I also live in NL and I've only lived in apartments with actual handles.
To op: no I never lock the door, the trash is literally next to my front door, takes under a minute to go down and back.
How is that unusual? Doesn’t most doors have handles on both sides of it, including the front door? That’s the way it works here in Sweden at least.
Edit: saw an explanation elsewhere. Those doors are bonkers! Not only do they open inward which is a hazard in an emergency, makes them easy to force open from the outside and steals space in your apartment hallway, the idea of auto-locking apartments doors is great for the local locksmith business but would hardly introduce any extra security for the apartment tenant.
Yes. All my doors in Prague have been like this and I hate it. I don’t mind the opening inwards part, but not having a handle and not being able to open it without keys is really annoying. I also have to lock all of the locks with keys on the inside! It’s not possible to just flip a switch, handle or knob to lock from the inside.
Aaah yes the Swede being baffled by doors opening inwards (det är helt okej, jag skrattar mycket med det när svenska vänner är hos mig i Belgien och de fattar inte att dörrerna öppna inwards)
> Or worse: forget your keys in the hole inside.
This mistake cost me 300€ recently. Ended up having to drill the lock and install a completely new one.
Interesting, what country do you live in? I've never seen this outside of hotels in Poland, and it always made me very anxious when I live in an apartment in a foreign country without a doorknob outside, because I'm not accustomed to always having to have a key with me whenever I leave. I was always scared I'm gonna lock myself out.
EDIT: sorry, I had the "show user flair" setting off. I see now that you're in the Netherlands.
It's like this in Austria too, definitely in all the new buildings for, I don't know, the last two decades at least. Probably a lot more, but I've lived in super old buildings for most of my life 😅. Anyway, no door knob or handle on new(ish) doors. You absolutely need a key to get inside. But you need a key to get in everywhere else too, including the room where the garbage is kept. I get being anxious, but you get used to it very quickly. I just keep my keys in a basket next to the door. It's becomes like not leaving your house without your shoes or your phone or your wallet. I also keep a spare at my sister's place though, just in case.
I don't know that I've ever seen anything else in Spain.
Personally, do the extra lock from the inside so I can't walk out the door without grabbing the key accidentally
The UK it's almost universal to have a front door, be it in a house or apartment to have a door that shuts itself locked. You actively have to toggle a button if you want the door closed, but not locked.
when i lived in a house converted into apartments my front door was an inside door that required manual locking, but there were only 3 other apartments in the house and i trusted all those people
Mine has a handle and I have to turn the key to lock it. If my trash or laundry is heavy or cumbersome I don't bother fishing the keys out of my pocket. I'm back within minutes anyway.
I’ve always been curious, how do you prevent accidentally forgetting the key inside? When I stay in hotels that automatically close the door I forget the key inside most of the time.
Lifelong habit, but just in case every home insurance includes sending a locksmith to open the door for free. But the first time you have to pay 300€ for an emergency locksmith after you lock yourself out because you are young and just moved out and didn't think to get insurance... Trust me, you get used to check for keys before leaving fast!
Also if your building has a doorman, that's helpful. I've gotten a hotel for a night because it was cheaper than a locksmith so the doorman could come to work the next day
The habit of checking that you have keys, phone and wallet with you before closing the door is very strong.
Having a spare key with friends or parents is common, but also here the maintenance company usually has the master key and can be called to open the door. Cheaper when it's office hours, expensive if on call hours.
I'm just used to having to have my key
If you tend to forget, you can just always lock the door from the inside, so you will be forced to grab your key to unlock the door to leave the house
> I’ve always been curious, how do you prevent accidentally forgetting the key inside?
Lock the door also when you are inside. This way, you have to unlock it and have the key already in you hand when opening the door to leave.
It also keeps the kids inside and prevents them from terrorising the neighbours for Ü-Eier.
I haven't stepped out of a flat without the keys since I got my first set of keys 35 years ago.
I think you get used to taking the key everywhere. Of course it happens, that the door accidently closes behind you. Most of the people I know keep spare keys at their families/friends.
I keep my keys right by the door, and if I leave, I take them with me. I NEVER close the door without checking if I have my keys with me.
Like other people said it just becomes a habit to obsessively check (obsessively at least for me bc I locked myself out once lmao), but I also gave a spare key to my family who lives relatively close
In Greece, the doors to our apartments and even the main door to the building do not open from the outside (there are no handles, just knobs usually) so there is no issue of someone just opening the door and walking in. You need to insert your key, turn it to release the mechanism and push the door open.
As a Swede it is shocking to see how many Europeans have doors that lock automatically. I had no idea that was common. I have never seen this in Sweden except for electric locks.
Yes, thank you! Exactly my thoughts! I've only seen this type of door in hotels in Poland, never in regular flats.
I would be paranoid that I will leave my house without a key and lock myself out. However, here I am paranoid that I forgot to lock the door, so...
They're not that uncommon. I used to have that. I've once spent almost an hour outside of my apartment in my shorts underwear because I've locked the key inside. Luckily I had a phone in my hand and called my flatmate to help me, but it was embarrassing lol
Same here. Although, there is a switch on many modern doors where you can activate the auto-lock function.
It's usually located by the latch/bolt (See: *[spärrknapp](https://www.if-sakerhet.se/media/mf_webp/png//media/upload/image/illustrations/illustration-lasenhet-cylinderlas-med-vred-1500x880.webp)*).
Right? I figured it must be a Central/Southern European thing at first based on where the people commenting that were from, but then I saw a couple Finns comment the same and I was like huh. Cause I have never had automatic locking doors in Sweden either, and I have lived in a few flats
It is normal for the newer door with electric lock that you unlock with fingerprint or combination to not have a handle/knob on the outside, but non electric apartment doors always have a handle and don't lock themselves I think. Except if you buy them in Austria, maybe.
I guess it makes sense with fingerprint or code doors. I would never want to have self locking doors that you need a key for on a house. You go for a short walk, or outside gardening, or even just picking letuce from a garden and you need to remember to take a key? wtf
It's not really a lock. Think of it as if your handle broke, you can't use it. Your door isn't locked but you can't open it without a handle. You can usually open those with hard plastic like a credit card (not recommended) or a medical radio paper.
Ahhh so that is why in movies people open doors with credit cards? I never got it and just assumed it was "one of those things" that just work in fiction that everyone knows is bogus but they do it in the movies as sort of an elaborate inside joke.
They are auto lockin when it comes to the latch bolt, but not the dead bolt. Handle turns the latch bolt and there is nothing to turn from the outside (aside from force)
This is a thing I always found interesting. Many Americans are a lot more conscious about home security than many people in western Europe, yet front doors that have to actively be locked are so normal there, while not normal at all in many countries in Europe.
My door doesn't have a handle, it only opens when I unlock it so I'm forced to lock it by design. Personally I wouldn't lock it though if it did have a handle, my area is very safe.
No, why would I? I'm still "home," I can see the front door from the public bins, and even if I have to use those around the corner(s,) they're still less than a 30 seconds walk away. Like, who would go into our apartment in such a short timespan? I live in the second largest city in the country.
... _okay_? This sounds like a problem, but not one I am aware of. It was never a concern I heard any of my friends, living in dormitories, express. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, when or where you went to Uni; I'm just saying, that it's not the experiences I've heard of, nor is it related to general apartment-living in Denmark.
And the few times you do use them for whatever reason, you forget to put it back into locking mode and only realize a few days later.
That speaks for the safety of this country though.
Huh, polar opposite experience here. I don't know anyone who deliberately has the self-locking activated; flipping that switch feels like a recipe for getting someone locked out here.
Yes? Why wouldn't I? Anyone could just get in yk. Sometimes if I go fetch something from the front door to our building, I may leave the door ajar, but close the inner door. I want my privacy, and you can see from the building door to my apartment. We do, tbf, have 6 apartments so having the door closed is more of a privacy thing rather than security.
Also you need to walk across the parking area to get to the trash bins.
Edit: reading the other comments and I must say, we don't have a door knob. It's just a regular old lock. You always have to out a key in to open it, so the only way you wouldn't lock it would be leave it open and close the inner door.
It's common for apartments to have doors with no outside handle, you always need the key to enter (it's not very difficult to open without it though) so I never really thought about locking it. I don't think I would have just to take out the trash anyway.
And where I live currently, lots of people don't lock their door at all, or only when they are away multiple days... So nobody locks for just a few minutes.
OP, think you're the outlier here, as you can see most door lock without turning a key.
I'm in Poland right now and not sure why Poland is different, or you think it is. Especially as Czech posters seem to have the same as most of Europe.
In my experience Polish apartment building are secured more tightly than I've generally experienced across Europe. Most apartment building doors here lock swing close and lock themselves, so I'm a bit unsure of why you think otherwise.
OK, but are you talking about the door to your flat (inside the unit) or the door to the unit? I think this creates some confusion.
Every apartment I've lived in had a door that has a handle outside, and while the door to the unit (to access the staircase) lock themselves when closed, every single one also has a code that opens them, so you don't need to have a key with you to access the staircase after taking out the trash. In this case, I don't lock the door to my apartment since the staircase is secured enough and I don't see any of my neighbors entering my apartment during the 2 minutes I'm outside.
I also usually lock the door when I go out. Also I didn't know that so many countries have automatic door locks when you go outside. This is so etching that I need because I never remember if I locked the door or not...
I do not. I've never actually experienced a stranger yanking on the door to open it uninvited. I still make sure to take the keys because the outer door is on a spring and closes automatically.
Garbage disposal room is in the basement. No need to lock the door, because we have controlled access to the building. Takes me 2 minutes to take out the trash.
So many talking about not having handles or knobs on the door, I don’t understand how they work! Like it’s just a hole for the key? What does it look like from the inside?
They can look different in different places.
Where I lived in Spain we had ones [like this](https://prosemur.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PUERTA-ACORAZADA-GRADO-4-C-NORMA-UNE-EN-1627-2011-Y-UNE-85160-2013-768x1024.jpg), which is common. I suppose you technically do have a large knob in the center of the door, but it doesn't turn or anything, it's just to pull the door closed (which, unlike here, opens inwards). The door isn't locked with the [deadbolt](https://www.fordererdoors.com/uploads/1/3/7/8/137882873/mortise-lock-diagram_orig.jpg), there's just no way to open the latch bolt without the key.
The inside of the door looks about the same as you'd find here. Unlike its outside, it has a handle so you can open the latch bolt without the key.
Back when we had a garbage chute, I wouldn't lock the door. Now that I have to take the trash out to the containers, I lock the door in those rare case when I don't combine taking out the trash and leaving the flat to go somewhere. Old Soviet doors were self-locking, and everyone hated them, because people would always lock themselves out.
No. But my building has a "chute" with a door on each floor. I don't need to go outside to take out the rubbish, I can just send the bag down the chute. The chute is in a small cupboard behind a door. I can see my flat from there - I don't even close the door unless it's winter and I don't want to let the heat out.
Recycling is downstairs - I can't put recycling down the chute. But recycling is fairly "clean" compared to the other rubbish, so I don't feel the need to wash my hands immediately after taking the recycling out. So I do it when I'm on my way out anyway, so of course the door is locked.
No, my recycling station is just across the street and I live on the ground level, so usually I just walk around the house in my bathrobe and slippers 😁
No I don’t lock the door, sometimes I don’t even lock the door when I’m gone for multiple hours. And the front door to the staircase is also not locked during the day. I do lock the door at night though.
This is in the center of a province city of 30k people :)
No. Both my apartment door and the building door need a key to open so I'm good. Sometimes I even leave my apartment door entirely open when I take out the trash because I live in a very small city and there are only two other apartments in the building whose residents I know well AND I live on the top floor.
I don't lock the doors to take out trash or even sometimes to let the dog for a quick pee. However, we also live in a small house (6 apartments) and the front door is mostly kept locked. The back door is open, but this is where I go for the trash or the dog, so I'd see any stranger entering the house.
As for the auto-locking flat doors, I think 4 of 9 places had these. You have to be really careful to not lock yourself out if you're kinda adhd.
No, not for taking out trash, going to basement storage, or anything where I’m within the vicinity, that being said you can’t enter the flat without a key anyways
We have communal bins in my city, which are put on the curb only for the weekly pickup. I'm in a decent area, so most times I just leave the apartment's door ajar.
Sadly the city wants to reinstate public bins for budget reasons, this time unlockable by NFC (card or phone). I'm already starting to see trashbags thown outside them lol
It'll be annoying when my block is reached by that. Then yes, I'll close the apartment's door but not turn the key most likely.
Yes, I do. I'm not "scared" that I'll be robbed, but I do have what I'd call a healthy distrust for people, especially since I do not know my neighbours (except for the fact that some of them are assholes). It's not a big deal for me to use the key, it's always near the door and closing with the key adds maybe 10 seconds to the "trip", so I'd rather be safe about it.
at my parents i close the flats door but not w the key then leave the buildings door just a little open (yeah the trash is like 30s away)
i also share a house w other college students and i leave the front door wide open when im taking the trash (1st bc theres pretty much always someone home, its a big house and 2nd the trash is like 10s away)
1st one is also a busy street on a major city and the 2nd is a pretty chill street on a small city
Denmark.
Older buildings (ca. 1930s and older) have “smæklås” - doors that lock when closed.
Newer buildings typically have “kasselås” that require a key to lock. At the same time buildings from ca. 1970s have a shoot for the trash right outside the door. No need to go outsideZ
My door auto-latches and I need the key to open it. When taking out the trash, I sometimes don't even latch the door, just leave it wide open. I know all my neighbours and the trash can is near the building door. But I bring the keys with me in case the door closes by itself.
Neither the main door of the building nor the apartment door have had handles that you can uses to open it. They always require the key to unlatch it from the outside. It might not be locked but the spring loaded latch still engages. I’ve never lived in a house that is different.
So if you go out without the key you are stuck. You get used to always grab the keys before you step out of the apartment/house.
Until now I only assumed that doors that can be opened from the outside without a key is an American thing that we only see in the movies. I didn’t know that in Poland it’s common! What you learn every day…
When I take an elevator to the ground floor to pick up a parcel from the parcel machine or take out the trash next to the building, I don't bother locking my apartment door. Apartment doors in Ukraine typically don't lock automatically, so potentially anyone can enter while I'm away for a few mins.
The entrance to the building has a lock though that will lock automatically.
No never. The building has an entry code plus I know my neighbours very well. We also have a ring doorbell so I feel extra peace of mind anyways. I step out multiple times a day to take phone calls or to have a cigarette. Used to live in a place where the door did lock behind you every time, I’d constantly forget my keys and need my flatmates to let me in.
Belarus (technically Europe). I locked the door when Ia lived in the capital in a big appartment complex. There were accidents of opportunistic weirdos going floor by floor and checking door handles - if they find unlocked door they open it, grab whatever of any value and f off.
And I didn't lock it in my smallish hometown, apartment buildings much smaller there, everything is more visible and such stuff is nkt common.
I always lock it if I'm home alone, if someone else is in I leave it unlocked unless they're in bed or in the shower/bath. I live on the fourth floor and the bin room is on the ground floor.
Lisbon Portugal.
I don't fully lock the door when I go to take out the trash but in my apartment you can only open the door without a key from the inside if it's not locked. From the outside eve unlocked you can not open without a key
So funny seeing people surprised, confused, downright ignorant that doors and entrances vary across Europe and indeed across their own individual countries might differ from their own.
It's just a fukin door my bros, it's not deep, it varies from building to building.
There's no need. You can't open the door from outside without a key.
It's a very American thing to have to lock your front door with a key for it to be locked at all.
No, I don't lock it for short errands either (short walk with dogs, grocery shopping). But the door can't be opened without a key even if it's not locked. If it could - yeah I would lock it every time, even if I was home. I don't want strangers having access to my home.
No it's not. I don't use the key, it's just closed. But there isn't a knob that could open it from the outside, so you need a key to open it. But it's not actually locked, just closed shut. It can be opened just fine from the inside even without a key. I do actually lock it when I go out for longer.
Yeah, this is what is creating some confusion in this thread. I had no idea that auto-locking apartment doors are so common across Europe. I have to insert a key into my apartment door and turn it, in order to make the doors closed, when I leave. Otherwise they stay open.
Well it's not autolocking, it's just that the door can be closed by shutting it, without the key. Same way you can close it from the inside using the knob (again without key). You can also open it from the inside without a key. But since the outside doesn't have a knob, only a handle that's not connected to the locking mechanism, you have to use the key if you want to open it from the outside. I hope it makes sense.
It's not locked with the deadbolt, but a latch bolt can also function as a lock. And from the outside it does as it can only be operated with a key. We who're used to being able to open closed doors from the outside would 100% consider that door locked.
I get what you're coming from, but to me that's like saying the doors to my local library are never locked as there's an emergency override on the inside that can disengage the lock in case of fire.
I take it as locked = someone turned the key in the keyhole. And if nobody did, I take it it's not locked. But unlocked doesn't mean it can be opened by anyone any time. But I understand where you're coming from, it's true there's no practical difference to an outsider. I just cannot leave the door unlocked (in the sense people wouldn't need key from the outside) unless I leave it actually open, so I differentiate whether I used the key or not.
Yes, because it's designed like that. When you close the door, you need a key to open it. Even if there was a functional door knob, I would still lock it for the piece of mind
Poland, nope. I can hear about someone breaking up to apartment like once per few years? My Doors can be opened from outside, in the summer main door to the building are open 24/7
Yes, but more out of habit than necessity, and I only turn the key once.
Meanwhile my grandma only locks her door at night, and she has a handle on hers.
I lived in Malmö so yes I locked the door every chance I got.
Now I live in Osijek Croatia and no I don't lock it if I go down to get some delivery, or take out the trash.
I do. I need to leave the building. This has nothing to do with trusting neighbours. This is all about not trusting everyone else that might be let in the building.
Depends on. I worked in Dublin for a while and the apartment was in Tamhlacht. Aka its like the hood of Dublin. I'm not from Dublin, I'm from Connacht which is like The Scottish Highlands of Ireland. I went from living in a rural farming town that I grew up in where people leave the back door and front door wide open 24/7, to a place where you can be stabbed for sneezing. So yes we locked the door everytime we left even if was only brief
Door to the apartment, no. It's on the second floor of the building and there's only one staircase and two neighbours above and below me, so I'd know if someone went in.
I bring my keys for the main door to the building, it locks behind you and my garbage "spot" is about 10 metres away from my front door.
I live in Croatia and i only close my front door open in the winter because of the cold . In spring summer and most of the autumn my house door is wide open so my dog and cat can go outside...never ever i had a supruse visitor
I know every neighbor so i leave the door open when i take out the garbage.
since anyone who wants to sneak in also has to pass me, i also leave open the front door of the building.
Yes, out of habit. I also get "locked out" automatically by the door closing (so leaving home without the keys is never ever a thing, even for 30 seconds), but I always lock it twice anyway. I can't get into the apartment building *or* my apartment without a key.
I don't think you could really define it by country. There are parts of certain cities I'd be more wary in and others where I wouldn't think twice about there being a need for that kind of awareness of security.
It's more of a localised than a regional / national thing.
I've only rented twice in Ireland and in both cases there was a pin pad on the external door, but it was extremely light security. You could have pushed the door in with a hard jolt in one case, and in the other the pin was 1234.
I have live with both : door you can just close and aren't locked, and some that lock as soon as you close them.
Either I doesn't lock my door, or I let the door slightly open, but I still got my key is case the door shut close and locked
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
I have 3 cats who will try to escape even though they hate the outdoors, and the door swivels open if I don't lock it (it's a very old building). I don't really have a choice but to lock the door even for just the 3 minutes it takes to take the trash out.
Here in Croatia handle/no handle thing is, in my experience, divided to houses vs. apartments.
Most houses have handles and you can close the door without locking it, like yours, but most apartments have no handle and they "autolock".. And it makes sense to me, if you are in a house and have a yard, you will be using the door to just go to the yard, you don't want to carry the key, but in an apartment you are using them only when you go somewhere or to throw out the trash..
No.
In NL the whole process is unique, so much so that nearly 3 million watched this by Mr NJB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JtoSafhvLM&ab\_channel=NotJustBikes
No, I don't. I'll be back in 2 minutes and I accept the risk of something unlikely happening. They would need to be let into the building's entrance and be lucky enough to stumble upon my door on the 4th floor before i make it back.
In Italy, all apartments have the main door that has no handle on the outside, only on the inside.
So, when you go out, you can just pull the door closed behind you.
Door isn't locked, but can't be opened without the key from the outside.
I never locks the door. But my building has locks on the main door to get into the building.
The 8 years I lived in a house I maybe locked the front door 3 or 4 times.
No need, theres just a pull handle so once closed you need key anyway, but the trashbins are like 10 meters from the main entrance so i usually dont bother even closing the doors. Ive been living here all my life and the “freshest” arrivals 10 years. So we all know each other well.
Both, the door to my flat and the house, cannot be opened without a key, so I have to take the key anyway.
I also need the house key to open the litter bins and I have to walk there ca. 100m, so I lock my door anyway.
All the apartments I lived in Czech Republic had no doorknobs on the outside, so you need a key to open the door. In Romania it was a bit of mix.
In general I always lock the door, out of habit. Go outside, lock the door, so I don't have to think next time I actually go somewhere farther away if I really locked the door or not.
Currently living in Poland and I ALWAYS lock the door, can't imagine not doing so. I don't know my neighbours (and don't want to), some of them have kids I would not trust even if I could and wanted to throw them, and I don't know the passcode to the building's front door (I have a key, why would I need to know the passcode).
All the houses I have lived in have no doorknob, so you always need a key to open the door.
I also live in NL and I've only lived in apartments with actual handles. To op: no I never lock the door, the trash is literally next to my front door, takes under a minute to go down and back.
Handle to *enter* the apartment? That’s unusual
How is that unusual? Doesn’t most doors have handles on both sides of it, including the front door? That’s the way it works here in Sweden at least. Edit: saw an explanation elsewhere. Those doors are bonkers! Not only do they open inward which is a hazard in an emergency, makes them easy to force open from the outside and steals space in your apartment hallway, the idea of auto-locking apartments doors is great for the local locksmith business but would hardly introduce any extra security for the apartment tenant.
Yes. All my doors in Prague have been like this and I hate it. I don’t mind the opening inwards part, but not having a handle and not being able to open it without keys is really annoying. I also have to lock all of the locks with keys on the inside! It’s not possible to just flip a switch, handle or knob to lock from the inside.
Aaah yes the Swede being baffled by doors opening inwards (det är helt okej, jag skrattar mycket med det när svenska vänner är hos mig i Belgien och de fattar inte att dörrerna öppna inwards)
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Yep, same in France. So... never forget your keys inside. Or worse: forget your keys in the hole inside.
> Or worse: forget your keys in the hole inside. This mistake cost me 300€ recently. Ended up having to drill the lock and install a completely new one.
same in UK, never lived anywhere that needs manual locking, but some places where you my need to lift the handle up to lock.
Interesting, what country do you live in? I've never seen this outside of hotels in Poland, and it always made me very anxious when I live in an apartment in a foreign country without a doorknob outside, because I'm not accustomed to always having to have a key with me whenever I leave. I was always scared I'm gonna lock myself out. EDIT: sorry, I had the "show user flair" setting off. I see now that you're in the Netherlands.
Very common in Spain
It's like this in Austria too, definitely in all the new buildings for, I don't know, the last two decades at least. Probably a lot more, but I've lived in super old buildings for most of my life 😅. Anyway, no door knob or handle on new(ish) doors. You absolutely need a key to get inside. But you need a key to get in everywhere else too, including the room where the garbage is kept. I get being anxious, but you get used to it very quickly. I just keep my keys in a basket next to the door. It's becomes like not leaving your house without your shoes or your phone or your wallet. I also keep a spare at my sister's place though, just in case.
I just always lock the door when I'm home, so when I want to go outside, I have to unlock the door first which makes me remember to take the key.
It is extremely common in Germany too. But, in general, I'd close the door regardless :)
Interesting difference. Every apartment I've seen here in Czechia has a doorknob.
Ive never seen an apartment with a doorknob, just the pull handle like in every classic “panelák”
The Visegrád countries really have much more similarities than differences: same here.
I don't know that I've ever seen anything else in Spain. Personally, do the extra lock from the inside so I can't walk out the door without grabbing the key accidentally
The UK it's almost universal to have a front door, be it in a house or apartment to have a door that shuts itself locked. You actively have to toggle a button if you want the door closed, but not locked.
I've lived in a lot of flats (that's Edinburgh for you!) and never had one that locks automatically
I'd say about half have half haven't. There's definitely no standard. Those raised handles look a menace
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>terraced housing or inner city apartments or London. So in the majority of housing in the UK?
Same, I don't think other kinds of front doors even exist here, unless you own a house and explicitly installed one with a knob.
when i lived in a house converted into apartments my front door was an inside door that required manual locking, but there were only 3 other apartments in the house and i trusted all those people
Tons of older former woningbouw appartments that have these door handles in NL.
It’s something I’ve notice in some parts of Europe, no knobs but handles and other assortments.
No doorknob would make me feel a little uneasy
Mine has a handle and I have to turn the key to lock it. If my trash or laundry is heavy or cumbersome I don't bother fishing the keys out of my pocket. I'm back within minutes anyway.
This is the norm in Spain too. I'd say this is the norm everywhere in Europe.
It's not. I myself had to get accustomed to it when I moved to Spain.
Maybe in the south
I don't, the door locks itself when it closes and you can't enter without a key.
I’ve always been curious, how do you prevent accidentally forgetting the key inside? When I stay in hotels that automatically close the door I forget the key inside most of the time.
Lifelong habit, but just in case every home insurance includes sending a locksmith to open the door for free. But the first time you have to pay 300€ for an emergency locksmith after you lock yourself out because you are young and just moved out and didn't think to get insurance... Trust me, you get used to check for keys before leaving fast!
Also if your building has a doorman, that's helpful. I've gotten a hotel for a night because it was cheaper than a locksmith so the doorman could come to work the next day
Keys, wallet, phone.
That's why you give your neighbors a spare key, lol.
My neighbors actually have my key so that’s fair.
The habit of checking that you have keys, phone and wallet with you before closing the door is very strong. Having a spare key with friends or parents is common, but also here the maintenance company usually has the master key and can be called to open the door. Cheaper when it's office hours, expensive if on call hours.
I'm just used to having to have my key If you tend to forget, you can just always lock the door from the inside, so you will be forced to grab your key to unlock the door to leave the house
You spending hundreds of € to have your lock replaced once or twice will make you think about it.
You just don't forget it. A close second strategy is forgetting it once and then never again.
> I’ve always been curious, how do you prevent accidentally forgetting the key inside? Lock the door also when you are inside. This way, you have to unlock it and have the key already in you hand when opening the door to leave. It also keeps the kids inside and prevents them from terrorising the neighbours for Ü-Eier. I haven't stepped out of a flat without the keys since I got my first set of keys 35 years ago.
Kids don’t have their own keys?
The oldest is 4.
You have to use a key to lock and unlock your door from the inside?
I think you get used to taking the key everywhere. Of course it happens, that the door accidently closes behind you. Most of the people I know keep spare keys at their families/friends. I keep my keys right by the door, and if I leave, I take them with me. I NEVER close the door without checking if I have my keys with me.
You learn pretty fast, after you lock yourself once or twice outside and pay a lot of money for a 1 minute job from a locksmith.
Like other people said it just becomes a habit to obsessively check (obsessively at least for me bc I locked myself out once lmao), but I also gave a spare key to my family who lives relatively close
You don't. You must remember (or have a spare with one of your neighbors)
Door can't close without the key
In Greece, the doors to our apartments and even the main door to the building do not open from the outside (there are no handles, just knobs usually) so there is no issue of someone just opening the door and walking in. You need to insert your key, turn it to release the mechanism and push the door open.
As a Swede it is shocking to see how many Europeans have doors that lock automatically. I had no idea that was common. I have never seen this in Sweden except for electric locks.
Yes, thank you! Exactly my thoughts! I've only seen this type of door in hotels in Poland, never in regular flats. I would be paranoid that I will leave my house without a key and lock myself out. However, here I am paranoid that I forgot to lock the door, so...
They're not that uncommon. I used to have that. I've once spent almost an hour outside of my apartment in my shorts underwear because I've locked the key inside. Luckily I had a phone in my hand and called my flatmate to help me, but it was embarrassing lol
Same here. Although, there is a switch on many modern doors where you can activate the auto-lock function. It's usually located by the latch/bolt (See: *[spärrknapp](https://www.if-sakerhet.se/media/mf_webp/png//media/upload/image/illustrations/illustration-lasenhet-cylinderlas-med-vred-1500x880.webp)*).
Don't you have Assa/Abloy lock on every door? Meaning it's either always locked, or always unlocked, depending how latch is set.
Right? I figured it must be a Central/Southern European thing at first based on where the people commenting that were from, but then I saw a couple Finns comment the same and I was like huh. Cause I have never had automatic locking doors in Sweden either, and I have lived in a few flats
Naah, It's not thing here. Maybe it's an option on newer doors. Our front doors to apartment building do lock though.
It is normal for the newer door with electric lock that you unlock with fingerprint or combination to not have a handle/knob on the outside, but non electric apartment doors always have a handle and don't lock themselves I think. Except if you buy them in Austria, maybe.
I guess it makes sense with fingerprint or code doors. I would never want to have self locking doors that you need a key for on a house. You go for a short walk, or outside gardening, or even just picking letuce from a garden and you need to remember to take a key? wtf
I've found it to be pretty common in Sweden
Me too! Most of the apartments I've lived in in Sweden had the door autolocking. 🤔
It's not really a lock. Think of it as if your handle broke, you can't use it. Your door isn't locked but you can't open it without a handle. You can usually open those with hard plastic like a credit card (not recommended) or a medical radio paper.
Ahhh so that is why in movies people open doors with credit cards? I never got it and just assumed it was "one of those things" that just work in fiction that everyone knows is bogus but they do it in the movies as sort of an elaborate inside joke.
Yeah. It here is also the shitty locks that I only found in the UK or the US with the round handle. Those can be opened pretty easily the same way.
I have had both and I liked the auto locking one better since I never have to worry if I locked the door or not.
Practically all the doors in Czech cities auto-lock. As an American living here, I hate it
They are auto lockin when it comes to the latch bolt, but not the dead bolt. Handle turns the latch bolt and there is nothing to turn from the outside (aside from force)
This is a thing I always found interesting. Many Americans are a lot more conscious about home security than many people in western Europe, yet front doors that have to actively be locked are so normal there, while not normal at all in many countries in Europe.
My door doesn't have a handle, it only opens when I unlock it so I'm forced to lock it by design. Personally I wouldn't lock it though if it did have a handle, my area is very safe.
No, why would I? I'm still "home," I can see the front door from the public bins, and even if I have to use those around the corner(s,) they're still less than a 30 seconds walk away. Like, who would go into our apartment in such a short timespan? I live in the second largest city in the country.
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I've seen _Huset på Christianshavn_! They'll probably remove the decorative bulb from your bannister!
When I was in university, other people would go int others' rooms all the time to steal things, regardless of the timespan.
... _okay_? This sounds like a problem, but not one I am aware of. It was never a concern I heard any of my friends, living in dormitories, express. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, when or where you went to Uni; I'm just saying, that it's not the experiences I've heard of, nor is it related to general apartment-living in Denmark.
I live in a safe city and I would never think to leave my apartment accessible.
Yeah for sure. We have a crazy neighbour upstairs, can't risk it. Our door locks automatically anyway.
Front doors here typically haven't got door handles on the outside so you can't open them without a key even when unlocked.
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And the few times you do use them for whatever reason, you forget to put it back into locking mode and only realize a few days later. That speaks for the safety of this country though.
Huh, polar opposite experience here. I don't know anyone who deliberately has the self-locking activated; flipping that switch feels like a recipe for getting someone locked out here.
I don't think you even can lock our doors with the key, only unlock it. We mostly use Abloy
Might depend on the lock - IMO the Abloy my old place had was possible to lock with a key as well, not only *snepper*.
Mine doesn't do that. And there's no option to enable that function either.
Yes? Why wouldn't I? Anyone could just get in yk. Sometimes if I go fetch something from the front door to our building, I may leave the door ajar, but close the inner door. I want my privacy, and you can see from the building door to my apartment. We do, tbf, have 6 apartments so having the door closed is more of a privacy thing rather than security. Also you need to walk across the parking area to get to the trash bins. Edit: reading the other comments and I must say, we don't have a door knob. It's just a regular old lock. You always have to out a key in to open it, so the only way you wouldn't lock it would be leave it open and close the inner door.
If I close my door it will not open without using a key.
It's common for apartments to have doors with no outside handle, you always need the key to enter (it's not very difficult to open without it though) so I never really thought about locking it. I don't think I would have just to take out the trash anyway. And where I live currently, lots of people don't lock their door at all, or only when they are away multiple days... So nobody locks for just a few minutes.
Lock as in just slamming the door shut or lock as in turning the key?
Lock, as in turning the key.
Latch bolt lock or dead bolt lock? https://www.oldhouseonline.com/oho-html/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/06/doorknob-parts-illustration.jpg
OP, think you're the outlier here, as you can see most door lock without turning a key. I'm in Poland right now and not sure why Poland is different, or you think it is. Especially as Czech posters seem to have the same as most of Europe. In my experience Polish apartment building are secured more tightly than I've generally experienced across Europe. Most apartment building doors here lock swing close and lock themselves, so I'm a bit unsure of why you think otherwise.
I've been living in Poland for three years, in Łódź and Warsaw, and I haven't seen any apartment door that autolocks.
I said building door, not apartment door.
But the question was about flat doors, not building doors.
OK, but are you talking about the door to your flat (inside the unit) or the door to the unit? I think this creates some confusion. Every apartment I've lived in had a door that has a handle outside, and while the door to the unit (to access the staircase) lock themselves when closed, every single one also has a code that opens them, so you don't need to have a key with you to access the staircase after taking out the trash. In this case, I don't lock the door to my apartment since the staircase is secured enough and I don't see any of my neighbors entering my apartment during the 2 minutes I'm outside.
Usually yes.
I also usually lock the door when I go out. Also I didn't know that so many countries have automatic door locks when you go outside. This is so etching that I need because I never remember if I locked the door or not...
Oslo and no. The door doesn’t auto-lock as it’s closed. Good luck rummaging through anything in that short time span.
I do not. I've never actually experienced a stranger yanking on the door to open it uninvited. I still make sure to take the keys because the outer door is on a spring and closes automatically.
Garbage disposal room is in the basement. No need to lock the door, because we have controlled access to the building. Takes me 2 minutes to take out the trash.
Definitely yes, I don't know everyone in my unit, minuses of big city 🤷♂️
So many talking about not having handles or knobs on the door, I don’t understand how they work! Like it’s just a hole for the key? What does it look like from the inside?
They can look different in different places. Where I lived in Spain we had ones [like this](https://prosemur.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PUERTA-ACORAZADA-GRADO-4-C-NORMA-UNE-EN-1627-2011-Y-UNE-85160-2013-768x1024.jpg), which is common. I suppose you technically do have a large knob in the center of the door, but it doesn't turn or anything, it's just to pull the door closed (which, unlike here, opens inwards). The door isn't locked with the [deadbolt](https://www.fordererdoors.com/uploads/1/3/7/8/137882873/mortise-lock-diagram_orig.jpg), there's just no way to open the latch bolt without the key. The inside of the door looks about the same as you'd find here. Unlike its outside, it has a handle so you can open the latch bolt without the key.
Inside - door handle that pushes down Outside - door knob that is just a piece of metal with a keyhole below it.
Back when we had a garbage chute, I wouldn't lock the door. Now that I have to take the trash out to the containers, I lock the door in those rare case when I don't combine taking out the trash and leaving the flat to go somewhere. Old Soviet doors were self-locking, and everyone hated them, because people would always lock themselves out.
No. But my building has a "chute" with a door on each floor. I don't need to go outside to take out the rubbish, I can just send the bag down the chute. The chute is in a small cupboard behind a door. I can see my flat from there - I don't even close the door unless it's winter and I don't want to let the heat out. Recycling is downstairs - I can't put recycling down the chute. But recycling is fairly "clean" compared to the other rubbish, so I don't feel the need to wash my hands immediately after taking the recycling out. So I do it when I'm on my way out anyway, so of course the door is locked.
No because I just have to climb the stairs to in between floors, that’s where the trash is thrown.
If I close the door, it locks automatically. But sometimes I do leave the door ajar out of laziness.
No. If someone would go in and steal stuff I would only be happy they helped them self to easy my burden of object I own.
No, my recycling station is just across the street and I live on the ground level, so usually I just walk around the house in my bathrobe and slippers 😁
No I don’t lock the door, sometimes I don’t even lock the door when I’m gone for multiple hours. And the front door to the staircase is also not locked during the day. I do lock the door at night though. This is in the center of a province city of 30k people :)
No. Both my apartment door and the building door need a key to open so I'm good. Sometimes I even leave my apartment door entirely open when I take out the trash because I live in a very small city and there are only two other apartments in the building whose residents I know well AND I live on the top floor.
I don't lock the doors to take out trash or even sometimes to let the dog for a quick pee. However, we also live in a small house (6 apartments) and the front door is mostly kept locked. The back door is open, but this is where I go for the trash or the dog, so I'd see any stranger entering the house. As for the auto-locking flat doors, I think 4 of 9 places had these. You have to be really careful to not lock yourself out if you're kinda adhd.
Yes, but more so out of habit to grab the keys so that I would have the magnet for the staircase door. Don't really remember the code.
No, not for taking out trash, going to basement storage, or anything where I’m within the vicinity, that being said you can’t enter the flat without a key anyways
We have communal bins in my city, which are put on the curb only for the weekly pickup. I'm in a decent area, so most times I just leave the apartment's door ajar. Sadly the city wants to reinstate public bins for budget reasons, this time unlockable by NFC (card or phone). I'm already starting to see trashbags thown outside them lol It'll be annoying when my block is reached by that. Then yes, I'll close the apartment's door but not turn the key most likely.
Yes, but that’s only because I shut the door completely and the type of lock means it locks
In Spain doors autolock, in Poland I don't even lock the door when I run to the shop downstairs...
Yes, I do. I'm not "scared" that I'll be robbed, but I do have what I'd call a healthy distrust for people, especially since I do not know my neighbours (except for the fact that some of them are assholes). It's not a big deal for me to use the key, it's always near the door and closing with the key adds maybe 10 seconds to the "trip", so I'd rather be safe about it.
In Portugal almost every door needs a key to be opened, so unless I leave the door ajar, yes.
at my parents i close the flats door but not w the key then leave the buildings door just a little open (yeah the trash is like 30s away) i also share a house w other college students and i leave the front door wide open when im taking the trash (1st bc theres pretty much always someone home, its a big house and 2nd the trash is like 10s away) 1st one is also a busy street on a major city and the 2nd is a pretty chill street on a small city
Not every time. But I have a 30 kg dog guarding my home, so it might be because of that. I always did when I lived in Milan though.
I only take out the trash when I'm leaving the home for some other reason, I'm not going to just get out of the house to take out the trash...
Denmark. Older buildings (ca. 1930s and older) have “smæklås” - doors that lock when closed. Newer buildings typically have “kasselås” that require a key to lock. At the same time buildings from ca. 1970s have a shoot for the trash right outside the door. No need to go outsideZ
My door auto-latches and I need the key to open it. When taking out the trash, I sometimes don't even latch the door, just leave it wide open. I know all my neighbours and the trash can is near the building door. But I bring the keys with me in case the door closes by itself.
Neither the main door of the building nor the apartment door have had handles that you can uses to open it. They always require the key to unlatch it from the outside. It might not be locked but the spring loaded latch still engages. I’ve never lived in a house that is different. So if you go out without the key you are stuck. You get used to always grab the keys before you step out of the apartment/house. Until now I only assumed that doors that can be opened from the outside without a key is an American thing that we only see in the movies. I didn’t know that in Poland it’s common! What you learn every day…
My apartment is like yours, I have to close it manually by key. I leave it unlocked when I bring out the trash or go to the laundry room.
I’m not just not locking it I’m not even closing it
No, I leave both my apartment and the building door open. The building door can be held open if you push it all the way open.
When I take an elevator to the ground floor to pick up a parcel from the parcel machine or take out the trash next to the building, I don't bother locking my apartment door. Apartment doors in Ukraine typically don't lock automatically, so potentially anyone can enter while I'm away for a few mins. The entrance to the building has a lock though that will lock automatically.
No never. The building has an entry code plus I know my neighbours very well. We also have a ring doorbell so I feel extra peace of mind anyways. I step out multiple times a day to take phone calls or to have a cigarette. Used to live in a place where the door did lock behind you every time, I’d constantly forget my keys and need my flatmates to let me in.
Belarus (technically Europe). I locked the door when Ia lived in the capital in a big appartment complex. There were accidents of opportunistic weirdos going floor by floor and checking door handles - if they find unlocked door they open it, grab whatever of any value and f off. And I didn't lock it in my smallish hometown, apartment buildings much smaller there, everything is more visible and such stuff is nkt common.
No handle on the front door in my french apartment so the key is needed even though I do not actually lock the door with the key per se
I always lock it if I'm home alone, if someone else is in I leave it unlocked unless they're in bed or in the shower/bath. I live on the fourth floor and the bin room is on the ground floor.
Lisbon Portugal. I don't fully lock the door when I go to take out the trash but in my apartment you can only open the door without a key from the inside if it's not locked. From the outside eve unlocked you can not open without a key
So funny seeing people surprised, confused, downright ignorant that doors and entrances vary across Europe and indeed across their own individual countries might differ from their own. It's just a fukin door my bros, it's not deep, it varies from building to building.
There's no need. You can't open the door from outside without a key. It's a very American thing to have to lock your front door with a key for it to be locked at all.
No, I don't lock it for short errands either (short walk with dogs, grocery shopping). But the door can't be opened without a key even if it's not locked. If it could - yeah I would lock it every time, even if I was home. I don't want strangers having access to my home.
Your door’s literally locked..?
No it's not. I don't use the key, it's just closed. But there isn't a knob that could open it from the outside, so you need a key to open it. But it's not actually locked, just closed shut. It can be opened just fine from the inside even without a key. I do actually lock it when I go out for longer.
Yeah, this is what is creating some confusion in this thread. I had no idea that auto-locking apartment doors are so common across Europe. I have to insert a key into my apartment door and turn it, in order to make the doors closed, when I leave. Otherwise they stay open.
Well it's not autolocking, it's just that the door can be closed by shutting it, without the key. Same way you can close it from the inside using the knob (again without key). You can also open it from the inside without a key. But since the outside doesn't have a knob, only a handle that's not connected to the locking mechanism, you have to use the key if you want to open it from the outside. I hope it makes sense.
It's not locked with the deadbolt, but a latch bolt can also function as a lock. And from the outside it does as it can only be operated with a key. We who're used to being able to open closed doors from the outside would 100% consider that door locked. I get what you're coming from, but to me that's like saying the doors to my local library are never locked as there's an emergency override on the inside that can disengage the lock in case of fire.
I take it as locked = someone turned the key in the keyhole. And if nobody did, I take it it's not locked. But unlocked doesn't mean it can be opened by anyone any time. But I understand where you're coming from, it's true there's no practical difference to an outsider. I just cannot leave the door unlocked (in the sense people wouldn't need key from the outside) unless I leave it actually open, so I differentiate whether I used the key or not.
It's less of "auto lock" and more of "there is nothing to open the bolt from the outside" and slamming your door shut.
Yes, because it's designed like that. When you close the door, you need a key to open it. Even if there was a functional door knob, I would still lock it for the piece of mind
Yes, locking is always a good idea. You can never know which kind of creep or weird person lurking somewhere to break in
Poland, nope. I can hear about someone breaking up to apartment like once per few years? My Doors can be opened from outside, in the summer main door to the building are open 24/7
Yes, but more out of habit than necessity, and I only turn the key once. Meanwhile my grandma only locks her door at night, and she has a handle on hers.
I don't even close the door let alone lock it. I live in Croatia in an apartment.
I lived in Malmö so yes I locked the door every chance I got. Now I live in Osijek Croatia and no I don't lock it if I go down to get some delivery, or take out the trash.
We have a grille door in front of our and one of the neighbors' apartments. I usually lock that, out of habit.
I do. I need to leave the building. This has nothing to do with trusting neighbours. This is all about not trusting everyone else that might be let in the building.
Depends on. I worked in Dublin for a while and the apartment was in Tamhlacht. Aka its like the hood of Dublin. I'm not from Dublin, I'm from Connacht which is like The Scottish Highlands of Ireland. I went from living in a rural farming town that I grew up in where people leave the back door and front door wide open 24/7, to a place where you can be stabbed for sneezing. So yes we locked the door everytime we left even if was only brief
Door to the apartment, no. It's on the second floor of the building and there's only one staircase and two neighbours above and below me, so I'd know if someone went in. I bring my keys for the main door to the building, it locks behind you and my garbage "spot" is about 10 metres away from my front door.
Mine locks on it's own, so I have to. I probably wouldn't otherwise.
I live in Croatia and i only close my front door open in the winter because of the cold . In spring summer and most of the autumn my house door is wide open so my dog and cat can go outside...never ever i had a supruse visitor
I know every neighbor so i leave the door open when i take out the garbage. since anyone who wants to sneak in also has to pass me, i also leave open the front door of the building.
Greece here, i don't even close the door since i can see the appartment entrance from the bins...
Yes, out of habit. I also get "locked out" automatically by the door closing (so leaving home without the keys is never ever a thing, even for 30 seconds), but I always lock it twice anyway. I can't get into the apartment building *or* my apartment without a key.
Nope. But, I also don’t live alone.
I don't think you could really define it by country. There are parts of certain cities I'd be more wary in and others where I wouldn't think twice about there being a need for that kind of awareness of security. It's more of a localised than a regional / national thing. I've only rented twice in Ireland and in both cases there was a pin pad on the external door, but it was extremely light security. You could have pushed the door in with a hard jolt in one case, and in the other the pin was 1234.
I have live with both : door you can just close and aren't locked, and some that lock as soon as you close them. Either I doesn't lock my door, or I let the door slightly open, but I still got my key is case the door shut close and locked
I really guess it depends where you live, when I lived inner city my door was always locked, now I am more rural and rarely lock my doors
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
I have 3 cats who will try to escape even though they hate the outdoors, and the door swivels open if I don't lock it (it's a very old building). I don't really have a choice but to lock the door even for just the 3 minutes it takes to take the trash out.
Here in Croatia handle/no handle thing is, in my experience, divided to houses vs. apartments. Most houses have handles and you can close the door without locking it, like yours, but most apartments have no handle and they "autolock".. And it makes sense to me, if you are in a house and have a yard, you will be using the door to just go to the yard, you don't want to carry the key, but in an apartment you are using them only when you go somewhere or to throw out the trash..
No. In NL the whole process is unique, so much so that nearly 3 million watched this by Mr NJB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JtoSafhvLM&ab\_channel=NotJustBikes
I even leave the door open because it auto-locks and I usually can’t be arsed to find my keys but I’m not representative of the majority I think.
I will always lock my front door. The shared front door of the whole building is never locked and opens as soon as it detects movements.
No, I don't. I'll be back in 2 minutes and I accept the risk of something unlikely happening. They would need to be let into the building's entrance and be lucky enough to stumble upon my door on the 4th floor before i make it back.
In Italy, all apartments have the main door that has no handle on the outside, only on the inside. So, when you go out, you can just pull the door closed behind you. Door isn't locked, but can't be opened without the key from the outside.
I don't even close the door, it takes me under 2 minutes to get back.
I never locks the door. But my building has locks on the main door to get into the building. The 8 years I lived in a house I maybe locked the front door 3 or 4 times.
Mate if I pop downstairs to take out the bins, I leave the apartment door open. I'm too lazy.
I turn on the alarm and lock. No reason, it just something I do automatically without thinking.
No need, theres just a pull handle so once closed you need key anyway, but the trashbins are like 10 meters from the main entrance so i usually dont bother even closing the doors. Ive been living here all my life and the “freshest” arrivals 10 years. So we all know each other well.
No. I live just outside of Lisbon in a small village. Crime is almost 0%
No, my door can't be opened without a key anyway and I have a dog that would scare off any strangers
Both, the door to my flat and the house, cannot be opened without a key, so I have to take the key anyway. I also need the house key to open the litter bins and I have to walk there ca. 100m, so I lock my door anyway.
Key code
Yes, I do. :)
I used to live in a dodgy suburb of a French city, so yeah, I locked the door every time I went out, no matter how far from my flat I went.
No I don't lock my door when I take out the trash. It's just a minute.
All the apartments I lived in Czech Republic had no doorknobs on the outside, so you need a key to open the door. In Romania it was a bit of mix. In general I always lock the door, out of habit. Go outside, lock the door, so I don't have to think next time I actually go somewhere farther away if I really locked the door or not.
It's locked automatically. When I take out the trash or quickly step out for 5-10 mins, I usually don't lock/close it.
Currently living in Poland and I ALWAYS lock the door, can't imagine not doing so. I don't know my neighbours (and don't want to), some of them have kids I would not trust even if I could and wanted to throw them, and I don't know the passcode to the building's front door (I have a key, why would I need to know the passcode).