Postbox Lock - Fixable for a Layman?

[Squelchtone]

Hello everyone!

Came back to my apartment to discover that a careless subtenant had misplaced my only postbox key.

Front view:
https://imgur.com/a/SeImhQ7
https://i.imgur.com/9b0kzGL.jpeg


Inside view (I managed to [miraculously] open my lock with a neighbour's key. It won't lock back though). The black stuff is the heavy tape I'm using to hold the door shut.
https://imgur.com/a/tcwfwJZ
https://i.imgur.com/lZ8wdjH.jpg


If it matters, the building is a 1960's Berlin apartment block. From the looks of my box and others, I doubt they've been replaced since.

Does anybody know how I would go about replacing this lock? Is this something that a total beginner could do, or should I call the local locksmith?

I'm grateful for any help here. Thank you in advance

[Kenneth_V]

I am guessing from the wording of your post that you rent the apartment, not own the building.

Just a thought but have you contacted your landlord or building maintenance person to see if they have extra keys anywhere? Or if they cut them or know who does. You are not the 1st person since 1960 that this has happened to! I would start there as many landlords won’t take kindly to hacking up their mailboxes!

Sometimes the easiest quickest and cheapest solution is a phone call.

After that, what do the rest of the boxes look like? Are there many that you can tell the locks have been replaced such as rivers on the outside holding the lock body in place? This one looks different from that one and different from that one? Are the doors all bent up from people replacing locks over the years?

That would give you an idea of what others have done in the past. If the rest of the box is in original condition, I would want to keep it that way and impression a key if possible to maintain the aesthetics.

If there is one, I’d ask the building maintenance person first!!

[Raymond]

We would really like to know what part of the world you are in so we can make a better suggestion.

That lock is a lever lock and is not very common to the USA as a Postal box. The previous post is most likely the best solution. Making a key yourself is likely too complicated and will take a relatively long time for a novice as you have lost the use of the box for an indefinite time.

If the boxes belong to the apartment owner and not the post office, they may have previous experience with replacing the lock or key.

You could also contact the Post Office for their recommendations. They might refer you to a particular locksmith or have an internal maintenance person who does this job regularly. If you contact a locksmith take your picture with you.

[Squelchtone]

You could call the Stasi, they had keys for everyone's apartment and mailbox, I mean, depending which side of the wall your apartment is on

This is probably not a beginner job, is there a maintenance repair person who is in charge of fixing things around the building?

Do you have any photos of the key? That might help a locksmith shop make you a new key.

Good luck!
Squelchtone