How much notice a landlord must give before entering, by state

The entry notice period is the minimum amount of advance warning a landlord must give before walking into an occupied rental for a non-emergency reason such as a repair or an inspection. We keep this figure for all 50 states and the District of Columbia inside the data that powers every lease agreement we generate, and the spread is wider than most renters expect. Eighteen states set the figure at 24 hours. Eight states and the District of Columbia require 48 hours or two days. Wisconsin requires only 12 hours. The remaining 23 states either use the word reasonable without a number or say nothing at all.

Where the 24-hour rule applies

Twenty-four hours is the most common statutory figure. In our dataset it applies in Alaska, California, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. The wording differs from state to state even where the number matches. Oregon Revised Statutes 90.322 says the landlord shall give the tenant at least 24 hours' actual notice and may enter only at reasonable times. Ohio Revised Code 5321.04(A)(8) takes a softer approach: it requires reasonable notice and then states that twenty-four hours is presumed to be a reasonable notice in the absence of evidence to the contrary. California Civil Code 1954 uses that same presumption language and adds that the notice must be in writing and the entry must fall during normal business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise.

Florida's 24-hour figure is narrower than the others. Florida Statutes 83.53 attaches the 24-hour notice to entries for repairs, so a landlord entering for another listed purpose is held to a reasonable-notice standard rather than a fixed clock. If you rent in Florida, read the entry clause in your lease closely, because the lease often fills the gap the statute leaves open.

The 48-hour and two-day states

Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington require two days or 48 hours, and the District of Columbia does as well. Rhode Island General Laws 34-18-26 is typical of the group: the landlord shall give the tenant at least two (2) days' notice of his or her intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times. Kentucky's version requires the two-day notice to be in writing. A two-day rule and a 48-hour rule are not always identical in practice. Two days can mean two calendar days, so a notice delivered Monday evening may satisfy a two-day rule for a Wednesday morning entry even though fewer than 48 hours have passed. Where the statute says 48 hours, count the hours.

Wisconsin's 12-hour rule

Wisconsin is the only state in our dataset with a period shorter than a full day. The rule comes from an administrative code chapter rather than a statute. Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.09(2) defines advance notice as at least 12 hours advance notice unless the tenant, upon being notified of the proposed entry, consents to a shorter time period. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection enforces that chapter, which is why the citation looks different from the landlord-tenant statutes in other states.

Five states say reasonable but give no number

Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, New Hampshire, and North Dakota have an entry statute on the books, but it stops at the word reasonable. New Hampshire RSA 540-A:3 requires adequate notice without saying how many hours count as adequate. Kansas requires reasonable notice, and 24 hours is the customary reading. In these states a court decides after the fact whether the notice a landlord gave was reasonable, which means a lease clause that names a specific number of hours does most of the practical work.

Eighteen states have no entry-notice statute at all

The largest group is the silent one. Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming have no state statute that sets a notice period for routine landlord entry. That does not mean a landlord in those states may walk in whenever they like. Every lease carries an implied promise of quiet enjoyment, and courts in silent states generally read a reasonable-notice requirement into it. Local ordinances also fill the gap in a few places: Illinois has no statewide rule, but Chicago's residential landlord and tenant ordinance requires two days' notice.

What reasonable means when there is no number

Reasonable is a fact question, so the answer depends on the purpose of the entry, the time of day, and how the notice was delivered. A written notice delivered the day before a daytime repair visit is reasonable almost everywhere. A text message sent 20 minutes before a landlord arrives at 8 p.m. is not. The safest approach for both sides is to write a specific number into the lease. Our residential lease defaults to the statutory figure where one exists and to 24 hours where the state is silent, because 24 hours is the number courts most often treat as reasonable.

Reasonable hours and the emergency exception

Every state statute that sets a notice period also limits entry to reasonable times. Oregon's statute uses that phrase without defining it, while California ties it to normal business hours. Weekday daytime hours are safe everywhere. Evening and weekend entries are a gray area unless the tenant agrees. The emergency exception is universal. A burst pipe, a gas smell, a fire, or a report that someone inside needs help allows the landlord to enter immediately without any notice. Rhode Island's statute states the rule directly: a landlord may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of emergency. Oregon goes a step further and requires the landlord to give notice within 24 hours after an emergency entry explaining what happened.

How to read the figure in your state

Start with the number above for your state. Then read the entry clause in your lease, because a lease may require more notice than the statute but generally may not require less where a statute exists. If your state is silent and your lease is silent, ask your landlord in writing to agree to a set period. A written 24-hour agreement resolves most disputes before they begin. This post covers only the notice period. Showings to prospective tenants and buyers, and remedies for unlawful entry, are covered in separate posts.

Sources

• Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 90 (ORS 90.322), Oregon State Legislature
• Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 134.09, Wisconsin Legislature
• Rhode Island General Laws 34-18-26, Rhode Island General Assembly
• Ohio Revised Code 5321.04, Ohio Legislative Service Commission
• California Civil Code 1954, California Legislative Information