Key lock box for cleaner - suggestions?

[AccioHappiness]

I've finally decided to have a cleaner help with my house as it was getting a bit too much for me to manage. I remember seeing a wall mounted safe/lock box online with an access code to hold keys. Are there any suggestions you might have for anything like this?

The cleaner will only be here fortnightly and I don't want to hand over a spare key for her to keep especially since both my husband and I are not home during the week.

Thanks!

It is called a keysafe and is usually used for elderly people for carers/ family to gain access in an emergency or if people cannot get to the door. I would be wary about getting one unless you can really trust your cleaner not to give the number to other people. Can you not leave the key with a neighbour on the day you have cleaning done so she can give it back when she has finished?

Thanks. None of my neighbours are at home during the day. I won't be leaving the key in there all the time. Only on the days she's due and I'll remove it from the safe that evening. At least that is what I am planning. I'd rather do that than give her a spare key to keep. I do trust her though. She comes highly recommended by a lot of people who use her services locally.

I've been considering a padlock one like this which has two sets of combinations, one to open the box and one to remove it from the doorknob (or whatever you've tethered it to). If it's only once a week you don't need a permanent keysafe.

Once a fortnight, sorry!

We have this police approved keysafe version keysafe

We used their installation service to ensure that it was fitted properly. It has been incredibly useful for teenagers that have forgotten their keys and for pet sitters. In my view, it is no more risky than giving a set of keys to your cleaner - you wouldn't give the code to someone you don't trust anymore than you would give keys to someone you don't trust. We change the code every few months or when we have a change of personnel. Make sure you check with your home insurer that they are happy with it - ours were fine but I wanted to be sure it wouldn't invalidate the insurance

I think if you don't trust her with a key, you don't trust her with a key...

However, we recently got an electronic lock (DH loves a gadget). I was completely sceptical at first, but actually it's brilliant. Everyone has a six digit code and there's an app so you can see who's come in and out.

Cleaner and dog walker have their own code, which we can turn on and off. DS has a code rather than a key to lose (which is a godsend because he loses everything). DMum turned up early the other week and I could unlock the door remotely. It's the best bit of tech ever and I have to post on MN about it because if I told DH I'd never hear the end of it

I bought my key safe from Homebase.. from memory it was about £36. Best money I ever spent.. this was after I locked myself out, no phone and dog left inside the house (I've since changed the doors so I can't technically be locked out). I went to a neighbour to use phone, they were out, went to another neighbour, they were out - repeat about 9 times... then went to the phone box to do a reverse call, phone box didn't even have a phone in it.. I just wandered about aimlessly thinking fuuuuuuckkkk.. what do I do now? Eventually I managed to contact someone 3 hours later who had a spare key and vowed never to be in that situation again. Whilst it's great that people have spare keys to your house, it doesn't help if you've got no transport, no phone, or money to call them. They key safe is in a secluded location with a pin code. Helpful for more than just the cleaner imho.

They are £20 on amazon

There are videos of how to break into some of them in under five minutes on YouTube. The really cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett where was the electronic lock from? Looking to get a whole new front door next year and I too love a gadget

Is it just her having key to come any time that's bothering you? Or she may lose them with somehow your name and address on? If you don't trust her then she could easily get copy made one day and come and go as she pleases. So having acess via key safe not going make difference if it's just trust factor.

I got a keybsafe for carers quite tricky to get into though imagine if you had a drill you could get into it.

Don't get a cheap one-time easy to break into, and can be next to impossible to change the code.
Police authorised ones seem ok, can be very useful. Not just to let others in when you're not there,; if you live alone, your door is locked, and you have a heart attack or accident so you can't get to door and open it, the emergency services will break in to get to you - now your house is not secure.

Lonny, please tell us more details of the electronic lock, thanks.

Those cheap Master key safes can be smashed open with a hammer in a very short space of time.

@TheThriftGuardian

Sorry, just saw your message. Ours is a schlage, connected to Alexa (of course!)

something like this

I am not a huge gadget fan, but love my lock!

Thank you for all the suggestions. The cleaner lives close by so I dropped my key off in the morning at hers and she left it at home after she was done. I think this routine should work for now. I'll definitely consider the key safe for the future.