How to take someone off the buzzer
How you take somebody off the buzzer depends on what the lobby panel stores. If it stores their personal number, only whoever manages the panel can change it, so you send the building a written request. If it stores a number belonging to the apartment, such as a BuzzMeBro number, you remove their phone yourself and the buzzer stops ringing it without the building being involved.
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A housemate moved out, a relationship ended, or a subletter finished. Whatever the reason, somebody can currently answer your buzzer and open the building door, and should not be able to.
First, find out what the panel actually holds
Ask property management what number is recorded against your unit, or go to the lobby, enter your own unit code and see whose phone rings. A visitor at the panel cannot read the stored number, but whoever manages the panel can look it up with the master code.
That answer decides which route you are on. How to work it out yourself.
Route one: their number is in the panel
Only the building can change it, so put it in writing. Keep it short and specific:
Describe it as access, because that is what it is: whoever the panel rings can press the door digit and release the lobby door. The full request, step by step.
Route two: an apartment number is in the panel
Then removing somebody is a change to which phones the apartment number rings, and it is yours to make. The lobby panel is untouched, and the building does not need to be asked.
With BuzzMeBro, you remove their phone from the apartment and the buzzer stops ringing it. Any guest codes or guest passes they created are cancelled with it, and everyone still on the apartment gets a text saying who removed a phone. How the list works.
| Their number in the panel | Apartment number in the panel | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can remove them | Whoever manages the panel | Anyone on the apartment list |
| How long | Depends on the building | As soon as you remove the phone |
| Written request needed | Yes | No |
| Keys and fobs | Separate request | Separate request |
Keys, fobs and locks
Taking somebody off the buzzer does nothing about a key or a fob they still hold. Ask the building to deactivate the fob in the same message. If they kept a key to the unit, talk to your landlord about the lock.
In Ontario, the Residential Tenancies Act says a tenant must not alter the locking system on a door into the unit or the building without the landlord’s consent (section 35). This is general information, not legal advice; other provinces have their own rules.
Decide what replaces it
If you are already writing to the building, this is the moment to stop it happening again. Putting another individual number in the field means another request the next time somebody leaves.
A number belonging to the apartment, ringing up to 4 phones for $9.99 a month, makes every future removal something you do yourself. What to send the building.
From our own door
- BuzzMeBro has run on our founder’s own Toronto apartment door since August 2026.
- On our service, whoever answers a buzz hears a short spoken prompt and then presses the door digit to open. So every phone on the list can open the building door.
- Switching the panel to our number means the building updates one stored number for the unit and nothing else, and pointing it back at the old number undoes it the same day.
Questions people ask
Can I remove somebody without telling them?
With BuzzMeBro, everyone still on the apartment gets a text naming who removed a phone. That is deliberate: a silent change to who can open the door would make a shared list impossible to trust. Whether to tell the person who was removed is your call.
How fast will the building act?
It depends on the building. Put it in writing, say it is a building access change, and say if there is a safety reason, rather than describing missed deliveries.
Does removing them change the number on the buzzer?
Not if the panel holds an apartment number. The stored number stays exactly as it is and only the phones behind it change, which is why the building never has to hear about it.
They still have a key or a fob. Does this help?
No. Keys and fobs are a separate system, and removing a phone from the buzzer does nothing to them. Ask the building to deactivate the fob. In Ontario, a tenant must not change the locks without the landlord’s consent, so ask your landlord about the lock.
What if the building will not act?
Put it in writing and keep a copy. In Ontario, the Landlord and Tenant Board is the official body for disputes between tenants and landlords.