Letting a cleaner into your building
Access for a cleaner is often arranged through a company rather than an individual, so a key or code you provide is held by an organisation whose staff change. Many buildings have a sanctioned route for service providers, which is worth asking about first. Buzzing the cleaner in yourself avoids handing over anything, provided the buzz reaches a phone somebody answers.
Live with others? BuzzMeBro puts more than one of you on the buzzer. First month free. Start free
Cleaning is booked in a slot, often on a weekday, in an empty apartment. The entry question is the whole logistics problem, and it tends to be settled in a rushed message the night before.
The part people miss about agencies
When you book through a company, your arrangement is with the company. The person at your door is assigned, and assignments change with illness, holidays and staff turnover.
So a key given to a cleaner you liked in March is, by November, a key held by a business you have never visited. That is not a reason to distrust them. It is a reason to be clear about what you are actually handing over, and to ask what happens to it when staff leave.
What to ask your building for
Ask management in writing whether they have a route for service providers. The usual answers:
- A service provider register, where the company is recorded and staff sign in at a desk.
- A key held at the desk, released against a signature each visit.
- A visitor list you can add a name to for a specific day.
- Nothing, which is common in smaller buildings and converted houses with no desk.
A short message is enough: "I have a cleaner from [company] every second Tuesday, 10 to 1. Is there a sign-in or key-holding arrangement for service providers, or should I let them in myself?" What entry looks like in a converted house.
Comparing the arrangements
| Arrangement | After six months |
|---|---|
| Key to the company | Held by an organisation, copied or not, you cannot tell |
| Building entry code | Known to everyone who has worked your booking, and not yours to share |
| Key at the desk | Traceable, and only as good as the desk hours |
| You buzz them in | Nothing exists to expire, revoke or chase |
An entry code is a building setting. On a Mircom TX3 panel, for example, a keyless code lets residents open the main door without a key, and it is separate from the dial code that calls you. Handing it out moves a decision about every unit onto you. Propping the door is not an option either: in Toronto, the property standards bylaw says a shared entrance door must be kept closed and locked, and not held open except in an emergency. The same problem with a dog walker.
Why buzzing them in fails anyway
Cleaning happens in daytime, which is when the one phone stored in the lobby panel is likely to be at work and on silent.
The arrangement is not wrong. The buzz simply never reaches anybody who can act on it. Whoever answers should still know it is the cleaner before pressing the door digit. Why the panel only holds one number.
BuzzMeBro gives the apartment its own local number, and a buzz on it rings up to 4 phones together for $9.99 a month. Whoever is reachable answers, checks who it is, and opens the door, and nothing has to be handed over. Start free.
From our own door
- BuzzMeBro has run on our founder’s own Toronto apartment door since August 2026.
- A buzz calls the phones on the apartment that are set to ring, at the same time, up to 4, so the cleaner reaches whoever is free rather than one person at work.
- The person who answers hears a short spoken prompt, then presses the door digit (9, or the building’s own digit) to open.
Questions people ask
Should I give my cleaner a key?
It is a common arrangement and it can work, as long as you are clear that you are giving it to a company. Ask what happens to it when staff leave, and check your lease and insurance first.
Can my building hold a key for the cleaner?
Many will, released against a signature. It is the best of the handover options because it is logged, and the worst if the desk is closed at cleaning time.
Is a door code acceptable for a regular cleaner?
Usually not. A building entry code protects every unit rather than yours alone, and many buildings forbid sharing it. Check your lease and building rules before you do.
What if I work from home some days?
Then buzzing them in costs nothing on those days. The difficulty is the days you are out, which is the gap a buzz reaching several phones covers.
What is the arrangement with the least admin?
Answering the buzz, because there is nothing to issue, retrieve or change. BuzzMeBro makes that practical by ringing the roommates who are set to ring, up to 4 phones at once, instead of one.
Sources
- Government of Ontario, Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17
- Mircom, TX3 Telephone Access System User Guide: Keypad Configuration
- City of Toronto, Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 629, Property Standards