- If two people both claim a door, neither gets it opened by you today.
- A landlord is generally not entitled to have a tenanted door opened. Decline politely.
- Repossession requires a contract with the lienholder, not just a confident caller.
- Teach how things work. Do not write instructions for one named door.
Disputes over a property
Domestic disputes, separations, contested estates and business partnership breakdowns all produce somebody asking to be let into a property somebody else believes is theirs.
You are not a court. If two people both claim a right to a door, the answer is that neither of them gets it opened by you today. Advise them to obtain a court order or a police standby and leave.
A landlord asking you to open a tenant's door is the most common version of this. In most jurisdictions a landlord may not enter a tenanted property at will and certainly may not have the locks changed to exclude a tenant. Decline, and decline politely, because the person asking often genuinely does not know.
Repossession and vehicles that are not there
Repossession work is legitimate but it is specialized and it operates under specific rules. It generally requires a contract with the lienholder, documentation of the security interest and sometimes a separate license.
A person who cannot produce those and simply wants a car opened is not offering you repossession work. Treat them as any other caller and ask for identification and a vehicle document.
And apply the same test to storage units, garages and commercial premises. The person with the key to the front door is not automatically the person entitled to the unit inside it.
Teaching, publishing and the culture of the trade
Locksmithing knowledge is not secret and pretending otherwise helps nobody. Picking is taught openly, security research improves hardware and public discussion of a weakness is how it gets fixed.
Where the line sits is intent and specificity. Explaining how a pin tumbler works educates. Producing a step by step guide to bypassing a named lock model on a named building does not.
Teach freely, help the next person into the trade, and be careful about the difference between how these things work and how to get into that specific door. The trade's reputation is built by thousands of small decisions of exactly that kind.
Common Questions
When should I refuse a job?
When the identification does not match the address, when the story keeps changing, when somebody else at the property objects, or when a car has no paperwork behind it. None of those are worth the fee.
A landlord wants a tenant locked out. Should I do it?
No. In almost every state that is an illegal eviction and the locksmith who turned the key is part of it. Send them to a lawyer.
Somebody wants a key copied that says DO NOT DUPLICATE. What now?
Ask who the key belongs to and whether they have authority. If the keyway is restricted you cannot cut it anyway. If it is not, the stamp is a request and your judgment is what is left.