A tenant lost their access card or key fob: what to do

Guide · Published November 4, 2026 · Vega Access team

Step 1: Block it right away

As soon as the tenant calls, block the card. Do not wait to see if it turns up. In Vega Access, mark the card lost. It is blocked at the doors it opened as soon as each door is reachable through its gateway, usually within seconds; on SMLock locks, its end date is set to the date of the loss, so it no longer opens. A lost card is not deleted: it stays in the registry with its full history, so past entries still make sense and the card can be recognized if it is used or found later.

Use the right status, because it tells the story later:

• Lost: the person does not know where it is.
• Broken: the card is damaged and replaced.
• Disabled: access is stopped for another reason, for example a dispute or the end of a contract.

Step 2: Check where the card worked

A fob often opens more than the unit: the entrance, the garage, the laundry room, the gym. Check that every door it opened is listed and that blocking reached each one. If a door was offline, the change waits for the gateway to reconnect; if the risk is high, a technician can apply it at the lock over Bluetooth. On WLock (UniFi Access) common doors, if someone tries a fob marked lost, door history shows a lost fob attempt and the workspace administrator gets an email right away.

Step 3: Issue the replacement

Issue a new fob to the same tenant with the same doors and dates. In Vega Access, Replace in the fob registry gives the same person a new fob with the same access in one step. If your building charges for replacement fobs, that is a matter for your lease or building rules, not for the access system.

Step 4: Look at the history if something seems wrong

If the fob may have been stolen rather than lost, look at the entries recorded with it before it was blocked: which doors, at what times. Because entries are kept with the card even after it is blocked, the picture is complete. Limit who can see this history to the roles that need it; it is personal information.

Step 5: If the fob is found

A found fob stays blocked unless a manager reactivates it. If the tenant already has a replacement, keep the old one blocked and, if it comes back to the office, store or destroy it. Reactivating it would mean two working fobs for one person.

Other cases

Lost phone with the tenant app

The tenant tells the building manager, who blocks app access; the tenant changes their password from another device. Phone stickers are handled like fobs.

Lost code

A PIN code cannot be "lost", but it can be shared. Replace it with a new code and give the old one an end date of today, or remove it.

Staff and contractors

The same steps apply. Temporary cards should already have an end date, which limits the damage when one goes missing.

Several fobs lost at once

A lost key ring with several fobs, or a box of unissued fobs, is a bigger event. Block every number concerned, check the history, and record what happened. Depending on what was lost, it may also be a confidentiality incident to record under Law 25; see our guide on Law 25 and access logs.

Why this is hard with keys

With metal keys, a lost key means re-keying or living with the risk, and nobody knows how many copies exist. With managed fobs, a lost credential is blocked in a minute, and the record shows exactly what it could open. That is one of the main reasons buildings move to managed access; see rental buildings and property managers.

Cost

Fobs and cards are not counted in Vega Access plans; only doors are. Size your building with the door calculator and compare plans.

Questions we hear

Related pages

• Key fob, phone or card?
• Smart locks in an outage
• FAQ
• Plans