Guest lost the key: who pays for the locking system
Guest lost the key: who pays for the locking system
If a guest loses a key they are liable for its replacement. They owe the cost of a new locking system only where there is a concrete risk of misuse.
Replacing a Schließanlage (master locking system) can run into four figures. You cannot claim it automatically, only where misuse is genuinely to be feared.
German law of obligations, §§ 280, 249 BGBIn 60 seconds
The guest is always liable for the lost key itself. That is uncontroversial and usually a small amount.
The cost of a new Schließanlage is only recoverable where a concrete risk of misuse exists. That requires the key to be traceable to the address.
If there is no address tag on the keyring and the loss happened far away, that risk is often absent. Then you carry the replacement yourself.
An age deduction applies here too. A twenty-year-old locking system is not billed as new.
Record how many keys were handed over and how many came back. Without that number, even the loss itself is disputable.
Legal framework
What must be compensated is the expenditure necessary for restoration. Replacing a locking system is only necessary where a concrete risk of misuse exists; the mere possibility does not suffice. A new-for-old deduction must be taken into account.
Two stages of liability
| Situation | Owed |
|---|---|
| key lost, no way to trace it to the address | replacement key |
| key with address tag, or lost near the property | replacement, less age |
| number of keys handed over not documented | disputed, often unenforceable |
How to capture inventory and keys together is in Proving damage in a holiday flat; what Airbnb covers is in What Airbnb does not reimburse.
Common mistakes
Without a concrete risk of misuse, only the replacement key is owed.
Then even the loss itself is arguable.
It is what turns a harmless loss into a genuine risk of misuse.
What to do next
Record the number of keys handed over at every turnover. Do it with BildProof, about two minutes a room →
Never put address tags on guest keys.
On a loss, assess whether a concrete risk of misuse genuinely exists.
Frequently asked questions
When must the guest pay for the whole locking system?
Only where a concrete risk of misuse exists, meaning someone unauthorised could connect the key to the flat. If the key carried an address tag or was lost nearby, that is likely. If it was lost hundreds of kilometres away with nothing pointing to the address, usually not.
Do I get the full price of the new system?
Not without a deduction. A locking system already in use for years is renewed by the replacement, and that benefit is set off. Disclose the system's age and factor in the new-for-old deduction.
The guest denies receiving two keys at all.
Then you need evidence of the handover. Record at every turnover how many keys were issued, ideally alongside the rest of the condition. Without that number, the loss itself is in dispute before anyone gets to the amount.
This page gives general information as at the date shown. It does not replace legal advice on an individual case.