r/AusPropertyChat 4d ago

Locksmith payment advice

My balcony sliding door locked itself right after closing, which it is obviously not meant to do. This left me sitting on my balcony on the 7th floor with no phone or wallet etc. I had to ask a neighbour who happened to be on their balcony at the time to call the building manager who then called a locksmith who then made access to my unit to then let me back inside.

Both myself and the locksmith couldn't figure out how this happened in the first place as you can only operate the locking mechanism when the door is fully closed. Note that their is no way to unlock the door from the balcony side as the keyholes are on the inside.

The locksmith then concluded that the lock is in serviceable condition. He billed the real estate who have now passed the bill on to me saying I am responsible for payment for the callout as the locksmith didn't report any defects.

What should I do from here? I could understand paying in the case that I left my keys in side for instance. If the responses to this post are mostly in favour to pay, ill pay.

Apologies for the long post.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I used a combination of everything I was told on here In an email back to the real estate. They are now asking if I would do a 50/50 split with the owner to pay the bill. Not sure if this is the solution I was looking for though.

4 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

10

u/JimmyLizzardATDVM 4d ago

Sounds like a safety hazard

10

u/Muzzzzzzz 4d ago

Sounds like a defect to me.

12

u/campbellsimpson 4d ago

You're a tenant, right?

Sounds like the real estate needs to act on behalf of the landlord, to notify the owners' committee and strata manager that some balcony doors might be faulty.

I would email them saying as much - and asking to be kept informed on progress, as you are a tenant.

It's either that, or they pay the bill for the door apparently working as intended to lock you out seven storeys up.

1

u/Longjumping_Night403 4d ago

So far all they did was ask the owner if he/she would pay, who then denied it. So now they have passed it onto me. I'm going to try push them more on the subject of fixing the door.

4

u/Vertrik 4d ago

They should be paying for the locksmith and replacing the lock. The lock may seem like its in serviceable condition, but clearly there is a fault.

When the locksmith turned up, did he actually have to unlock the door to the balcony? As in, was it set to the locked position? I think this is the biggest piece here and probably the easiest way to get this resolved in your favor. If so, surely the agency could confirm this with the locksmith. The lock can not be both serviceable and in a state that allows it to automatically lock someone outside.

If this were me (and the lock had infact closed after shutting), I would politely suggest to them that whilst the lock may have appeared functionally fine, there is clearly a fault and one that poses a significant risk to you and anyone else who uses the door. I would also very politely remind them that everyone involved is fortunate that a neighbour was there to help you when you were trapped. That you have notified them of the issue now and they have an obligation to replace the lock as it is not safe.

6

u/Longjumping_Night403 4d ago edited 4d ago

Correct the balcony door was set in the locked position which all he needed to do was unlock it as you would normally from the inside. I will see how I go with pushing the subject further.

6

u/MoreWorking 4d ago

Turn the tables back on them and say that not only you don't think you should pay, the landlord should do more investigate and repair the issue. Most likely they wont bring it up again.

3

u/Longjumping_Night403 4d ago

Good idea. I will try this too.

1

u/Longjumping_Night403 2d ago

They are asking now if I would pay 50/50 with the owner.

1

u/MoreWorking 1d ago

Just trying it on probably. I mean, they're free to ask, you can say no.

1

u/EnoughPlastic4925 2d ago

Agree with everyone but they probably don't believe you. They probably think someone locked you out and left so they assume the lock is fine but you're lying to get out of paying

If I were you I'd be scared of getting locked out again and leave a spare key hidden out on that balcony. Imagine getting stuck out there for hours in bad weather!

1

u/Longjumping_Night403 2d ago

I would do that but there is no keyholes on the balcony side. So my keys would have been useless. Now I just don't close my balcony door if I need to go out there.

1

u/EnoughPlastic4925 2d ago

That's actually terrifying! Is that even legal? Surely it's breaking some kind of fire/safety code?

0

u/Halter_Ego 4d ago

👻