Condo Living

June 5, 2025 Published by Toronto and Area Chapter - By Connie Pappas-Boccitto

Locking Down Your Lockbox Policy

From the Spring 2025 issue of CCI Toronto Condovoice Magazine.

We need to review our corporation’s lockbox policy to see if it measures up

Lockboxes – a small detail that’s often not front-of-mind, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret - do yourself a favour and don’t overlook this seemingly minor thing. The way a corporation manages (or doesn’t manage) lockboxes at a property can leave quite an impression on a buyer, for better or for worse.

As we know, each condo has a slightly different set of rules and policies – and it’s important that safety, security, and ease of access are all taken into account when developing a lockbox policy. Locations typically include being held with the concierge, in a stairwell, in a designated lockbox area/closet, in the parking garage, or the building’s exterior.

The best and smoothest showings are usually in buildings that require showing agents to register with the concierge by providing them with a business card and showing a valid RECO license. The concierge then provides them with access to a secure lock box area or hands the lockbox to the agent directly.

What about properties that don’t have a concierge? Or properties that for some strange reason don’t allow or want to manage any sort of lockbox protocol. I’ve encountered all sorts of exciting adventures in trying to locate lockboxes. Some highlights include – deciphering instructions to find a specific fence pole down the street and around the corner – only to find that the lockbox is frozen solid as it’s open to the elements, and it’s -10 outside.

Others include lockboxes on fences where there’s no concrete or grass – just dirt, and mud… That’s always fun to navigate, trying not to slip and fall while also limiting the amount of mud you’re stepping in so as not to trudge through the halls of the condo we are about to go see.

Having lockboxes in stairwells on the same floor of the unit can work – however, I have been locked out of corridors a few times trying to get back in from the stairwell. Why lockboxes would be put in areas where doors lock behind you is a mystery I’ll never get the answer to.

And I think my favourite instance of lockbox management (enter sarcasm here) would have to be when the lockboxes are hung at a brand-new building on temporary construction fencing. From the time our showing was confirmed to the time we arrived; the lockbox and the entire fence had been removed! This was a waste of our time trying unsuccessfully to access the property, and a stressful day for the listing agent and seller, trying to locate and retrieve their unit keys.

Being sent on a wild goose chase to try and locate lockboxes is not the most professional and certainly not the smoothest process for all involved. It is a very disappointing experience for buyers when they are excitedly searching for what is likely the largest purchase of their lives. Sometimes I feel like we are on an episode of The Amazing Race when trying to locate them, and it really shouldn’t be made to be such a challenge.

In the Real Estate Council of Ontario Bulletin 7.2, RECO it states that ‘lockboxes should be located in a safe, welllit, secure, and accessible place.’ But we, as realtors, are only able to do so if the corporation shares the same view. While managing lockboxes may seem like ‘one more thing’ for the building to manage, corporation oversight helps to limit the anonymity of those accessing the property and also helps limit the potential for unauthorized use.

Keeping keys in a main floor area where there is pedestrian traffic and security cameras will help to thwart any ill-doers. This way you avoid a ‘Crime of Opportunity’ by limiting the risk or temptation of a passerby that’s looking to get up to no good. I would suggest going a step further and have lock boxes registered with management along with a deposit requirement to sign them out, which will be given back upon return of the lock box. It allows for oversight and ensures that keys are only left for legitimate reasons – not for the likes of undercover Airbnb operations, or unwanted access to units, etc. It also helps to ensure that realtors will come back for their lockboxes and not leave them there to rust and rot.

Having a designated area and system, will enhance the condos security and the buyer experience in general in addition to supporting the sale of the unit. Particularly in the GTA where new build condos are popping up all over the place, there can be upwards of 50 units that require lockboxes. Avoid all involved playing “guess the lockbox”, and have a well-organized area (with the concierge or a designated realtor space for larger buildings) that differentiates each lockbox.

I’m all for having the unit number on the lockbox to help differentiate it and make locating the box easy; however, I share a word of caution with this system if lockboxes are outside or in an area that is accessible by the public. I would add a requirement to the lockbox policy that no unit number is to be displayed on the lockbox. Many corporations have provided their own numeric labelling system to keep track of lockboxes so that only those who have proper permission can locate and open the appropriate lockbox. Being incognito in this regard is important for the safety and security of the unit and property.

I recently worked with a buyer whose focus was finding a great new condo to live in, and one that was safe and secure, as she was a single female living on her own. While searching for properties with her, she would ‘deduct’ marks for a property where the lockboxes were left outside. The location of lockboxes didn’t give her confidence that the property took safety and security as seriously as she had wished. Also, keep in mind that realtors are typically showing properties on evenings and weekends – which means an evening showing that takes place in any season other than summer means that there is no sunlight. Low visibility adds a layer of frustration and risk to the buyer and realtor while juggling phones, flashlights etc. My client was my flashlight holder on more than one occasion – needless to say she didn’t purchase a unit in any of those buildings!

Nothing should be more important than the safety of one’s home, and the saleability of it. I encourage you to review your corporation’s lockbox policy and see how it measures up! It’s really the small things that add up when helping a buyer decide on which property is right for them.

Connie Pappas-Boccitto SRS, ABR, SRES, CCSP
Real Estate Broker, Royal Terrequity Realty Brokerage