How to give a delivery driver building access safely
Letting a driver in safely means opening the door yourself for that one visit, rather than handing over anything reusable. A door code, a fob or a propped door keeps working after the driver leaves, can be shared onward, and is often against building rules. Answering the buzz, and knowing who it is before you press the door digit, ends the moment the door shuts.
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The instinct is generous and understandable. You are tired of missed deliveries, the driver is standing outside, and a code takes four seconds to type.
The distinction that matters
Letting somebody in is a decision you make once, for one person, at one moment. Giving somebody access is a decision that keeps making itself after you have forgotten about it.
| Route | How long it lasts | Who else can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Answering the buzz | One visit | Nobody |
| A door code in an app note | Until the building changes it | Every future driver on that address |
| A key or fob left in a lockbox | Until you retrieve it | Anybody who finds the box |
| Propping the door | Until somebody closes it | Anyone walking past |
Why a door code never stays with one driver
A code typed into a delivery app is saved with your address. Amazon, for example, says the intercom number or security access code you put in your address book is applied to every future order to that address. Uber tells its drivers that customer delivery notes can include security codes. The code is shown to the next driver, and the one after that, none of whom you chose.
- Drivers change from order to order.
- Saved notes persist until you edit them, which is easy to forget.
- Codes get written down, photographed and passed between people.
- Many buildings forbid sharing entry codes. Check your lease and building rules.
The routes that are actually fine
- Answer the buzz, confirm it is your driver, and press the door digit. It costs nothing and ends when the door closes.
- Meet the driver downstairs when you know they are close.
- Use a parcel room, locker or concierge if your building has one.
- For a genuinely recurring visitor, ask the building for a proper arrangement rather than inventing one.
The fourth one matters for anybody with a cleaner or a dog walker. The recurring version of this problem.
Making the safe route the easy one
A code gets shared when answering the buzz keeps failing. The panel rings one number, that phone is at work, and the safe option stops being available.
Fix the buzz and the reason to share a code goes away. What the panel is doing.
BuzzMeBro gives the apartment its own local number that rings up to 4 phones at once for $9.99 a month. Whoever is home answers and presses the digit, so nothing reusable ever leaves the household. Start free.
From our own door
- BuzzMeBro has run on our founder’s own Toronto apartment door since August 2026.
- The person who answers a buzz hears a short spoken prompt, then presses the door digit (9, or the building’s own digit) to open. Nothing reusable is handed over.
- A buzz calls the phones on the apartment that are set to ring, at the same time, up to 4, so somebody at home can make the call on who comes in.
Questions people ask
Is it ever safe to give a driver the door code?
Not really, because the code is not yours alone. It protects every unit in the building, and sharing it moves a decision about everyone else onto you. Give the driver your buzzer code, which only calls you.
What about a lockbox for keys?
Ask management first, because a lockbox on building property needs their permission, and a box on a railing tells anybody passing that there is a key in it. For a recurring visitor, ask for a sanctioned arrangement.
Can I just prop the door for ten minutes?
No. In Toronto, the property standards bylaw says every shared entrance door must be kept closed and locked, with self-closing and self-locking hardware, and not held open except in an emergency. A propped door lets in anyone walking past, not only your driver.
The driver asked me for the code directly. Should I refuse?
You can decline without being rude. A driver asks because a code is faster. Offering to buzz them in straight away gives them the same result, one time only.
How do I make answering the buzz realistic?
By making sure the buzz reaches somebody. BuzzMeBro rings up to 4 phones together, so entry stays a decision somebody at home makes rather than a code left behind.