USPS releases final rule on mailboxes

Journal of Property Management, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Amanda Druckman

The United States Postal Service (USPS) regulates wall-mounted mailboxes used for central delivery by a postal worker who sorts mail into boxes on-site, in buildings such as apartments, condominiums and some offices. The Institute participated in a stakeholders' Consensus Committee convened by the USPS to revise the federal apartment mailbox standard. The new standard is designed to accommodate growing mail volume and improve safety and security.

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The final rule is a victory for commercial and multifamily property owners: the new standard is only required in new construction and cases of substantial rehabilitation. Building owners are encouraged to replace existing boxes at the end of their useful life with mailboxes meeting the new standard, but there is no retrofit requirement. The Institute had argued requiring existing buildings to accommodate the new standard would be very costly, and in some cases untenable due to space constraints. Existing buildings that replace boxes are only required to meet a new security standard whereby the boxes are constructed with stronger locking mechanisms. For new construction, the standard enlarges the size of mailboxes by about 50 percent and requires parcel lockers at a ratio of one for every 10 units. The new rules went into effect in October, however owners have until October 4, 2006 to comply.