Keys, fobs and entryphone: regaining control of building access

Nobody knows how many fobs are in circulation, or who holds them. It is the most common weak point — and the easiest to fix.

Ask the manager: how many fobs have been issued for the building, and to whom? In most buildings the answer is approximate. Flats have changed hands, tenants left without returning keys, contractors kept access granted ten years ago.

The drift is silent: nothing breaks, nothing shows in the charges. It surfaces on the day of an intrusion, fly-tipping in the bin store or a bike theft — and by then it is too late to know who could get in.

Take stock, once

• The number of fobs or keys issued, against the number of units.
• Access granted to contractors: cleaning, lift, heating, postal services.
• Access still active in the name of former owners or tenants.
• Keys to technical rooms: boiler room, bin store, bike store, roof.
• The keypad code, if any, and when it was last changed.

This inventory belongs in the annual walk-through. It is only done properly once; after that it is maintained.

Fob or mechanical key: the real difference

On a mechanical lock a lost key cannot be deactivated: the only answer is changing the cylinder and reissuing every key, which is expensive and recurs. On a fob system a lost credential is deactivated in minutes, without touching anyone else’s.

That is the decisive economic argument when the building considers replacing an old system: the installation cost compares against ten years of cylinder changes, not against zero.

What to decide at the meeting

Replacing an entryphone or installing access control is work on a common area, and it gets voted. Deal with the side questions in the same resolution rather than revisiting them yearly.

• How many fobs are supplied per unit, and the price of extras.
• Who pays to replace a lost fob — almost always the requester.
• The deactivation procedure on loss or sale of a unit.
• The treatment of contractor access, reviewed at every contract change.
• How often the keypad code changes, if one remains.

A resolution covering these cases avoids dozens of later micro-decisions: see how to draft workable resolutions.

The personal data question

A fob system potentially records entries: who came in, and when. That is enough to make it personal data processing, requiring a justified purpose, a limited retention period and restricted access.

The principle is simple: keep only what you actually need, not "just in case". The habits are detailed in GDPR for the condo board and, for footage, in CCTV in a condo building.

Doors that do not close

No access control compensates for a door that no longer shuts. A misadjusted closer, a worn strike plate or a torn seal cancels the whole investment — and costs very little to fix.

Check it at every annual visit, alongside fire safety equipment, some of which depends precisely on doors that close.

A building is not secured by its entryphone, but by knowing who holds access — and being able to withdraw it.

Keep the inventory current with CoproHarmony

CoproHarmony lists the building’s equipment and access, stores contractor agreements and tracks incidents reported by residents. Create your free space.

One source of uncontrolled fobs always returns: let parking spaces.

Two installations complete the subject: the automatic gate and, more broadly, theft and intrusion prevention.