Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Kentucky law says, what's specific to Louisville - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Kentucky requires at least 2 days' notice before entry, and entry only at reasonable times.
- Exceptions: an emergency or impracticable notice. During an absence over 7 days, entry is allowed at reasonably necessary times.
- You may not unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs, services or showings (§ 383.615(1)).
- After an unlawful or harassing entry, you may seek an injunction or end the lease, plus damages and fees.
- Louisville Metro Code § 151.33 repeats the state rule. No city section we read sets a different period.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
This page is for Louisville renters whose landlord wants to come in, or already came in. Kentucky sets a clear count: at least 2 days' notice, then entry at a reasonable time.
Your strongest ground is short notice, an unreasonable manner of entry, or repeated demands that harass you. Your weakest is refusing a properly noticed visit for repairs, an inspection or a showing.
Keep every notice with the date it reached you, because at least 2 days must pass between the notice and the visit.
What renters assume
My lease lets the landlord enter at reasonable times, so a knock with no warning is fine if the hour is reasonable.
What is actually true
§ 383.615(3) asks for both: at least 2 days' notice of the intent to enter, and entry only at reasonable times. A reasonable hour is not an exception. An emergency or impracticable notice is.
Louisville makes 25 rows in the comparison on this page. Ten of the 25 rows read 24 hours: Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas, Columbus, Newark, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Kansas City. Milwaukee's bar stands at 12 hours.
Nine rows draw no bar. Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Denver and Boston read no requirement, Philadelphia reads no statute, Detroit reads permission required, Charlotte reads no hours set and Indianapolis reads reasonable notice, no hours.
Louisville's bar is drawn the same length as those of Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington, five rows in all. Its label reads 2 days because § 383.615(3) counts the notice in days, and we have kept the statute's unit rather than restating it in hours.
The bar measures notice alone. It does not draw the purposes in § 383.615(1) or the closed list in § 383.615(4), which decide whether a visit is allowed at all.
Notice to Enter Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Louisville, KY
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
“the Lessee hereby grants to the Lessor”
The lease frames entry as something you handed over. Kentucky frames it as a list the Act already wrote. Under Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(1), a tenant “shall not unreasonably withhold consent” to entry to inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the unit. Then § 383.615(4) closes the door: “A landlord has no other right of access except” by court order, under § 383.665 and § 383.670(2), or after the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the unit.
See the example
“to enter said leased premises at reasonable times”
This clause names a time and no notice. Kentucky supplies the notice. § 383.615(3) says that except in an emergency or where it is impracticable, “the landlord shall give the tenant at least two (2) days' notice of his intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times.” The statute counts in days, so count 2 days as days. Louisville Metro Code § 151.33(C), part of the city's adoption of the Act, uses the same words.
See the example
“for the purpose of making repairs or to inspect the premises”
Repairs and inspections are first on the statutory list, and the notice still applies to them. The exceptions sit in their own subsections. § 383.615(2) lets a landlord enter without consent “in case of emergency”. § 383.670(2) adds that during any absence of the tenant “in excess of seven (7) days”, the landlord may enter at times reasonably necessary.
See the example
“to show the dwelling to prospective tenants after notice”
The notice named here is notice that the tenancy is ending, not notice of the visit. Kentucky keeps those apart. Showing the unit to “prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors” is on the § 383.615(1) list, and the 2 days' notice in subsection (3) applies to each showing. A landlord also “shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.”
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.
Kentucky Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- The rule is KRS 383.615(3): "A landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
Read the law's words
Except in case of emergency or unless it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two (2) days' notice of his intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times." The statute counts the notice in days. Louisville Metro Code § 151.33(C) uses the same words with "two days' notice". - The tenant's side is in KRS 383.615(1): "A tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors." Under KRS 383.615(2), "A landlord may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of emergency."
- Access is otherwise closed.
Read the law's words
KRS 383.615(4) says "A landlord has no other right of access except" by court order, as permitted by KRS 383.665 and 383.670(2), or where the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises. KRS 383.670(2) adds that "During any absence of the tenant in excess of seven (7) days, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit at times reasonably necessary." - Both sides have remedies.
Read the law's words
Under KRS 383.700(2), if the landlord "makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner or makes repeated demands for entry otherwise lawful but which have the effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant", the tenant may obtain injunctive relief or terminate the rental agreement and in either case recover actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. Under KRS 383.700(1), a landlord refused lawful access may seek an injunction or terminate, with the same recovery. Louisville Metro Code § 151.50 repeats both.
Sources include Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(3); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(1), (2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(4); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.670(2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.700; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.198; Louisville Metro Code § 151.33; Louisville Metro Code § 151.44(B); Louisville Metro Code § 151.50 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Step by step
How it plays out
- Notice arrivesLandlord says they will enterAt least 2 days' notice of the intent to enter is required, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable (§ 383.615(3)).
- 2 days laterEarliest routine entry dateOnce 2 days have passed, the landlord may enter, but only at reasonable times (§ 383.615(3)).
- The visitEntry for a listed purposeYou must not unreasonably refuse entry to inspect, repair, supply services or show the unit (§ 383.615(1)).
Count it for your dates
2 days: when does it end?
What it means: The landlord may enter no sooner than 2 days later, and only at a reasonable time. Applies to Binds Louisville landlords, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable; Louisville Metro Code § 151.33(C) sets the same 2 days. Entry during an absence of more than 7 days falls under § 383.670(2). (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(3)). 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 less than 2 days' notice, at an unreasonable time, or without a stated purpose
Ask for proper notice before entry
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Kentucky's entry rules sit in its Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act:
- § 383.615(3) Notice. Except in an emergency or where it is impracticable, the landlord must give at least two days' notice of the intent to enter and enter only at reasonable times. The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass you.
- § 383.615(1) Your side. You must not unreasonably withhold consent for entry to inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs, supply necessary or agreed services, or show the unit to buyers, lenders, tenants, workmen or contractors.
- § 383.615(2) and § 383.670(2) Emergency and absence. The landlord may enter without your consent in an emergency, and at times reasonably necessary during an absence of more than seven days.
- § 383.615(4) Closed list. The landlord has no other right of access except by court order, as permitted by § 383.665 and § 383.670(2), or after you abandon or surrender the unit.
- § 383.700 Remedies. After an unlawful entry, a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner, or repeated demands that unreasonably harass you, you may get an injunction or end the rental agreement, with actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. A landlord refused lawful access has the same choice.
Read the current text of § 383.615 before you rely on it in a dispute.
What's Specific to Louisville
How Kentucky 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.
The city's entry rule is the state's rule. Kentucky's Act is a local-option law, and Louisville Metro Code Chapter 151 is the city's enactment of it. § 151.33 matches § 383.615 apart from pronouns, numerals and cross-references, and subsection (C) gives "two days' notice". § 151.44(B) carries the absence rule and § 151.50 repeats the remedies.
No Louisville section we read sets a different notice period. Sections such as § 156.801(D) that use "right of entry" concern entry by a Metro code official rather than by a landlord.
It should. § 383.615(3) requires at least 2 days' notice. A clause that says so puts the figure in writing for both sides.
A list matching § 383.615(1) (inspections, repairs, services, showings) lets you measure each request against the purposes Kentucky names.
§ 383.615(3) asks for notice and reasonable times, outside an emergency or impracticable notice. A clause dropping either part is worth raising before you sign.
§ 383.615(1) bars only an "unreasonable" refusal, which leaves room for a reasonable one. Read the clause against that word.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(3); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(1), (2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.615(4); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.670(2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.700; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.198; Louisville Metro Code § 151.33; Louisville Metro Code § 151.44(B); Louisville Metro Code § 151.50, read on apps.legislature.ky.gov. The Kentucky Legislative Research Commission's KRS Chapter 383 page states that it includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session and that the KRS database was last updated on 10/03/2026, and the PDF of § 383.615 it serves shows the section effective July 13, 1984 with its 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 176 history line.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A same-day knock for a routine job
Outside an emergency or impracticable notice, § 383.615(3) requires 2 days' notice. A repair or inspection announced that morning is worth answering in writing.
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A visit for a purpose the Act does not list
§ 383.615(4) leaves the landlord no other right of access beyond the routes it names. Ask in writing what the visit is for.
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Repeated demands to come in
§ 383.700(2) covers repeated demands, otherwise lawful, that have the effect of unreasonably harassing you. Keep each demand and its date.
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An entry during a short trip
§ 383.670(2) allows entry during an absence of more than 7 days. A landlord citing it for a shorter absence is citing a rule written for longer ones.
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A code officer's rule quoted for the landlord
Louisville sections such as § 156.801(D) concern entry by a Metro code official. § 151.33 is the city section on a landlord's entry.
Your Rights as a Louisville Tenant
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Two days, then reasonable times
At least 2 days' notice of the intent to enter, and entry only at reasonable times, outside an emergency or impracticable notice (§ 383.615(3)).
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No access used to harass
A landlord "shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant", whatever notice was given (§ 383.615(3)).
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A closed list of routes in
§ 383.615(4) leaves no other right of access beyond consent, emergency, court order, § 383.665, § 383.670(2), abandonment or surrender.
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Court relief and fees
After an unlawful or harassing entry, you may seek an injunction or end the rental agreement, with actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 383.700(2)).
What To Do - Step by Step
Find your entry clause
Search the lease for enter, entry or access. Compare its notice and purposes with § 383.615, which Louisville § 151.33 repeats.
Keep every notice with its date
Texts, emails and portal messages show when they reached you. The 2 days run from the notice to the visit.
Ask what the visit is for
Ask in writing which listed purpose a visit serves, and propose another time if the one offered does not work.
Agree to reasonable requests
Under § 383.700(1), a landlord refused lawful access may seek an injunction or end the agreement. A written yes for a set day protects both sides.
Log every entry
Write down the date, the time, who came in and what they did. A pattern of harassing demands is shown with a dated log.
Bring your log and get help
Take your lease, your notices and your log to a Louisville tenant attorney or legal aid office.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Notice to Enter rules near Kentucky
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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