Access & discretion

Getting in, without that becoming the weak point.

Every access arrangement is a trade between convenience and exposure. These are the four that work, what each one costs you, and how the credentials behind them are handled.

An access arrangement that nobody manages is just a key you have given away and forgotten about.

Four methods

Pick the one that fits the property

Ranked by how often they turn out to be the right answer, not by how sophisticated they sound.

Professional lockbox

A commercial-grade lockbox fitted at the property, holding a single key, on a code only the people attending know.

How it works

A commercial lockbox — not a hardware-store combination box — is fitted at an agreed point on the property
It holds one key, cut for the access door only
The box serial number and its position are recorded against the property
The code is issued per engagement, held separately from ordinary property records, and released only to the person attending
The code is rotated on a schedule and immediately if anything changes — a contractor attends, an engagement ends, or you ask
The box is removed and the code retired when the arrangement ends

What it costs you

A lockbox is a visible object. Placement matters, and it should not be on the front door where it advertises that the house is being accessed by somebody who does not live there.
A box is only as good as the discipline around the code. A code that never changes is a permanent key.
It is a convenience and a control, not a security upgrade to the property itself.

Best for: Most properties, most of the time — particularly where trades will need access during the vacancy. · Ask us to confirm current availability

Held key, under custody

A key held off-site under a recorded custody chain: who has it, since when, and when it came back.

How it works

The key is issued against a register entry rather than simply handed over
It is never labelled with an address — an identifier that means nothing to a finder
Custody is recorded: who holds it, from when, and when it is returned
It is never left at the property, under anything, in any circumstance
It is returned or destroyed at the end of the engagement, and that is recorded too

What it costs you

A key has to physically travel to the property and back, which is the part that needs the discipline
Giving a contractor access means somebody attending to let them in — which is usually what you want anyway
Revoking access means retrieving the key or re-keying

Best for: Condominium units, properties where a visible box is unwelcome, and short arrangements. · Ask us to confirm current availability

III

Smart lock with time-limited codes

Your own smart lock, with a code issued per visit or per engagement rather than a permanent shared one.

How it works

A code is issued for the specific arrangement, ideally time-limited to the visit window
Contractors get their own code for their own appointment, so the log shows who actually entered
Codes are held under the same rules as alarm codes — separate storage, never printed in reports
Codes are retired when an engagement ends

What it costs you

It depends on batteries, and a dead smart lock on a −30 °C morning is a locked-out visit
Some models depend on Wi-Fi for code management, which a vacant property loses more often than an occupied one
A permanent shared code undoes most of the benefit — the value is in codes being specific and temporary
It is your lock and your account; we work within it rather than administering it

Best for: Owners who already have one fitted and maintained, particularly where multiple trades will attend. · Ask us to confirm current availability

Alarm systems

Handled separately from every other credential, and never written into ordinary records.

How it works

Alarm codes are held apart from property records, at a higher restriction than keys or lockbox codes
A code is released only to the person attending a specific visit
Codes never appear in visit reports, notifications, emails or general records
Your monitoring provider should be told who is authorised to attend, by name, before the first visit
Where the panel supports it, a distinct user code per attendee means the panel log shows who disarmed it

What it costs you

We do not monitor alarms and are not an alarm response service
A triggered alarm is a matter for your monitoring provider and, where appropriate, police

Best for: Any property with a monitored system — this is arrangement, not an option.

The one most owners end up choosing

A professional lockbox, managed properly.

Not a hardware-store combination box screwed to the front door. A commercial-grade box, positioned where it does not advertise itself, holding a single key cut for one door, on a code that is issued per engagement and rotated on a schedule.

The reason it wins is not security theatre — it is revocability. When a plumber needs to get in on a Tuesday, nobody hands over a permanent key. When the engagement ends, one code changes instead of a locksmith re-keying the house. And nothing about it stops working because a battery died at −30 °C.

This describes how a lockbox arrangement should be run. Ask us to confirm what is currently available for your property before you plan around it.

Code handling

The discipline is the whole product

A lockbox with a code that never changes is a permanent key bolted to the outside of your house. What makes it safe is the policy around it, which is why the policy is published here rather than described as “secure”.

Code issued per engagement, not per company
Held separately from ordinary property records
Released only to the person attending a specific visit
Rotated on a schedule, and immediately on any change
Never printed in a report, notification or email
Box removed and code retired when the arrangement ends

Discretion

The service should not be the thing that announces the vacancy.

The most effective security measure available to an empty house is not looking empty. A branded vehicle outside the same property every Tuesday undoes that in one visit.

Ask us about this

The visit should not advertise the vacancy

A branded vehicle parked outside the same house every Tuesday tells a street that nobody lives there and that the owner is far enough away to have hired someone. That is the exact signal the rest of the service exists to remove. Attendance is deliberately unremarkable.

Identifiable to you, not to the street

Discretion is not anonymity. A representative can identify themselves immediately to you, to a neighbour who asks, or to an attending officer, and you always know in advance who is coming. What is avoided is signage that broadcasts the property's status to people who did not ask.

Your absence is not discussed

Not with neighbours, not with contractors beyond what a job requires, not with anyone. A trade attending a leak needs the address, the access arrangement for that appointment and the relevant photographs. They do not need your travel dates or where you are.

Photographs of your home stay yours

Interior photographs are collected to document condition and used for that alone. They are never published, never used in marketing, and never shown to anyone without your specific written consent. Where a contractor needs to see an image to quote, they see that image and no others.

Mail is not read

Ever. It is collected, brought inside and placed where you asked. Envelope exteriors are photographed only where you have specifically requested it, and those images go to you and nowhere else — never into an SMS notification or a general report.

Access credentials are compartmentalised

Alarm codes, lockbox codes and key locations are held apart from ordinary property records, released only for a specific attendance, and never printed in a report or a notification. Somebody reading your visit reports learns nothing about how to get in.

Estate and family situations are handled quietly

A property in an estate is frequently a subject the family has not finished discussing. Attendance is unobtrusive, nothing is disclosed to anyone but the executor and those they authorise, and there is no sales process attached to a bereavement.

Discretion and identification are not opposites

These two commitments look like they conflict, so it is worth stating how they resolve. A representative can identify themselves immediately — to you, to a neighbour who asks, or to an attending officer — and you always know in advance who is coming to your property and when.

What is avoided is signage. Nobody driving past needs to learn from a vehicle that this particular house is empty and that its owner is far enough away to have hired someone to look at it. The specific operational commitments behind this are not yet published — ask, and expect a straight answer.

What access does not make us

Not a security company, patrol service or alarm monitoring provider.
Not a locksmith — re-keying and lock installation go to a licensed one.
Not able to grant access to anyone you have not authorised in writing.
Not a keyholder for law enforcement or emergency services on your behalf unless you have specifically arranged it.

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Not sure which access arrangement suits the property?

Tell us about it and we will say which of the four we would recommend, and why.

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