Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Maryland law says, what's specific to Baltimore - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Baltimore's row in the comparison reads 24 hours, and the figure comes from state law. None of the Baltimore sections our record read sets an hour count of its own.
- The notice must be written and must give the date, the approximate time and the specific purpose of the entry under § 8-221(c)(2).
- Entry is limited to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless you agree in writing to another time, and the notice drops away in an emergency.
- A court may issue an injunction, award damages for breach of your covenant to quiet enjoyment, or both, under § 8-221(d)(2).
- The duty runs both ways: after you report a housing code violation, § 8-221(f) asks you to give the landlord access within 24 hours.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
An entry clause decides when your landlord may come into the home you rent, and on what warning. In Maryland a statute now answers both questions, and the clause in your lease is read against it.
The statute is Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221, added by Chapter 564 of the 2025 Laws of Maryland and in effect since October 1, 2025. It requires written notice at least 24 hours ahead, limits entry to listed purposes, and sets a window of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
The enacting act numbered the section 8-220, and the General Assembly's 2026 statute text prints the same wording as § 8-221, so a notice or a lease may cite either number. Baltimore's own codes add a duty on the renter's side rather than a second clock.
This page reads the state rule first, then the city sections beside it.
What renters assume
A clause letting the landlord in "at reasonable times" means any sensible hour on any day, with whatever warning the landlord thinks fit.
What is actually true
Since October 1, 2025, § 8-221(c)(1) requires written notice at least 24 hours in advance, and § 8-221(b)(1)(ii) sets entry between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or another time you agree to in writing. The notice drops away in an emergency.
Baltimore joins the 24-hour group, which holds eight of the 20 rows: Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas, Columbus, Newark and Baltimore. Four rows sit at 48 hours: Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington.
The other eight carry no figure, among them Austin, Atlanta and Boston, which read no requirement, Detroit, which reads permission required, and Charlotte, which reads no hours set.
Four of the other seven 24-hour labels carry a qualifier: Miami's covers repairs, Columbus's is presumed, and New York City's and Newark's are city rules. Baltimore's label carries none, because the figure comes from a state statute that applies to every purpose it lists.
What a bar cannot show is the rest of § 8-221: the written form, the stated purpose and the daytime window.
Plain English Version
Since October 1, 2025, a Maryland landlord who wants to come into your Baltimore home must tell you in writing at least 24 hours ahead, saying when and why. Visits must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday, unless you agree in writing to another time.
In an emergency no notice is needed. If a landlord ignores the rule, a court can order it to stop, award you damages, or both.
If you report a housing code problem, you are expected to give access within 24 hours.
Entry Notice Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Baltimore, MD
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
Lessor hereby reserves, and the Lessee hereby grants to the Lessor or his agents, the right to enter said leased premises at reasonable times, for the purpose of making repairs or to inspect the premises, to show the dwelling to prospective tenants after notice of termination.
Quoted from the published opinion in Kalmas v. Wagner, 133 Wn.2d 210 (Wash. 1997) (en banc). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“hereby grants to the Lessor or his agents”
The tenant signs this grant once, and it runs to anyone the landlord sends. Maryland answers the second half directly. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(e) says a landlord is liable for any violation of the entry section committed by the landlord or by an agent acting at the landlord's direction, so a contractor or manager who walks in without proper notice is a problem the landlord owns.
“the right to enter said leased premises”
In Maryland the right to enter arrives with paperwork attached. § 8-221(c)(1) requires written notice at least 24 hours before the time the landlord intends to enter. § 8-221(c)(3) names the routes: first-class mail with a certificate of mailing if it is delivered at least 24 hours ahead, a paper notice fixed to the door, or e-mail, text or a tenant portal if you elect electronic delivery.
“at reasonable times, for the purpose of making repairs”
Baltimore still uses this phrase, but as a duty on the renter. Property Maintenance Code § 301.2.2 says an occupant must give the owner and its agents access “at all reasonable times” for inspecting and making repairs or alterations needed to comply with that Code. The state statute supplies the clock that the city section leaves out: entry between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, under § 8-221(b)(1)(ii), or another time you agree to in writing.
“after notice of termination”
This clause ties showings to the end of the tenancy. The purposes listed in § 8-221(a) include showing the home to purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors, and as our record gives that list it names no stage of the tenancy for them. Each showing runs on its own written notice and the same daytime window.
The clause held - because the landlord followed the statute. The agent gave the notice the state's landlord-tenant act requires before entering to show the unit, so the tenants “had no reasonable expectation other than that entry for inspection would occur” and the brief entry was not unreasonable. The court was careful about what the clause bought: it and the statute together grant only a limited right to inspect.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Maryland Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- The clock and what the notice must say. Section 8-221(c)(1) says "A landlord shall provide written notice to the tenant at least 24 hours in advance of the time that the landlord intends to enter the leased premises", and under § 8-221(c)(2) the notice must include "The date and approximate time that the landlord intends to enter" and "The specific purpose of entry." Under § 8-221(c)(5) a tenant may agree in writing to an entry less than 24 hours from receipt of notice.
- Entry is limited by purpose and by the hour. Section 8-221(a) lists the purposes: repairs, maintenance, modifications, renovations or improvements; inspection; showing the home to purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors; protecting the property and occupants; work ordered by a government body; and responding to another written request of the tenant. Section 8-221(b)(1)(ii) allows entry "only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or another time agreed on, in writing, by the tenant", and § 8-221(b)(2) drops the notice only "in the event of an emergency" to protect the property, the occupants, or other tenants and staff.
- How the notice is delivered. Under § 8-221(c)(3) the notice goes by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing if it is delivered at least 24 hours before the stated time, by a paper notice fixed to the door, or, if the tenant elects it, by e-mail, text message or an electronic tenant portal, and § 8-221(c)(4) requires electronic delivery to give the landlord proof of transmission.
- What a tenant can do, and the tenant's own duty. Under § 8-221(d)(2) a court "may issue an injunction to the landlord, assess appropriate damages against the landlord for breach of the tenant's covenant to quiet enjoyment of the leased premises, or both" where the landlord entered in violation of the section or made repeated non-compliant demands for entry, and § 8-221(e) makes the landlord liable for an agent acting at its direction. Section 8-221(f) adds: "If a tenant alleges a housing code violation, the tenant shall provide the landlord access to the leased premises within 24 hours after notifying the landlord of the alleged violation."
Sources include Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(a), (b), (c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(d), (e), (f); Baltimore City Property Maintenance Code § 301.2.2 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Start with Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(c)(1): "A landlord shall provide written notice to the tenant at least 24 hours in advance of the time that the landlord intends to enter the leased premises." Under § 8-221(c)(2) the notice must include "The date and approximate time that the landlord intends to enter" and "The specific purpose of entry."
The purposes are listed. § 8-221(a) names repairs, maintenance, modifications, renovations or improvements; inspection; showing the home to purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors; protecting the property and occupants; work ordered by a government body; and responding to another written request of the tenant.
The hour is fixed too. § 8-221(b)(1)(ii) allows entry "only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or another time agreed on, in writing, by the tenant". Under § 8-221(b)(2), the notice drops away "in the event of an emergency" to protect the property, the occupants, or other tenants and staff.
Delivery has three routes. Under § 8-221(c)(3), the notice goes by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing if it is delivered at least 24 hours before the stated time, or by a paper notice fixed to the door.
If you elect it, it can come by e-mail, text message or an electronic tenant portal, and § 8-221(c)(4) requires electronic delivery to give the landlord proof of transmission.
You can shorten the wait yourself. § 8-221(c)(5) lets a tenant agree in writing to an entry less than 24 hours from receipt of notice. The subsection speaks of agreeing to an entry, which is worth comparing with any lease clause that waives notice for every visit in advance.
Then the remedy. It applies where a landlord entered in violation of the section or made repeated non-compliant demands for entry. § 8-221(d)(2) then lets a court "issue an injunction to the landlord, assess appropriate damages against the landlord for breach of the tenant's covenant to quiet enjoyment of the leased premises, or both". § 8-221(e) makes the landlord liable for an agent acting at its direction.
And a duty runs the other way. § 8-221(f) says a tenant who alleges a housing code violation "shall provide the landlord access to the leased premises within 24 hours after notifying the landlord of the alleged violation." The section is new, so read its current text before you rely on it.
Maryland Tenant Protections
Written notice at least 24 hours before entry under Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(c)(1), stating the date, the approximate time and the specific purpose under § 8-221(c)(2). Entry for the purposes listed in § 8-221(a): repairs and improvements, inspection, showings to purchasers, mortgagees, tenants or contractors, protection of the property and occupants, government-ordered work, and other written tenant requests.
Entry between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday under § 8-221(b)(1)(ii), or another time the tenant agrees to in writing, with the notice dropped in an emergency under § 8-221(b)(2). Delivery by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, a paper notice fixed to the door, or, if the tenant elects it, e-mail, text or an electronic tenant portal with proof of transmission, under § 8-221(c)(3) and (c)(4).
A written agreement by the tenant can allow entry on less than 24 hours under § 8-221(c)(5). An injunction, damages for breach of the covenant to quiet enjoyment, or both, under § 8-221(d)(2), with the landlord liable for an agent acting at its direction under § 8-221(e).
Locally, Baltimore's Property Maintenance Code § 301.2.2 requires an occupant to give the owner access at all reasonable times to inspect and make repairs or alterations needed for compliance with that Code. Public Local Laws § 9-21 gives the landlord a right to inspect once a departing tenant has given the 72-hour notice of removal.
What's Specific to Baltimore
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Baltimore has two local layers: the Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City, enacted by the General Assembly, and the Baltimore City Code, which includes Article 13, alongside the city's Building, Fire, and Related Codes. On entry, none of the Baltimore sections our record read sets its own number of hours, which leaves the state's 24 hours in § 8-221 as the figure on this page.
What the city adds is a duty on the renter. Under Property Maintenance Code § 301.2.2, an occupant "must give the owner and the owner's agents access to the premises, at all reasonable times, for the purpose of inspecting and making repairs or alterations as necessary to effect compliance with this Code".
The section speaks of reasonable times and names no hours; we make no prediction about how a court would fit it together with the state's daytime window.
Refusing a repair visit can cost something in a rent dispute. Public Local Laws § 9-9(e)(5) lets a landlord defend a Baltimore rent escrow case by showing that the tenant "unreasonably refused entry" for repairs.
State § 8-221(f) points the same way: after you report a housing code violation, you are to give access within 24 hours.
Two Baltimore notices look like entry rules and are not. Baltimore City Code Article 13, § 5-10(h) requires the owner of a priority rental dwelling to tell all tenants the date and time of a city priority inspection "no fewer than 20 days prior".
That is notice about a city inspection, not a landlord entry rule.
Public Local Laws § 9-21 gives the landlord "a right to inspect the premises" once a departing tenant has given the 72-hour notice of removal that section requires. That clock runs from the tenant's own notice of moving out, not from anything the landlord sends.
Which section number your paperwork uses
Chapter 564 of 2025 added the entry rule as § 8-220, and the General Assembly's 2026 statute text prints the same wording as § 8-221. A notice or lease drafted from the act may cite the first number, and the wording behind both is the same.
Keep a file either way. A dated copy of every notice, and a note of any entry that came without one, is what shows a court an entry in violation of the section or repeated non-compliant demands, the two things § 8-221(d)(2) acts on.
That is the floor in § 8-221(c)(1). A clause that repeats it, and names the date, approximate time and purpose the notice must carry, matches the statute.
§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii) sets that window unless you agree in writing to another time. A clause naming it matches the statute.
Outside an emergency, § 8-221(b) sets both the written notice and the 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. window. Read such a clause against it before you sign.
§ 8-221(c)(5) speaks of a tenant agreeing in writing to an entry on less than 24 hours from receipt of notice. Compare a blanket waiver with that wording before you sign.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(a), (b), (c); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-221(d), (e), (f); Baltimore City Property Maintenance Code § 301.2.2, read on mgaleg.maryland.gov. The Maryland General Assembly publishes § 8-221 in its 2026 Regular Session statute text, and the enacting law, Chapter 564 of 2025, took effect on October 1, 2025.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A knock with no written notice
§ 8-221(c)(1) requires written notice at least 24 hours ahead, outside an emergency. Note the date and time of any entry that came without one.
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A notice with no purpose on it
§ 8-221(c)(2) requires the notice to state the specific purpose of entry along with the date and approximate time.
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A Sunday or evening visit you never agreed to
§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii) sets entry between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or another time you agree to in writing.
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Repeated demands to come in
§ 8-221(d)(2) lets a court act on repeated non-compliant demands for entry as well as on an entry itself. Keep a copy of each demand.
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Blame shifted to a contractor
§ 8-221(e) makes the landlord liable for a violation of the entry section by an agent acting at the landlord's direction.
Your Rights as a Baltimore Tenant
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24 hours, in writing
§ 8-221(c)(1) requires written notice at least 24 hours before entry, giving the date, the approximate time and the specific purpose.
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A daytime window
§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii) sets entry between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, unless you agree in writing to another time.
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An injunction or damages
§ 8-221(d)(2) lets a court issue an injunction, award damages for breach of your covenant to quiet enjoyment, or both.
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Electronic notice when you choose it
§ 8-221(c)(3) allows e-mail, text or a tenant portal if the tenant elects it, and § 8-221(c)(4) requires proof of transmission.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read the notice for date, time and purpose
§ 8-221(c)(2) requires all three. Note which, if any, is missing, and keep the notice.
Check the hour and the day
§ 8-221(b)(1)(ii) sets 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. A visit outside that window needs your written agreement, unless it is an emergency.
Check how it reached you
§ 8-221(c)(3) names first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, a notice on the door, or electronic delivery you elected, with proof of transmission under (c)(4).
Give access promptly after a repair report
§ 8-221(f) asks for access within 24 hours after you report a housing code violation, and Public Local Laws § 9-9(e)(5) lets a landlord raise an unreasonable refusal in a rent escrow case.
Keep a dated log of entries
§ 8-221(d)(2) acts on an entry in violation of the section or repeated non-compliant demands. Dates, times and copies are what show either one.
Read the current text, then get advice
Read § 8-221 in the General Assembly's current statute text, then take a disputed entry to a Baltimore tenant attorney or legal aid office.