Small electronic safes, bolted inside a wardrobe, are common in furnished flats. They are also one of the commonest things to stop working when a flat changes hands, or when a tenant goes away for a few weeks and comes back to a dark keypad.
Try these before anything else
- Batteries. Most keypads run on AA batteries behind a cover inside the door, which is no help when the door is shut. Many have two contacts on the outside, or a small socket, for a 9-volt battery that powers the keypad while you type the code.
- The override key. Look behind the maker’s badge or under a small cover near the keypad. There is often a keyhole hidden there, and the key may be in the flat’s inventory or with the landlord.
- The factory code or reset. Some models have a reset procedure. The model name on the label lets you look it up.
Whose safe is it?
The safe belongs to the landlord, as part of the furniture. What you put in it belongs to you. So:
- If you set a code and forgot it, tell the landlord you are having it opened. It is usually your cost.
- If the safe was locked when you moved in, or never worked, it is the landlord’s to sort out.
- Either way, the landlord should agree before the safe is opened. A message from them, or the rental contract that lists the safe, is enough.
What the opening involves
Most small keypad safes open through their override or with the maker’s method, leaving the safe working. If not, a small hole is made at the right point, only with the owner’s agreement, the lock is replaced and the safe goes back into use with a new code. The price is agreed before work starts.
Moving out
Before you hand the keys back, open the safe, leave it open and empty, and write the reset code (if you changed it) for the landlord. It saves the next tenant the same problem.
If you rent a room rather than a whole flat, locked out of your own room covers the other door that catches people out. And if the safe was damaged because somebody broke in, start with the order to do things in after a break-in.