Your landlord changes the locks: access to your home

Establish what happened

Record discovery time, those present and the explanation given. Was the lock changed or is there a malfunction? Keep photographs, messages and announcements. Request reasons and access in writing. Describe personal observations without treating unknown motives as facts. This initial account helps distinguish a technical problem from deliberate exclusion and identifies which contacts may be able to resolve it promptly.

Collect evidence of occupation

Keep the agreement, payments and recent correspondence accessible. Where tenancy is disputed, entry and key-handover messages can matter. Registration alone does not answer every question but can support the file. Keep a secure copy outside the home if access is uncertain. Share evidence relevant to your housing position without exposing complete personal or financial histories to every person involved.

Distinguish ownership and access rights

The national good landlordship rules explain that access generally needs consent, with limited exceptions such as emergencies. Ownership and a spare key are not unrestricted permission. Cooperation with necessary maintenance can still apply. Distinguish an arranged visit, genuine emergency and deliberate prevention of occupation rather than treating every access event as identical.

A dispute does not automatically end the tenancy

Payment, visitor or departure conflicts do not automatically authorise personal eviction. Check security of tenure and any asserted end date. The Rijksoverheid explains termination. A landlord’s possible claim and their method of enforcement need separate assessment. Keep unpaid or disputed amounts identifiable instead of assuming an access complaint settles the underlying debt.

Request restoration concretely

State that you occupy the home, when access stopped and how you can be reached. Ask who can provide a key and when. Identify medication, children, animals or essential documents inside to explain urgency. Retain the response. An access request need not accept termination. Check any key-release declaration suddenly linked to a departure date or debt acknowledgment.

Seek appropriate help for danger or threats

Use appropriate emergency assistance for immediate danger and seek prompt legal assessment of access and urgency. Avoid confronting the situation alone or escalating it. The official tenant information addresses intimidation. Explain whether you are outside, anyone is vulnerable and which documents exist. An unspecified web enquiry can fail to communicate the practical emergency.

Investigate an urgent legal remedy

The urgent kantonrechter guidance describes provisional relief. Suitability of an access claim depends on legal position and facts, without guaranteed success. Identify who prepares proceedings and the evidence required. The dossier tool orders events but files nothing and does not replace an accepted instruction to act. Obtain explicit confirmation of responsibility where timing is critical.

Read existing official decisions

Have any judgment, closure order or other measure assessed in full. Identify it immediately when requesting help. Municipal closure differs from a landlord’s own exclusion and can involve other remedies. Hearing recollections are insufficient. Establish who made the decision, its legal basis, commencement and execution terms. Do not act as though official restrictions are irrelevant simply because the tenancy itself remains disputed.

Keep losses, belongings and later reporting separate

Retain necessary temporary-expense evidence and inaccessible belongings lists. Obtain liability advice: every expense is not automatically recoverable. A municipal report may accompany legal action without supplying urgent access itself. Do not force entry or commission a locksmith without assessing the lawful route, particularly where official measures or uncertain tenancy status exist.

• Discovery date, time and witnesses
• Photographs and lock-related messages
• Agreement, payments and occupation evidence
• Written access request
• Medication, children and other urgent facts
• Existing judgment or order and necessary expenses