Staffing & trust · updated August 2026
Keys, Badges and Alarm Codes: The Protocol to Write Into Your Cleaning Terms
Credentials beat keys, and named individuals beat “the crew.” The reason this question exists at all is a line in most tenant handbooks: property staff will not admit your cleaners to your space, so you must either meet them or issue them access. The right answer is individually issued, time-fenced building credentials tied to named people, so every entry is logged.
Why Electronic Credentials Are Strictly Better
A physical key is unauditable. You cannot tell who used it, when, or whether it was copied. An individually issued access card or mobile credential produces an event log: this person, this door, this time. Most managing agents will issue them for a per-card fee, and time-fencing them to a window — say 6pm to midnight — means a credential that is used at 3am generates an immediate exception.
If You Must Use Keys
- Restricted keyway — Medeco, Mul-T-Lock or equivalent, so keys cannot be copied at a hardware store.
- Numbered keys issued to a named individual, never to “the crew” and never to a company.
- Signed custody log with issue and return timestamps.
- Daily check-in and check-out from a locked cabinet with an audit trail.
- Immediate revocation on termination of any individual.
- Quarterly key audit — count them.
- A written lost-key procedure including who pays for a re-key. Put this in writing before you sign. It is a common dispute and a genuine hidden cost.
One more, from most tenant handbooks: all locks must be building standard and compatible with the master keying system, the owner retains a passkey, and all keys are returned on lease termination. Installing your own incompatible lock is usually a lease breach.
Alarm Codes
- A unique code per person — never a shared crew code.
- Codes never written down, never stored in phone notes, never sent by message.
- Code rotation on any personnel change.
- Opening and closing reports reviewed, not just archived.
Clauses to Require in Writing
- Key and credential custody obligations, with the log format specified
- Notification window on any personnel change
- Liability and re-key cost allocation on loss
- Return of all keys and credentials within a stated number of hours of termination
- A restricted-areas exhibit listing rooms with no-entry status — server rooms above all
That last one matters: no cleaning vendor should ever hold a key to a server room.
Last reviewed August 2026. Figures for prevailing wage and regulatory schedules change on 1 January and 1 July — we re-verify this page each cycle.
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