How you receive your mail may not be at the top of your list of things to think about when you are considering when buying a new home.
If you are a senior citizen, handicapped or simply don’t feel like walking (or driving) up to a block away every day to fetch your mail, however, it is something that you might want to move up the list.
Under pressure to cut costs wherever possible, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is now requiring builders and developers to purchase and install kiosks holding a cluster of individual mail boxes.
Why the Move to Community Mailboxes?
By delivering mail to kiosks, instead of door-to-door or even individual street-side mailboxes, the postal service is saving money on gasoline and wear-and-tear on USPS vehicles. And because letter carriers can deliver to more mailboxes when they are clustered – or fewer carriers are needed to deliver the same amount of mail – it’s saving money on salaries, too.
According to the USPS, at roughly $30 billion annually, delivering mail is the largest single fixed-cost the service incurs. Put another way, door-to-door delivery costs about $353 a year per address, while curbside delivery runs $224. Cluster boxes cut the cost to $160 per address annually.
There are other good reasons to deliver to cluster boxes. One is security. With mail safely tucked away in locked boxes, there is far less chance that identity thieves will be able to snatch your letters, bills and checks.
At the same time, though, requiring builders to supply the cluster boxes adds another layer of cost to their homes, not to mention the inconvenience it can place on homebuyers.
The Post Office defines cluster units as free-standing, pedestal mounted metal mailboxes containing eight, 12, 13 or 16 individually locked mailboxes and parcel compartments. Each box can cost $1,000 or more, depending on the style and size.
Beyond that, developers are free to individualize the installations. In climates where intemperate weather is a factor, builders sometimes decide to spiff up their kiosks with overhead roofs and lighting, making them resemble covered bus stops, but that adds an even greater cost factor. In some instances, they put the centralized units in customized buildings that blend in with the community decor.
Cluster boxes have been the norm in most attached townhouse communities for years. But builders usually have been able to stop local postal officials from switching to them in communities where the single-family homes are detached, according to Claire Worshtil, senior program manager for land use at the National Association of Home Builders.
The momentum, though, changed in 2012, says Worshtil. Under siege from the Internet and other, less expensive competitors, the Postal Service revised its operations manual to make cluster boxes the default for new residential development, even in those large lot subdivisions were houses can be acres apart.
Builders in some places around the country – Oregon is one that comes to mind – have been dealing with cluster boxes for years and have come to accept them. But in other places such as North Carolina and Florida, builders are finding them a tough requirement to swallow. Ditto for those in infill sites, where the neighboring older homes still have their mail delivered to their doors.
Under pressure to cut costs wherever possible, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is now requiring builders and developers to purchase and install kiosks holding a cluster of individual mail boxes.In North Carolina, according to Tim Minton, director of government affairs for the North Carolina Home Builders Association, the USPS failed to notify both builders and the local building authorities that it was no longer going to deliver to individual houses. Moreover, it wouldn’t grant a waiver to subdivisions that were already approved but weren’t started until the housing downturn had turned upward.
Consequently, some projects that were cleared three or four years ago found out mid-stream that cluster boxes were required. In many cases, says Minton, there wasn’t any place to put them. And in other instances, mail is delivered in half of the subdivision and developers have to put in cluster boxes for the homes in the other half.
Some builders spent $60,000 to $70,000 to put in boxes they were not counting on when they started, Minton says. But the postal service held firm. “I feel worse for our home buyers. They expected their mail to be delivered to their homes, but that’s not going to be the case.”
Who is Responsible for Cluster Mailboxes?
The quick answer? The people who live in the community.
A recent study by Gallup on behalf the USPS Inspector General’s office found door-to-door or curb delivery is not going to die hard among homeowners, who place a high value on maintaining the status quo. The situation even prompted Syndicated Columnist Bob Greene to wax poetic on the topic on CNN:
“It’s hardly wild speculation to predict that people will not relish having to go out into the weather every time they want to retrieve their mail. Some won’t trust the security of the group mailboxes, no matter how many assurances they receive. They’ll be especially vexed on rainy or snowy days when they make the trip to the cluster boxes, only to find that the carrier hasn’t arrived yet. For those accustomed to door-to-door mail service, the act of picking up and sorting through the mail in front of other people may feel less private.”
Individual owners can’t fight city hall on this one and neither can home owner associations. Only builders can take up the fight and only with local postmasters, who have been given the authority to veer from the dictum from headquarters in Washington. But that’s proven to be difficult, as builders in the Tar Heel State found out.
Even the North Carolina League of Municipalities has failed to sway the local postmasters that the “requirement has caused significant difficulties for developers, future buyers and local governments alike.”
Still, the NAHB recently offered its members a few guidelines to use to persuade their postmasters to back off. “Local Postal Service officials may conclude that cluster boxes aren’t worth the savings,” says Worshtil. “Pointing out these issues may help them along”:
Postal rules require that cluster boxes must not require residents to walk more than one block to get their mail. But even that can be a hardship on folks in seniors-only communities or people with disabilities. Regular delivery is much less of a problem for this population.
Just because a development sets aside a common area for kiosks does not mean the boxes are secure or safe. Thieves can break into them almost as easily as they can flip open a curbside mailbox. Recently, bandits broke into boxes in dozens of California cities to snatch tax documents so they can file fake tax returns.
Foul weather such as snow or ice can make retrieving mail difficult, if not impossible, for anyone.
Some planned communities leave it up to their homeowners’ associations (HOAs) to maintain the cluster box areas, which mean annual assessments will be that much higher. But not all properties these days have HOAs, which begs the question, “Who’s responsible?”
If homeowners should lose their mail box key, they, not the Post Office, are responsible for replacing it. And if they can’t find their one and only duplicate with which to make a copy, they will have to replace the entire lock, a tricky job at best, especially for those without the proper tools.
Lew Sichelman is a nationally syndicated housing and real estate columnist. He has covered the real estate beat for more than 50 years.
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Laura Simpson
This is the worse thing that could happen to us! I have back issues and my husband has hip issues and it is hard for us to walk blocks to get our mail. This is crazy! If we have to pay for the boxes, Why can’t we just have a fee to deliver it to our mail boxes?
Sam
Why usps need closing disclosure paper for getting the mail key? (Too much information on it.)
Donna Beasley
Hi, I’ve been taking mail for my daughter and son in law who’ve moved. Home is not in an HOA and we live in Texas. Some of their mail comes to my home, some came to old address. That home is now sold and I have the keys to the box. I’ve seen keys left in the boxes but I don’t know if that is the best solution. Do I give the keys to the realtor? or leave them in the box. Also, extra mail gets returned to USPS? In spite of a forwarding card, it’s been 5 months and I’m still getting mail for them.
Jamie Garcia
Hi Donna,
Contact USPS for what to do with mail that is not yours, as well as where to turn in old mailbox keys.
Wally B
What are the rules if the package doesn’t fit in the small mailbox or medium sized parcel boxes near the cluster box? (Size of gift wrapping paper for example).
Jamie Garcia
Hi Wally,
You should contact your local USPS for specific mail-related questions.
Ann
Parcels that don’t fit in the parcel boxes must be brought to the front door of the addressee, or when that isn’t possible, taken back to the post office to be held for pickup.
With the greatly increasing number of parcels being delivered in the last several years (and even moreso in the last several months), there are often not enough parcel boxes in cluster mailbox units anymore, so even a lot of the normal-sized parcels are requiring door-to-door service. Which greatly reduces the supposed cost savings of cluster mailbox service.
Yeti
In this age of identity and financial theft, some feel the need to take extreme measures such as never using a real name for anything sent via USPS. It’s not illegal, but it can pose a problem in such an instance where a parcel is held at the post office and ID must be shown to retrieve it.
Suzi
We cannot locate our mailbox in any of the cluster mailboxes in our neighborhood. Who do we contact for help?
Jamie Garcia
Hi Suzi,
Reach out to USPS for any questions regarding your mail.
MA Freeman
I went to my mailbox today in my subdivision cluster mailbox and the key would not turn to open it. What should I do now?
Fred Hopkins
You should contact the post office that issued the key to you. They will likely be able to take care of it for you.
Evan
My cluster box is located on my property. I have 24 households that share my mailbox cluster. If someone is to fall and injure themselves am I liable. How to I request the cluster be moved off of my property.
Jamie Garcia
Hi Evan,
You should talk with your local post office or your HOA to discuss mailbox location and liabilities.
Viridiana Barron
In order to receive mail in the cluster boxes we have to pay for the boxes ? I’m renting and new to this so I am lost because I haven’t received mail.
Jamie Garcia
Hi Viridiana,
You should not have to pay to have a box. If you do not have a key to your box, you need to visit the post office assigned to your area (this may not necessarily be the post office that is physically closest to you). If you have a key and are not receiving your mail, you should be sure you set up your forwarding address correctly. You can set up mail forwarding to your new address on the USPS website. It will cost you about $1 to set up mail forwarding. If you would prefer not to pay the mail forwarding fee, you’ll need to be sure to give your new address to any and every institution that might have reason to send you mail. If you have done all of these things and are still not receiving mail, contact USPS to resolve the issue.
Rosemarie Tucker
Okay I just moved into a brand new subdivision that is not completed yet. We closed on our home the end of December of 2020. We knew up front that we would not have individual mailboxes at our homes but would have kiosks in a common area for the subdivision. It is now mid February and as of yet no one has had mail delivered or picked up. The developer installed a cluster of kiosks in one location approximately half a mile from our subdivision homes. They are just sitting there waiting for mail to be dropped off and picked up. We have reached out to the postmaster and to the HOA and the developer. The response that we have is that it’s everyone else’s responsibility but there’s. The postmaster in our local Town said that they will not start using the kiosks for any mail pickups or deliveries until a covered structure is built over the kiosks. When this subdivision is complete there will be approximately 400 homes. I know it’s only been a short time but it is very inconvenient to have to go to town in the opposite direction of where I work during the post office hours to pick up my mail and having to utilize another post office in another town that’s closer to where I work. We have paid our HOA dues for the year and this is very unfair to make those of us that are living in this new development weight for mail. Any help on how to resolve this would be grateful.
Jamie Garcia
Hi Rosemarie,
This is definitely an issue to bring up to your HOA again. It sounds like the HOA has yet to make the neighborhood mailboxes complicit with USPS rules. It may be a case of simply being persistent (though polite!) with your HOA until the issue is resolved.
ernessa claunch
I live in a subdivision, and I would love to have a clustered mailbox system. Right now ups and fedex will not deliver to my address because for some reason they are not able to find us in their gps system. So, I have to use the post offices physical address to receive my packages. Also, sometimes my packages get sent back. What can I do to get a kiosk in our area? Thanks
Jamie Garcia
Hi Ernessa,
You can talk to your HOA about the issue, or contact your local USPS.
Hannah
We live in a old neighborhood that has cluster boxes, no HOA. Someone jerk broke into our cluster box. (The whole thing.) We received a letter stating we are responsible. However our neighbors did not get any notice. I understand if we had a individual curbside mail box that was damaged, we would have to pay for it. I we own the box. BUT Why are we the only ones to get notified we would have to pay for the neighborhood mail box.
Getting 12 other families to help pay for a box is a bit much, since 50% are renters, who’s owners don’t care about the tenants mail.
If we pay the $3000 to replace the box can we charge rent until the box is paid off, to help recover the money we put into it?
Why is this cluster box a thing in neighborhoods without a HOA, or some sort of multifamily dwellings?
Jamie Garcia
Hi Hannah,
From whom did you receive a letter? The post office? Try contacting whomever sent it and explaining that you are not the sole owner of the cluster boxes. Technically, whoever owns the boxes is on the hook for paying for damages – and unless you personally had them installed, that doesn’t sound like it’s you.
Bethany
I recently bought a townhouse that uses cluster mail boxes at the entrance. Everyday when I get my mail it is completely soaked. I put in a ticked to the HOA company, but they are claiming they are not responsible for the issue. Am I allowed to weather proof just my mailbox? Who can I contact if this is not up to code?
Jamie Garcia
Hi Bethany,
You should contact your local post office before altering your mailbox in any way.
Terri
How do you send mail out when you have a cluster mailbox? I am sure the letter carrier is not going to open each box to check for outgoing mail. Does this mean I have to take any outgoing mail to the post office? What a pain!
Jamie Garcia
Hi Terri,
Cluster mailboxes often have a slot or even a couple of slots for outgoing letters and other thin envelopes. Just be sure you have correct postage on them. For larger packages, you will likely need to find a USPS drop box or visit your local USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. – the same as you would if you had a regular-sized mailbox in your yard.
Trisha S. Jones
The metal post on my street’s cluster mailbox has rusted and broken off after many years. A neighbor placed the actual box atop a wooden post to be helpful, but the box is now about a foot higher than the others throughout the neighborhood. Will the carrier refuse to deliver the mail if the height isn’t standard?
Jamie Garcia
Hi Trisha,
This is a question for your local USPS if you notice you are not receiving your mail.