Mailing to New Housing Development: Issues & Resolutions

Moving into a new housing development can be exciting and troublesome at the same time. Because the housing development is being created from the ground up, the standard luxury of already-in-place features like utilities and some amenities may not be as readily available. Just like the housing development itself, each modern-day convenience that we have come to know and love has to be brought in, including things like internet access, sewer hookup, and electricity. 

 

How to Get An Address for a New Housing Development

New construction developments need to have their addresses created by local government officials that maintain a particular area’s jurisdiction. They will create the house number and street name that will cover the new development.

 

New Housing Development Addresses

Once the local government office has issued a house number and street name, the next step to start receiving mail at an address will be to contact the local USPS office. In order to get an address for new housing development listed with the USPS, new residents should contact their local postmaster and discuss their options. There are several documents that are needed that contain information about the new construction location that proves the location exists as a valid address, such as a land deed and title. Additionally, those seeking out addresses for new construction homes within a new housing development will need a state-issued identification card, a United States Certificate of Citizenship, a United States Permanent Resident identification card, or a valid passport.

 

New Housing Development Address Necessities

Next, residents of the new development should figure out how they will install a federally approved mailbox. There are a few important details to remember about mailbox installation that must be adhered to in order for the mailbox to pass the mandatory requirements.

 

Single-Unit Mailbox Requirements

All mailboxes must have a large enough capacity to accommodate an average daily mail volume, for mainly letter-sized items. It is possible to get larger mailboxes to accommodate packages as well. All mailboxes are required to be 41 inches to 45 inches from the road’s surface to the bottom of the mailbox’s point of entry. The mailbox is also required to be 6 inches to 8 inches away from the curb. The house numbers or apartment numbers need to be clearly visible on the front of the mailbox. If a mailbox is on a different street from where its primary residence is, the full address of that location needs to be on that mailbox.

 

Community Mailboxes

In some new developments, such as large apartment complexes, it is normal to have a cluster box unit, which is a set of multiple mailboxes that will serve all of the homes within the development at one centralized location. This community style of a mailbox is usually handled by the contractor working on the development.

 

Possible Issues with New Addresses

And most new problems with new housing development addresses can be solved by contacting the local government officials in charge of land development. Because the USPS does not create addresses from scratch, any forbearing issues need to be resolved at the county or state level prior to initiating contact with the local postmaster. 

Assuming that all of the proper procedures have been followed, the biggest issues you may face could possibly be with the land deed and property title. 

Beyond that, the process is pretty straightforward. Once these are taken care of, the address can be verified by the local postmaster to ensure that it is ready to have mail and other packages delivered.