Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what California law says, what's specific to Los Angeles - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- 24 hours of written notice is presumed reasonable before a non-emergency entry (Cal. Civ. Code 1954).
- A non-emergency visit must fall during normal business hours.
- A real emergency, such as a fire, gas leak or serious water leak, needs no notice.
- Los Angeles adds no extra hours, but LAMC 45.33 requires a stated reason and a time window.
- Excessive or uncoordinated entry requests count as harassment under LAMC 45.33.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
This page is for Los Angeles renters whose landlord wants to come in, or keeps coming in. A notice to enter clause sets when your landlord may enter and how much warning you get first.
In California that clause sits under Civil Code 1954, so a lease that says the landlord may enter at any time or as needed does not match the state rule. Your strongest ground is short notice, a visit outside business hours, or a pattern of requests.
What renters assume
My landlord owns the building, so they can come in whenever they like, and a text sent on the way over counts as notice.
What is actually true
Owning the building does not remove the notice rule. California presumes 24 hours of written notice is reasonable before a non-emergency entry, during normal business hours. A text from the driveway is not 24 hours of notice.
California sits at the strict end of this chart, though not the very top - Washington and Arizona both demand 48 hours. What really separates 24 hours here from Texas, Georgia, and Colorado is that those states set no requirement at all, so a landlord there can write the notice period down to nothing.
Entry Notice Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Los Angeles, CA
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.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“Lessor hereby reserves”
What a lease reserves and what Civ. Code 1954 allows are two different lists, and the statute wins. It permits entry for a short set of purposes on reasonable written notice - and in Los Angeles the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance (LAMC 45.33) pulls that same section in, so a pattern of improper entry becomes a harassment claim rather than just a lease dispute.
“to enter said leased premises at reasonable times”
California turns “reasonable” into something you can measure. 24 hours is presumed reasonable, the notice must be written, and entry must be during normal business hours. Presumed is not fixed - a shorter period can be reasonable in the right circumstances, and a longer one can be required in the wrong ones.
“or to inspect the premises”
A general inspection right is the part worth watching, because it is the one most easily stretched into routine access. California's list of lawful purposes is specific; a clause that reads as a standing licence to look around is claiming ground the statute does not give.
“after notice of termination”
The emergency carve-out is real and it is wide: for a fire, a gas leak or a serious water leak the landlord may enter with no advance notice and outside business hours. That is the right rule for an emergency - the question always worth asking afterwards is whether what happened actually was one.
See the example
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.
How this state's law treats this clause
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.
California Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- 24 hours of advance notice is required before a non-emergency entry.
- California landlords must give reasonable written notice before entering; 24 hours is presumed reasonable, and entry must occur during normal business hours.
- No advance notice is required to respond to an emergency such as a fire, gas leak, or serious water leak, and entry may occur outside normal business hours.
- Los Angeles adds no separate notice-hour requirement; LAMC 45.33 (Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance) incorporates Civil Code 1954 and makes abuse of access a harassment violation, requiring the notice to state a specific justification and a reasonable time window, and barring excessive or uncoordinated entry requests.
Sources include Cal. Civ. Code 1954 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Step by step
How it plays out
- Notice arrivesLandlord gives written noticeWritten notice is required before a non-emergency entry (Cal. Civ. Code 1954). In Los Angeles it must state a reason and time window (LAMC 45.33).
- 24 hours laterPresumed reasonable notice is metTwenty-four hours is presumed reasonable notice (Cal. Civ. Code 1954).
- The visitEntry during normal business hoursA non-emergency entry must happen during normal business hours. An emergency entry needs no notice and may happen outside them (Cal. Civ. Code 1954).
Count it for your dates
24 hours: when does it end?
What it means: 24 hours is presumed reasonable notice before the landlord enters, and the visit must still fall during normal business hours. Applies to a California landlord entering for a non-emergency visit; not in an emergency such as a fire, gas leak or serious water leak; in Los Angeles the notice must also state a specific justification and a reasonable time window (LAMC 45.33) (Cal. Civ. Code 1954). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: After an entry or a request to enter came with short notice, without a reason, or outside normal business hours
Ask for proper notice before entry
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
California's entry rule sits in Cal. Civ. Code 1954:
- Written notice. Your landlord must give reasonable written notice before entering, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable.
- Business hours. A non-emergency entry must happen during normal business hours.
- Emergencies. No advance notice is required to respond to an emergency such as a fire, gas leak or serious water leak, and that entry may happen outside business hours.
- A reason. Entry needs a legitimate purpose, such as a repair, a service you asked for, or a showing.
A lease clause that allows entry at any time, or that waives the 24 hours, does not match Civil Code 1954. When you object in writing, name the section and list the dates and times of each visit.
What's Specific to Los Angeles
How California compares
Required entry notice, state by state
12 hrs24 hrs48 hrsNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 cities as a chart
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.
Los Angeles adds no separate notice-hour requirement, so 24 hours is still the number inside city limits. What the city adds is LAMC 45.33, the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance.
It brings Civil Code 1954 into city law and makes abuse of access a harassment violation. Your notice must state a specific justification and a reasonable time window, so a notice reading "maintenance, sometime Tuesday" falls short. The ordinance also bars excessive or uncoordinated entry requests.
That matches the 24 hours Civil Code 1954 presumes reasonable. A smaller number printed in the lease does not.
LAMC 45.33 expects a specific justification and a reasonable time window, not a blank "maintenance."
Non-emergency entry must fall during normal business hours, so an "any time, any day" clause asks for more than state law allows.
A blanket waiver of the 24-hour written notice does not match Civil Code 1954. Raise it 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.
- Cal. Civ. Code 1954 on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, California's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Entry at any reasonable time
Vague timing wording swaps written notice for the landlord's judgment. Civil Code 1954 presumes 24 hours and keeps non-emergency visits in normal business hours.
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Notice sent on the way over
A text from the driveway is not 24 hours of written notice. The clock runs from when you actually receive the notice, not from when the landlord decides to come.
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Standing permission for contractors
Letting crews enter whenever work is scheduled quietly waives your notice. LAMC 45.33 bars excessive or uncoordinated entry requests.
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Emergency defined far too broadly
The no-notice exception covers real emergencies such as a fire, gas leak or serious water leak, not a dripping faucet.
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Penalty for refusing an entry
A clause that makes any declined visit a lease violation pressures you to accept entries that skip the 24-hour written notice.
Your Rights as a Los Angeles Tenant
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Written notice before entry
Reasonable written notice before a non-emergency entry, with 24 hours presumed reasonable (Cal. Civ. Code 1954).
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Business-hours-only visits
A non-emergency entry must happen during normal business hours.
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A stated reason and time window
In Los Angeles, the notice must state a specific justification and a reasonable time window (LAMC 45.33).
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LA harassment protection
Abuse of access, including excessive or uncoordinated entry requests, is a harassment violation under LAMC 45.33 that you can report to the city.
What To Do - Step by Step
Reread your entry clause
Find the entry paragraph. If it promises less than 24 hours or says "at any time," it does not match Civil Code 1954.
Keep every notice with its time
Save texts, emails and letters with the time each one reached you.
Start an entry log
Write down every visit: date, time, who came, the reason given and the notice you got. A dated pattern supports an LAMC 45.33 complaint.
Ask in writing
Ask for 24 hours of written notice with a stated reason and a time window. Keep it short and calm, and use a method you can prove.
Report it to the city
Los Angeles takes tenant harassment complaints under LAMC 45.33. Bring your log and every notice you received.
Get free legal help
Legal aid offices and tenant clinics in Los Angeles take entry and harassment cases. Bring your lease and your log.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Notice to Enter rules near California
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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