I’m in property management. We are having a cluster mailbox installed in front of a 6 unit apartment complex we just picked up.
The mailbox has 8 individual boxes for tenant mail and 2 boxes for packages.
The idea is that the key to the parcel boxes will be left in a tenants mailbox so they can then access their packages. The problem is what do they do with the key after?
This is a fairly crime-ridden area and the box will be on the street. The owner does not want to leave the keys dangling from the lock. The keys do not lock in place.
The hardest part about it is that the mail carrier and the local Post Office are unwilling to work with us.
So after a tenant gets their package how do we secure the key? With a tag, it won’t fit in the outgoing slot.
In the boxes used in my complex, the package locker key is solidly stuck in the lock after opening the box and removing the package. I do not know how the postal carrier is able to free those keys, but I do know there’s some trick to it beyond the knowledge of mere mortal non-mail-carriers.
This is how ours works as well - the parcel box key remains in the lock, and the door remains unlocked after use. There is a separate lock I presume is for the mail carrier’s key that is able to unlock the box key, when needed.
Agreed. If a resident gets a parcel out of the box and leaves the key in the parcel box lock, why do you care if the key gets stolen? It’s not your property.
Of course, where I live it’s a non-issue because the mailman never puts anything in the parcel box, he just shoves everything into your tiny little residential box.
Around here we have community mailboxes for all new neighbourhoods in order to eliminate the need for door-to-door mail delivery, each set of boxes serving about 40 or so nearby houses. The arrangement is similar to what you described, with a few larger package lockers of different sizes for stuff that won’t fit in the mailboxes.
FWIW, when a package is delivered that’s too big to fit in the mailbox, a key with the package locker number is left in the mailbox. When you get your package, the instructions are to lock the package locker and deposit the key in the outgoing mail slot. I know you said the tags won’t fit though the slot, but maybe the tags could be modified. AFAIK this system works well and I’ve never had a problem.
The mail carrier can open all of the boxes at once thru a separate key that they have. If there’s 8 boxes, there are 9 hinges, one for each ‘sub-box’ & one for the whole frame that each ‘sub-box’ sits in. Here you can see how they open all of the doors at once.
If no one has a package, they can lock the package door & then place the key in it before closing the frame door. Then when you get a package, they can take the key out & put it in your mailbox & after you get your package you put the key back in your mailbox for them to retrieve & lock back into the package area the next day.
Anything that relies on the tenant doing something with the key will mean that keys will eventually be lost or stolen. Lost keys mean that the locks need to be re-keyed, as the tenant may be keeping the key so that they can steal packages in the future. Re-keying will be a continual cost and hassle to deal with.
Look into other mailbox systems where the keys become fixed in the lock after they are used. The mailboxes in our neighborhood do that. Once you turn the lock to open the parcel box, the key won’t come out.
Also, since this is a crime ridden area, get a sturdy mailbox. Crooks may try to pry open the mailbox.
How is mail currently dealt with in this apartment?
I think this is how it’s supposed to work: You get a key in your mailbox - if you want to get what’s in the parcel box, you have to use the key, and the key stays in the parcel box door, so no one can keep it/cannot get lost/does not need to be replaced and require re-keying.
Either one of these two seem to be viable solutions. Thank you.
A little backstory, the US postal service in the area I live in is changing their policies regarding mail delivery. They are phasing out entering properties as much as possible. They are requesting clusterboxes more and more. Its an issue that I’ve had to spend too much time devoted to. There are perfectly good and serviceable mailboxes at the units now. The carrier has decided he won’t deliver to them anymore. I’ve taken it up with the postmaster but he sides with the carrier.
The owner insisted on purchasing the clusterbox himself so this is where we are.
Apartment house mail receptacles must be approved by the USPS. When apartment buildings are substantially renovated or remodeled to provide additional apartments, or a material change is made in the location of boxes, obsolete receptacles must be replaced by currently approved receptacles.
If the box has loose parcel keys, eventually they are going to go missing. It’s going to be a hassle to deal with the lost keys, so be prepared for that. Hopefully, eventually the owner will get tired of the cost and time to deal with the lost keys and switch out to a more robust clusterbox. If the recently-purchased clusterbox with loose parcel keys can be returned, it might be worth to take the hit and swap it for a better clusterbox.
Representing idiot owners is part of my job. I will continue to manage their poor decision-making as long as they continue to pay. But it’s not like I don’t try.
That would probably work in the OP’s case. The problem with large community mailboxes like ours that serve a portion of a neighbourhood is that if a key is left in the mailbox, it’s not immediately obvious to the mail carrier whether or not the homeowner has already picked up their package. This is especially the case if the package locker is not in the same unit (frame) as the mailbox.
There’s probably some good reason that keys that remain in the lock once it’s been opened were also ruled out here. I remember those from the days when airports and train stations had coin-operated lockers, but I’ve never seen that used in community mailbox package lockers.
