Trick or Treat

It’s October, and if there are any children in your building, you know they’re already planning on the best ways to get buckets of
Halloween candy. Are your residents prepared for the invasion? 

Trick-or-treating policies are a great way to keep children away from units where they’re not welcome. “What we have done in the past is send out a notice to all residents asking them if they wish to participate in the Halloween festivities,” says Jackie Monzon, president of Crystal Real Estate Management. They pick up a tag to put on their door to indicate that trick-or-treaters can call on them. A designated curfew helps everyone plan for the children’s arrival. “We then send a follow-up notice to all residents the same week of Halloween, letting everyone know the time window for trick-or-treaters,” adds Monzon. 

If your management company has not drafted a trick-or-treat policy, here are some ideas to help everything run smoothly:

• Have residents keep dogs and other pets away from the door during the trick-or-treating time frame. Larger dogs may scare children, and  smaller pets may take the opportunityto attempt an escape.

• Depending on the average age of the children in your building, the board can either put a cap on how old trick-or-treaters can be, or stagger the times when different age groups can visit.

• Ask staff to be alert, and consider hiring extra staff for the night. A security guard in the lobby can control the flow of neighborhood
children entering the building, or, if the board prefers, he can distribute candy at the door and prevent them from entering. Having
additional employees circulating throughout the building can discourage children from wandering off and causing mischief.