A Complete Guide to the Safest Types of Mailboxes

Even though most business, personal, and other exchanges take place either online or in the digital world, there’s still a place for physical mail. However, just like digital communications, actual mail can be subject to various security failures, leading to everything from stolen packages to stolen identities. To ensure your tenants receive their mail intact and unmolested, it’s wise to invest in highly secure mailboxes. Here’s a complete guide to the safest types of mailboxes to help you find and select the best boxes for the job!

Key Features To Look for in Secure Multi-Tenant Mailboxes

While many of the following qualities of multi-tenant mailboxes might be obvious, it’s worth underlining their value here.

Durability

Clearly you want mailboxes to be tough, strong, and ready to take a beating. Look for mailboxes built with heavy-duty materials like stainless steel or aluminum. Metal might dissuade the casual thief from even attempting to break in, versus a more vulnerable-looking plastic or wooden mailbox. Choose mailboxes that are robustly constructed as well, featuring reinforced doors and frames, inner hinges, and other components that can flummox crowbars, hammers, and assorted tools.

Proper Locks

Unlike the traditional mailbox mounted on a post at the end of a driveway or attached to a house, multi-tenant mailboxes are necessarily equipped with locks. Choose security locks that are resistant to drills, picks, and other tools. Digital locks provide even greater security since they require an app or electronic signal to open, versus a physical key.

Tamper Resistance

We’ve mentioned a few means to discourage tampering, but there are other methods available to show if or when a box has been bothered. Tamper seals reveal if someone has tried to open a box with authorization or permission, for instance. Tamper-proof bolts also make it even trickier for a thief to break into a box.

Accessibility

A meaningful element of security involves making the box more accessible to differently abled tenants. Picking a design that allows them to easily and safely access mail makes them less of a target for thieves and others. Accessibility extends to postal carriers as well. If the box allows them to deliver the mail without exposure, that makes for greater safety for them and the mail.

Lockers and Package Rooms

Mail delivery has seen a huge resurgence over the past two decades. Between Amazon and other delivery companies, thieves now know that certain boxes promise easy pickings. You’ll want boxes that feature compartments where carriers and delivery people can stow packages, where they’ll stay safe until tenants pick them up. Oversized compartments can accommodate bigger packages, obviously, but consider offering tenants the option to have their packages stored in a holding room until later.

A Bevy of Boxes

Multi-tenant mailboxes come in all shapes and sizes, and with very specific benefits. Here’s a sampling of the sort of boxes available to you and their specific safety features.

Cluster Box Units

A mailbox cluster, also known as cluster box units, are a popular choice for multi-tenant buildings and other properties. They are free-standing structures that contain multiple compartments and keep the mail safe from weather as well as criminals. They’re built tough and durable, usually made of aluminum or steel. Locks are high-security models, and the boxes themselves include a dozen or so compartments and usually a few parcel lockers for good measure. Easily installed and USPS-approved, cluster mailbox units are the go-to for many landlords and property owners.

Vertical Mailboxes

While cluster mailboxes are often stationed outdoors, near or on the property, vertical mailboxes are usually installed indoors. You’ll find them in apartment or office building lobbies or other common areas, inset into the wall. As the name suggests, these mailboxes have vertical dimensions and are “stacked” side by side. Truthfully, vertical mailboxes are becoming less common, but they’re usually the norm in older multi-tenant buildings. As with cluster boxes, they’re frequently made of metal and are tamper resistant. They also feature secure locks and doors that resist picking and prying as well. They can save space in a smaller area and are usually customizable.

Horizontal Mailboxes

You guessed it—where vertical mailboxes are tall, horizontal mailboxes are wide. Also known as 4C mailboxes, these flat boxes are a more modern and popular design, avoiding the cramped interiors of vertical mailboxes. Most often made of heavy-gauge aluminum, they’re sturdy and weather resistant (though more likely found inside than outside) and have tough, high-security locks that resist tampering. Horizontal mailboxes are often lower to the ground and meet ADA requirements for differently abled tenants. They also allow for more boxes to fit within a limited area.

Keeping the Mail Safe

No matter what kind of box you get for your property, it’s wise to enact the following best practices for mail security. Stay vigilant and protect your tenants and their mail!

Regular Inspections

Periodically investigate the state and quality of your mailbox units. Look for wear and tear that thieves can turn to their advantage and seek out evidence of attempted break-ins and vandalism. Address any issues immediately to prevent future tapering or thievery.

Make Repairs

Your mailbox may seem solid as a rock and just as strong, but like any device, it can wear out. A dozen or more doors and locks also mean the likelihood of a dozen or more repairs in the future. Stay on top of any damage or parts that seem to be on their last legs and replace them immediately, before tenants have a chance to complain.

Inform Your Tenants

Protecting mail is a group effort. Let your tenants know you’re serious about mail security and that you need them to report any issues or unusual activity they notice. Share a set of security protocols with them, including keeping their keys or passwords private and watching for suspicious individuals and circumstances signaling danger.

Increase Surveillance

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to install security lights and cameras around the mailboxes. Thieves won’t strike if they suspect they’re being monitored and recorded. Tenants will feel safer too when they know these measures are in place.

That’s a complete guide to the safest types of mailboxes, in addition to a few tips for increasing mail safety and security around your building. Increase the value of your property by increasing tenants’ trust in you to look after them and their mail!