Changing a rental lock in the Indische Buurt is the replacement of the cylinder in your own front door around Javastraat, Molukkenstraat, Sumatraplantsoen and the Ambonpleinbuurt, done in a way that can be reversed when you move out.
This is a neighbourhood of tenants. Flats change hands often, housemates come and go, and the question we hear most from here is a simple one: am I allowed to change this lock at all?
The short answer
For the door to your own flat, in nearly all cases you may. What you cannot do is leave the landlord without access permanently or damage the door in the process. The practical solution is the same one we recommend to everyone: keep the original cylinder in a drawer, and refit it on the day you hand back the keys. Nobody has a complaint and you have had a secure home in the meantime.
The shared street door is different. That one belongs to the building, and changing it is a matter for the owner or the VvE rather than for one resident.
When it is worth doing
Whenever you cannot account for every key. That covers a new tenancy, a housemate moving out on bad terms, a lost keyring with an address label on it, and any period when the flat was let short term. If you can name the person holding each key, you are fine. If you cannot, the cylinder is the cheapest peace of mind available.
A cylinder change takes about ten minutes and needs no drilling or new holes. The lock case, the handle and the door stay exactly as they are. What we fit is set out on our locksmith services page.
Bikes deserve a mention in this neighbourhood, because more of them disappear here than front doors are forced. A frame lock alone stops nobody: the bike is lifted into a van and the lock is dealt with elsewhere. What works is a second lock through the frame to a fixed point, and a fixed point that is genuinely fixed rather than a drainpipe or a thin railing. We fit ground anchors in courtyards and storage rooms for exactly this.
Housemates and extra keys
In a shared flat, one cylinder with four keys is normal and fine. What causes trouble is copies made privately over the years. A certified cylinder comes with a security card, which means new keys can only be ordered by whoever holds that card. That single detail solves most housemate disputes before they start.
Short lets and sublets
Flats in this neighbourhood are sublet more often than the paperwork suggests, sometimes for a season, sometimes for a summer. Every one of those arrangements ends with a key somewhere. If your flat has been let while you were away, change the cylinder when you return rather than assuming everything came back. It is a ten minute job and it closes the whole question. Keep the removed cylinder, because you will want it again the next time the flat is empty for a few months.
Frequently asked questions
More answers sit on our locksmith FAQ page.
Do I have to tell my landlord?
Check your contract. Many landlords have no objection as long as the original cylinder goes back at the end.
Will the old key still work afterwards?
No. That is the point of the exercise.
Can you keep the same key for the street door?
Only if the building’s cylinder can be matched. We check on site.
What does it cost?
You hear the price on the phone before we come, and it does not change unless the situation does.
Can you come the same day?
Yes, usually within 30 minutes.
Moving into the Indische Buurt?
Call +31 (0)20 210 1986 and a certified locksmith comes to you, or arrange a time through our contact page.
