Site Key and Access Handover Checklist

Walk the property and list every door, gate, window lock, garage, shed, outbuilding and meter cupboard that has a key or a code.

The list is usually longer than expected, and the forgotten entries tend to be the side gate and the meter cupboard.

Note which locks share a key and which are different, since one key often opens more of the property than the owner realises.

Handing over a single key can quietly give access to a garage, a side gate and a back door as well as the front.

Record which entry points will actually be used during the work, and which are meant to stay closed throughout.

Being explicit about the unused entrances is what allows anything to be checked later.

Note any entry point that is currently unlocked, propped, painted shut, broken or only closed out of habit.

Ask a qualified locksmith or security professional about any lock or entry point that no longer works before the property is left in others' use.

List the internal doors that lock, including a cupboard, a study, a loft hatch or any room being kept out of the work entirely.

Internal locks are how areas are genuinely kept out of the work, rather than by agreement alone.

Record where the key is kept for anything that would matter in an emergency, such as a window lock, a side gate or a garden exit.

Keys moved for the works are frequently the ones needed in a hurry, and nobody remembers where they went.

Ask who will actually need to enter the property, and whether that means one responsible person or everyone who works there.

The answer differs enormously between arrangements, and it is far easier to establish at the start than to change later.

Agree that keys are held by named individuals rather than left with whoever happens to be at the property that day.

A key attached to a name can be asked about; a key attached to nobody cannot be traced at all.

Ask how people attending on a single occasion are dealt with, such as a delivery, a meter reading or a specialist visit.

One-off visits are where keys get lent informally, which is how a controlled arrangement quietly stops being controlled.

Note which parts of the property nobody needs to enter at all, and agree that those are locked and remain locked.

Storing belongings in a locked room only works if everyone knows it is out of the arrangement.

Decide whether anyone in your household or a trusted neighbour holds a key as a backup, and tell them what the arrangement is.

A backup holder who has not been briefed will either refuse access or give it to the wrong person.

Record what happens if the person holding the key is unavailable, since work usually stops entirely at that point.

A single key holder is a single point of failure, and the fallback is worth agreeing before it is tested.

Write down every key that exists, which lock it opens and who holds it, before any of them is handed over to anyone.

The register only works if it starts complete, and the starting point is the one moment you have full information.

Record the date each key was handed over and to whom, and ask for that to be acknowledged in writing rather than in conversation.

Written acknowledgement removes any later doubt about how many keys went out and to which person.

Note how many copies exist and agree that no further copies are cut without telling you first.

Copies cut for convenience during the work are the ones never returned, because nobody knew they existed.

Agree that a lost key is reported to you immediately rather than quietly replaced by whoever lost it.

If a key is lost, ask a qualified locksmith or security professional what should be done. Nothing here judges what any situation requires.

Keep the register with your project papers and update it every time a key changes hands rather than trying to reconstruct it later.

Reconstruction at the end is where most arrangements discover keys they cannot account for.

Note which keys you have kept back for yourself, and check that you can still get into the property with them.

Owners regularly hand over the only working key and keep the one that has never turned properly.

Ask what happens to the alarm during the work, and who is responsible for setting it when the property is left empty.

An alarm that nobody has been made responsible for is simply an alarm that is never set.

Decide whether to issue a separate code that can be changed afterwards rather than sharing the code the household normally uses.

A separate code can be withdrawn at the end without disrupting anything the household relies on.

Record who the alarm calls if it activates, and make sure that person knows work is under way and who is expected at the property.

An alarm response that nobody has warned produces a false alarm and, occasionally, a very awkward confrontation.

Note whether any camera or doorbell system records people arriving, and tell those working at the property that it exists.

Recording people while they work carries obligations that vary locally. Take advice from a qualified adviser about what applies to you.

Ask what happens if the alarm or entry system has to be isolated for the work, and who arranges that isolation.

Isolating an alarm or entry system is a matter for the relevant installer or a qualified professional and not for anyone else on the property.

Note where the alarm panel and any control sit, and whether they are inside an area that will be worked on or covered by protection.

A panel behind sheeting is a panel nobody uses, which undoes the arrangement without anyone deciding to.

Decide whether a key safe is being used, where it is positioned, and exactly who is given the code to it.

Position matters as much as the code, since a safe in plain view invites attention regardless of what is in it.

Agree that the key safe code is changed whenever the arrangement changes, and record when it was last changed.

Codes shared once tend to persist for years, long after the people who used them have moved on.

Avoid leaving a key in an agreed hiding place, and note that such arrangements become known to more people as the work goes on.

Hidden key arrangements are convenient at the start and are the first thing everybody forgets to end.

Record how the property is secured when the last person leaves, and who is responsible for confirming that it was done.

Securing a property with several people on it is a task that belongs to somebody specific or to nobody at all.

Ask what happens if somebody needs to return to the property after everyone else has left for the day.

Late returns are common near the end of a stage, and they are where informal access arrangements appear.

Note whether a key is ever to be left with a neighbour, and confirm that they are willing rather than assuming they will not mind.

Neighbours asked properly usually agree; neighbours volunteered without being asked usually resent it.

Decide whether the household lets people in each day or whether keys are held, and be realistic about who is actually at home.

Arrangements built around somebody being home rarely survive the first appointment or school run.

Agree the hours during which people may enter the property, and what happens if somebody arrives outside them.

Arrivals before a household is dressed and awake cause friction quickly, and an agreed starting hour removes the question entirely.

Note which internal areas remain private, and agree how that is respected while the household is out for the day.

Being explicit about private areas is far more comfortable at the start than raising it after something has been moved.

Record how the property is left secure if the household goes away while the work continues in their absence.

An arrangement that depends on somebody being home has to be replaced deliberately, not simply suspended.

Ask how people identify themselves at the door, particularly where several different trades attend the same property.

Households answering the door to unfamiliar people all day need a way to tell who is expected.

Note where any pets are kept, and agree who is responsible for making sure doors and gates are not left standing open.

A gate left standing open matters enormously in a household with animals, and it has a straightforward owner-side answer.

Agree at the outset that every key and code is returned when the work ends, and note how many are outstanding at any time.

An expectation set at the start is honoured far more often than a request made once everyone has moved on.

Check each returned key against your register rather than accepting a handful and assuming that is all of them.

Counting against the register is the only way to know whether anything is still out there.

Decide whether locks will be changed once the work ends, and ask a qualified locksmith what that would involve for your particular locks.

Whether locks should be changed and how depends on the locks and the situation. Ask a qualified locksmith rather than deciding from a checklist.

Change any temporary alarm code, key safe code or entry code once access is no longer needed, and record that you have done it.

Codes left unchanged are an easy loose end to miss, because unlike keys there is nothing physical to count back in.

Walk the property and check that every window lock, gate, outbuilding and internal lock still works before the arrangement is closed.

If anything no longer locks properly, ask a qualified professional to look at it rather than leaving it until it matters.

Record the date access ended and keep the completed register with your other project papers.

A closed register is what lets you answer a question about access long after everyone involved has gone.