How should our condo association keep owners' unit keys on file?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 26, 2026

How a condo board runs a unit key program: owner consent forms, a locked key box and log, when the board may enter, rekeying after a sale, and owners who say no.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Keep unit keys only with the owner's signed consent, in a locked box that one or two named people control, tagged with codes instead of unit numbers, and with a written log of every time a key leaves the box. Use a key to stop water, fire or another real emergency, or for repairs you have already noticed to the owner. Never use one for convenience, for an inspection the owner hasn't been told about, or to check on a person. When a unit sells or the owner changes the locks, collect a new key or mark the old one void the same week. The board's right to enter comes from state law and your declaration, not from holding a key, so this guide treats the key program as a tool for using that right quickly and with a record. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents. This is general education, not legal advice.

What the law gives the board, and what it leaves out

Texas, Florida and Colorado all give condo associations a right of access, and none of them says an owner must hand over a key. In Texas, Property Code section 82.107(a) requires each owner to give the association access through the unit when reasonably necessary for maintenance, repair and replacement. Section 82.107(d) lets the association enter after notice to the owner and occupant to stop waste of water the association pays for, or to make repairs that would otherwise lead to more water damage. Section 82.102(a)(16) adds entry for bona fide emergencies when conditions present an imminent risk of harm or damage to the common elements, another unit or the occupants. Florida section 718.111(5)(a) gives the association an irrevocable right of access during reasonable hours when necessary to maintain, repair or replace common elements, or to prevent damage to the common elements or a unit. Section 718.111(5)(b) adds a separate right to enter an abandoned unit, with 2 days' mailed or hand-delivered notice except in an emergency. Colorado section 38-33.3-307(1) mirrors the Texas access duty. Whether the board can require owners to give it a key is a question for your declaration and rules. Many boards keep the program voluntary and ask owners who decline to name a local contact instead.

The consent form

One page, signed by every owner on the deed, kept with the owner's file. It should list the unit, the number of keys given and what they open (unit door, storage closet, mailbox if the association handles mail), the alarm code or a note that there is no alarm, pets inside, and the owner's phone and email. It should also name a local emergency contact. Then the terms, in plain words the owner can quote back to you. Wording you can adapt: 'I give the association a key to my unit. The association may use it to enter in an emergency that threatens people, my unit, other units or the common elements, and for maintenance or repairs the declaration or state law allows after notice to me. The association will try to reach me before any entry, will send at least two people, and will tell me in writing within 24 hours who entered, when and why. I will give the association a new key within 7 days of changing my locks. I may withdraw this consent in writing at any time.' Have the board approve the form by motion so every owner gets the same terms.

Storing the keys

Buy a steel key cabinet with a lock and mount it somewhere only the key holders can reach, such as a locked utility room or a director's home safe if the association has no office. Never use a hook board in a clubhouse or a lockbox on the front door. Tag each key with a code, not a unit number, so a lost key or a stolen cabinet doesn't tell anyone which door it opens. Keep the code list separate from the cabinet, in the association's records, with a copy held by a second director. Name two key holders by board motion, usually the president and the director who handles maintenance, and change the names on the record when either leaves the board. Once a year, count the keys against the code list and the signed forms, and pull any key without a current form. A key cabinet with 40 keys and 31 forms is a liability, not an asset.

Rules for using a key

Write these down and follow them every time, emergency or not. Call and text the owner first, and the emergency contact second. Two people go in, never one, and one of them should be a director or the association's manager rather than a vendor alone. Take photos on the way in and on the way out. Touch only what the problem requires: shut the valve, open the access panel, let the plumber work, and leave. Lock up and return the key to the cabinet the same day. Fill in the log: date, time out and in, unit code, who entered, the reason and what was done. Then write to the owner. A notice you can adapt: 'On [date] at [time], [names] entered your unit using the key you left with the association, because [water was coming through the ceiling of unit 104]. We [closed the shutoff under your kitchen sink] and a plumber [replaced the supply line]. Photos are attached. Nothing else was moved or opened. Please call [director] at [number] with any questions.' Our guide on handling a water leak from common elements into a condo unit covers the repair and insurance steps that usually follow.

Sales, tenants and lock changes

Most key programs go stale through turnover. Put a line on your resale checklist: when a unit closes, return the old key to the seller or destroy it in front of a second director, and send the new owner a blank consent form with the welcome letter. A new owner who rekeys, as most buyers should, needs to know the association no longer has a working key. When an owner rents the unit, the owner's consent still governs, but the tenant is the occupant you will meet at the door. Ask the owner to tell the tenant about the key program in writing, and send entry notices to both. Texas section 82.107(d) already requires notice to the owner and the occupant for its water entries. If an owner tells you they changed the locks and hasn't brought a new key, mark the old key void on the code list and keep it out of the cabinet. A key that doesn't fit wastes time you won't have during a leak.

When an owner says no

Some owners won't give a key, and in a voluntary program that is their right. Ask for a local emergency contact who can open the unit within an hour or two, and record it. Explain the trade-off in writing, once, without pressure: if water is coming from their unit and nobody can open the door, the association still has its emergency right of entry, and that may mean a locksmith or a forced door, with the cost and the damage handled under your declaration. Florida section 718.1265(1)(k) lets the board contract, during a declared state of emergency, for work owners would normally do themselves, such as drying a unit, and charge it back to the owner with the association's lien rights. Don't threaten fines over a key unless your declaration or a properly adopted rule clearly requires one. If the board wants to make keys mandatory, have the association's attorney review the declaration first.

A sample setup timeline

Month 1: the board approves the consent form, the entry rules and the two key holders by motion, and buys the cabinet. Month 2: send every owner the form with a cover letter explaining why the program exists and what it is not. Month 3: collect keys at a set time, such as two Saturday mornings at the clubhouse, and log each one as it comes in. After that: rekey checks at every sale, a reminder in the annual meeting packet, and the yearly count. A motion to adapt: 'The board adopts the attached unit key policy and consent form, names [president] and [maintenance director] as key holders, and directs that unit keys be stored in the locked cabinet in [location], used only as the policy allows, and logged on every use.' Our guide on handling a welfare concern about an elderly owner explains why a key on file is not a reason to go in and check on someone.

Mistakes boards make

Labeling keys with unit numbers. Letting the landscaper or the pest control company sign keys out. Entering for a scheduled inspection without the notice the declaration requires because, after all, the board had a key. Leaving keys with a director who moved off the board two years ago. Skipping the log in a real emergency and having no record when the owner later says a ring went missing. Keeping keys for units that sold three times since the form was signed. Every one of these turns a helpful service into the board's own liability.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

More on living with an hoa

Or browse all living with an hoa guides.