Can a landlord be prevented from entering the tenant’s unit?
Once the landlord has transferred possession of the rental unit to the tenant, a landlord must respect the tenant’s rights to privacy in the tenant’s home. The implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment ensures the tenant that during his tenancy, the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the dwelling unit will not be disturbed by someone with a superior legal title to the land including the landlord. The covenant between landlord and tenant provides the tenant with the right to exclude others from the premises, the right to peace and quiet, the right to a clean and habitable environment, and the right to basic services. If the tenant is deprived in whole or in part of the beneficial use and enjoyment of the leased premises due to actual or constructive action by the landlord, a breach of the covenant has occurred.
The rental unit is still owned by the landlord as his legal property and the landlord retains a legal right to enter the premises under certain circumstances as permitted by state statutes. For compliance with habitability responsibilities, a landlord can request access to the rental unit as needed for inspections and repairs in order to make sure the property is safe and well maintained. This could include supervised access to the rental property for contractors, tradespersons, or service technicians. In most states the landlord has the right to show the rental property to prospective tenants or purchasers. The conditions for notice requirements and reasonable hours of access apply for any access to the rental premises.
While ownership of the property and possession of the property are separate matters, at times such matters can create landlord-tenant tension when the landlord requires access to the rental unit and the tenant views the landlord’s entry as a violation of privacy. Generally in discussion with the tenant regarding the business need for entry, the landlord, following statutory requirements for tenant notification, is granted access to a tenant-occupied property. The tenant should be reassured that the landlord, or the landlord’s agent, will remain in the tenant’s rental unit only for the amount of time required to complete the task, inspection, repair, or showing.
Landlord behaviors that are considered too invasive of the tenant’s right to privacy and/or intrusive to the tenant’s enjoyment of the premises violate the tenant’s rights. If a landlord requests frequent inspections unwarranted by business purposes, conducts inspections or requests access outside of reasonable hours, or otherwise uses entry to harass a tenant, the landlord’s behaviors violate the landlord-tenant agreement. The landlord cannot just drop in or otherwise enter the tenant’s unit without the express permission of the tenant except in the case of true emergency. Depending upon the circumstances regarding entry, tenant remedies for a landlord’s violation of tenant privacy include filing a lawsuit against the landlord for trespass, invasion of privacy, breach of the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment, and infliction of emotional distress.
In the event of a true emergency a landlord can enter the rental premises without giving the required notice. A true emergency is an event that threatens life or causes property damage if not immediately corrected. A landlord should use both caution and common sense to evaluate a situation for emergency entry. Fire, flooding, or an event caused by a natural disaster might be considered legal justification for emergency entry.
A best practice is to document in writing all requests for entry and corresponding tenant permissions for entry. Written notices provide details of the nature of the request, date and time of entry and serve as a risk management practice in the event of a misunderstanding or tenant claim of violation of privacy rights.