--- title: "What the Conserje Can and Cannot Do When You Are Locked Out" description: "The concierge in a Benidorm tower runs the building, not your flat. What they can help with when you are shut out, what they cannot, and what to ask for." url: "https://locksmithbenidorm.es/blog/what-the-conserje-can-and-cannot-do/" business: "Locksmith Benidorm" --- # What the conserje can and cannot do for you The concierge in your tower runs the building, not your flat. Knowing the difference saves a wasted conversation at the worst possible moment. 24 September 2026 · 4 min read Benidorm is a city of apartment towers, and many of them have a *conserje*: the concierge or porter who sits in the lobby, takes in parcels and knows everybody by sight. When you are shut out, the lobby desk is the obvious place to go. It helps to know what that person can do for you, and what they cannot. ## Who the conserje works for In a Spanish residential building, the conserje is employed by the *comunidad de propietarios*, the community of all the owners. Their job is the shared parts of the building: the lobby, the lifts, the pool, the garage, the rubbish, the post. Your flat, behind its own front door, is private property and none of their business. That single fact explains almost everything that follows. ## What the conserje can usually do - **Let you into the building.** If the street door or the lift needs a card you no longer have, the conserje can open it. - **Confirm that you live there.** A locksmith has to be sure that the person asking to open a door has the right to. A conserje who says “yes, she’s in 14B, has been for years” is worth more than a document. - **Tell a locksmith exactly which door is yours** , which entrance to use, and where the van can stop. - **Call the building administrator** (the *administrador de fincas* ) if the problem is with a communal door rather than yours. ## What the conserje normally cannot do - **Open your flat.** Unless you or the owner left a key with them deliberately, they do not hold one, and they are not allowed to force a private door. - **Authorise someone else to open it.** Only you, the owner, or a person with the owner’s authority can do that. - **Be there at night.** Many buildings only have the desk staffed during part of the day. Check your building’s hours before you need them. ## Three phrases worth knowing If the conserje speaks little English, these help: - *“Me he quedado fuera de mi piso.”* I’m locked out of my flat. - *“¿Puede confirmar que vivo aquí?”* Can you confirm that I live here? - *“Viene un cerrajero. ¿Puede abrirle el portal?”* A locksmith is coming. Can you let them into the building? ## If there is no conserje Then the neighbour who knows you plays the same part, and your documents do the rest. If your passport is inside the flat, a rental contract or booking on your phone, or the owner answering a call, will usually be enough to start. The document inside the flat is checked the moment the door opens. ## Before you need it Ask at the desk, on a quiet day, what the building’s hours are and whether they would hold a spare key for you. Some conserjes will, some are not allowed to. It is a two-minute conversation that turns a lockout at seven in the evening into a minor delay. And save the number of a locksmith who covers your part of town: the areas we reach are listed on [the coverage page](https://locksmithbenidorm.es/where-we-work/). ## How a flat door is opened What happens once we are on your landing, which method is tried first, and what we will ask you to show. [Read more](https://locksmithbenidorm.es/door-opening-benidorm/) ## Need hands on the door rather than advice? Ring, or send a photo of the lock and your location on WhatsApp. Open 24 hours · 7 days [+34 678 583 290](tel:+34678583290) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/34678583290?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20a%20locksmith%20in%20Benidorm.%20The%20building%2C%20floor%20and%20door%20are%3A)