Fixing the condo key storage problem

A cluttered collection of lockboxes shows the reality of poor condo key storage management, with handwritten labels and colour-coded Post-it notes making it difficult for agents to quickly locate keys. (Source: Polina Morgulis, Facebook)

You only have once chance to make a good impression. Leading condo-buying clients through back alleys to find a key in a lockbox beside the garbage bin is obviously not the way to do it.

However, agents often don’t have a choice because many condo corporations don’t allow lockboxes to be kept inside.

Many buildings don’t have a “secure, safe, easy-to-use spot inside for keys,” says real estate agent Lenka Matuska of Right At Home Realty in Toronto.

“Many condo corporations simply haven’t set that up, so lockboxes end up hanging on railings or door handles instead. That’s the gap we need to close.”

And that gap affects everyone, she says. “My goal is to raise the experience for everyone who touches that lobby: buyers, sellers, tenants and the owners who live there every day. A condo’s first impression starts at the front door and right now too many buildings are leaving that impression to chance especially if they want agents to go look for keys in alleyways or the parking garage.”

The 3 critical issues

First, it’s a safety issue. When lockboxes are left in an unattended area outside the building, it can be a risk for everyone in the building, not just buyers, sellers and agents.

If someone knows how to decode lockboxes, they can gain access to the building. Lockboxes sometimes contain fobs, so intruders have easy access to the actual suite. If the suite is vacant, they could even squat, Matuska says.

Second, it’s inconvenient. Agents have to search to find lockboxes, have to figure out which one contains the key to the suite they want to show (often from among several unmarked lockboxes) and struggle to open frozen lockboxes in winter.

Third, she says, is user experience. Although the agent can plan ahead and look for the lockbox prior to their client arriving, sometimes the client insists on accompanying the agent so they can see the outside of the building.

Matuska, who has been a registered agent for more than 20 years, has been selling condos for just as long, she says. “I’ve seen this issue from both sides, as a Realtor bringing buyers through and as someone living in a building myself.”

She says it’s important for agents to raise the standard and suggests they advocate for proper key storage.

“The board is made up of owners who were elected at the annual general meeting. If going through management doesn’t get a response, agents should encourage owners to reach out to their board members directly. The board represents the owners, so that’s where accountability lives.”

She says some buildings use a paper system, but there are better ways.

Technology solutions that close the gap

“Google Forms is an added layer to how buildings try to track who has a key and when it comes back, but it’s a manual system and manual systems have gaps,” Matuska says. “Google Forms are already set up versus what some concierge desk staff do, which is put an agent’s name on a Post-it note and then maybe lose it later.”

She would like to see more buildings adopting integrated systems such as KeyLink, which works with BuildingLink, or stand-alone options like Noki and Keycafe. “Those create a real audit trail instead of relying on a spreadsheet.”

With some systems, the key sits in a secure drawer and the agent is given a code to share with the concierge to release it, she says. “The principle is simple: keys belong in a concierge-access-only area. The minute a key system is sitting in a spot agents can reach without going through the concierge, you’ve lost the whole point of having security in the first place.”

She suggests no-key systems be placed near the concierge and keys in concierge-only-access areas. No-key systems and lockboxes could be placed next to mailboxes, with security cameras to capture who is taking the keys.

Source: Lenka Matuska

Source: Lenka Matuska

Source: Lenka Matuska

Despite being managed by the same company, two buildings can offer a different experience depending on the board and community involvement.

Raising standards from the inside

It’s also important for residents to elect board members who will be accountable and hands-on, Matuska says.

“Board members need to read every contract themselves, not just rely on a summary. That means getting legal advice, sitting in on contractor interviews alongside management, asking hard questions and choosing vendors because they make sense for the building, not because they’re the easiest option. That includes service contracts and status certificates. Owners are trusting us with real money and real security, so we owe them that diligence.”

Agents also need to ensure they read the status certificate, get to know the buildings and walk through and see the amenities.

Because they go from building to building, agents also see what’s working elsewhere and shouldn’t be afraid of making suggestions. She says she once saw security overwhelmed filling out forms for agents. She spoke up and told security about QR code sign-ins used in another building that they might want to check out.

Matuska takes bettering condo living seriously. “I’ve been president of my own condo board for the past four years and I’ve now put my name forward for a director seat at CAO (Condominium Authority of Ontario, a consumer protection agency). This issue is personal to me. I’m not just advising from the outside, I’m doing the work inside my own building.”

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