Here is a question to the blog clinic from Stefano who is a tenant:
I had a problem with my lock on sat evening. I’m a tenant and the only spare key has been kept by my landlord.
I lost my key (my fault) so I called the landlord to have the spare one.
He was in vacation and apparently he didn’t have anyone that could give me the spare so I could not enter the house and I had to call a locksmith and change the lock.
Now the question is, was him obliged somewway to have someone giving me the key (I could not have a spare to give to some friend or relative in order to have a spare)?
In case he was, can I claim part of the fees?
There is no law which specifically states that the landlord must have a spare key available for tenants when they lose theirs. In fact some landlords do not retain a key for the property at all. Some tenants complain bitterly when their landlords hold a key to their property, sometimes even changing the locks so they can’t get in.
In fact, keys are in fact a bit of a problem area.
However subject to what your tenancy agreement might say (and I suspect it will be silent on this point), you cannot expect your landlord to make arrangements to be available with a spare for when you happen to lose yours!
So no, you cannot require your landlord to pay for the lock change.
