the Las Vegas valley use keypad or phone app locks on unit doors. A dead code feels like a dead end, but these locks usually have a back door built in.

Take SmartRent, a system some apartment communities use. Its resident help page walks you through it. Open the app, tap your account avatar, then Support, then the locked out option. You can request a backup code sent by text and email to the phone number on your account. The link in that message expires 30 minutes after you ask for it.

The same page covers a jammed lock. If the keypad flashes in an X pattern and beeps oddly, push or pull the door toward the frame while you type the code. Jiggling the door works too. If it keeps jamming, the page says to tell on site maintenance, since the frame or strike may need an adjustment.

No phone? Then the office has to help, or a locksmith opens the cylinder. Do not pry the keypad off the door. You will likely pay for the lock, and the lease may charge you for the door too.

When the Office Is Closed

This is where a locksmith earns the call. Before anyone drives out, settle three things on the phone.

Proof you live there. We ask for proof before we open any home, apartments included. A photo ID with the address works. So does a lease or a utility bill. If your wallet is inside, say so when you call, and the tech can check it once the door is open. A locksmith who opens an apartment with no questions would do the same for a stranger at your door.

A permit. Under NRS 655.070, a Nevada locksmith needs a permit from the sheriff of the county where the business is based. The law says the holder has to carry it at all times. Ask to see it at the door. NRS 655.080 sets a fine of up to $500 for breaking the chapter.

The full price. Ask for the total on the phone, with the trip and the opening in it. If the tech names a higher number at your door, you can say no. Our guide on what to ask a locksmith before hiring lists the rest of the questions.

Lost the keys rather than locking them inside? Then ask for a rekey on the same visit, and tell the office. Many leases bar you from changing a lock on your own, so get the office in the loop before a tech swaps anything.

Will Police Open an Apartment Door?

For a routine lockout, plan on no. Police respond to danger and crime. Las Vegas Metro lists 911 for emergencies and 311 for non emergency help on its contact page.

Call 911 right away if a child, an older adult, or anyone at risk is alone inside. Say that first, before the word lockout. Help comes for the person, and the door is secondary.

Police may also come into the picture when a landlord lockout turns into a shouting match at the door. Keep it calm and keep records. The legal fix for an illegal lockout runs through the court, which we cover next. For the car version of this question, see our post on whether police will unlock your car.

If Your Landlord Locked You Out

A Nevada landlord cannot change the locks to push you out without going through the court. The Clark County Civil Law Self-Help Center calls this a self help eviction. It lists changing the locks without court involvement as one of the banned moves, along with cutting power, gas, water, heat, or air conditioning on purpose.

The remedy sits in NRS 118A.390. A tenant who is unlawfully removed or excluded may recover actual damages, an amount up to $2,500 set by the court, or both. The court looks at whether the landlord acted in good faith and how much harm you suffered.

Speed matters most. You file a verified complaint for expedited relief within 5 judicial days after the lockout. The Self-Help Center says judicial days skip the day of the act, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The court then holds a hearing within 3 judicial days of filing, and you must serve the landlord before it.

File at your local Justice Court. For Las Vegas, the Self-Help Center points to the Regional Justice Center, first floor, 200 Lewis Avenue downtown, and it posts Henderson forms too. It says there is no filing fee, though the judge can make the losing side pay costs. Miss the 5 day window and the fast track closes, but small claims and other civil options stay open.

Do not hire a locksmith to break back in after a landlord lockout. The fix is a court order that restores access, and that order is what protects you.

One more case. If a lawful eviction has already happened, NRS 118A.460 still gives you a reasonable chance to get essential items during the 5 days after it. The law names medicine, baby formula, basic clothing, and personal care items.

Changing the Lock Afterward

Back inside after losing your keys? A rekey makes the lost key useless. But in an apartment, the lock usually belongs to the landlord, so ask the office first and check your lease.

Nevada carves out one strong right here. Under NRS 118A.345, a tenant who gives notice of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking may require the landlord to install a new lock if the tenant pays for it. The landlord can rekey a working lock or put in one of equal or better quality. The landlord may keep a copy of the new key, but must refuse to give one to the adverse party.

Your landlord also cannot treat the spare key as an open door. Under NRS 118A.330, outside an emergency, the landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice before entering, and only at reasonable times.

Most lockout advice online stops at "call your landlord, then a locksmith." That works for the accident. It fails the renter whose landlord did the locking, because the 5 day clock is the part that matters, and a locksmith cannot help with it.

Need Into Your Apartment Tonight?

Call Lockout Rescue at (702) 979-7566. We open apartments, condos, and houses across Henderson and the Las Vegas valley, day and night, and we tell you the price before we start. See our house and apartment lockout service or our emergency lockout service.

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