Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Florida law says, what's specific to Miami - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Florida requires 24 hours' notice before your landlord enters to make repairs (Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)).
- A repair visit must fall between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
- In an emergency, the landlord may enter at any time to protect or preserve the premises.
- For showings and inspections, you may not unreasonably withhold consent (83.53(1)).
- Our Miami record has no city or county entry rule. For repair visits, the state's 24 hours is the rule.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
This page is for Miami renters whose landlord wants to come in, or already came in. Florida's notice rule is written for repair visits: a full day's notice and a set daytime window.
Showings and inspections work differently, through your consent. Below you will find the rule, the lease wording to watch for, and what to do if visits keep happening without proper notice.
Keep every notice you get with its date, time and stated reason, so you can check it against the rule.
What renters assume
Miami-Dade's Tenant's Bill of Rights gives Miami renters stronger entry protections than the rest of Florida.
What is actually true
Our Miami record shows no county entry rule. Miami-Dade's Tenant's Bill of Rights never set one, and Fla. Stat. 83.425 (HB 1417, effective July 1, 2023) supersedes local rules on matters the state landlord-tenant act covers.
Florida sits on the lower half of that chart. A Seattle or Phoenix renter gets 48 hours to plan around a maintenance visit; you get 24.
It's still far better than Austin or Atlanta, where there's no statutory notice at all and the lease is the only thing standing between you and a surprise visit.
Entry Notice Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Miami, FL
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 or his agents”
“Or his agents” is broader than most tenants read it. It covers the property manager, the maintenance contractor, the pest company and the listing agent. A repair visit made for your landlord carries the 24-hour notice in Fla. Stat. 83.53(2); a listing agent's showing rests on your consent or one of the statute's listed exceptions instead.
“the right to enter said leased premises”
Florida draws a line around the no-notice exception, and it is narrower than “whenever something needs doing”. The landlord may enter at any time to protect or preserve the premises; a repair otherwise takes notice, and other entries take your consent or one of the statute's listed exceptions. A leaking tap next Tuesday is a repair, not a protect-or-preserve entry.
“at reasonable times, for the purpose of making repairs”
Here Florida is unusually precise, and the precision is yours to use. Repairs may only be done between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. - a contractor at 7 a.m. on a Saturday is outside the statutory window no matter how convenient it was for the landlord.
See the example
“to show the dwelling to prospective tenants”
Florida handles showings apart from repairs. The 24-hour notice and the 7:30-to-8:00 window in Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) are written for repair visits. For a showing, 83.53(1) says you may not unreasonably withhold consent, and the landlord may enter with your consent, in an emergency, if you unreasonably refuse, or during certain extended absences. Worth knowing before either side overstates the rule while the unit is being re-let.
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.
Florida Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- 24 hours of advance notice is required before entry to make repairs.
Read the law's words
For inspections and showings, 83.53(1) says the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent, and 83.53(2) lets the landlord enter with consent, in an emergency, when consent is unreasonably withheld, or during certain extended absences. - Florida landlords must give at least 24 hours' notice before entering to make repairs, and a repair visit must fall between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
- No notice is required in an emergency, and the landlord may enter at any time to protect or preserve the premises.
- Our Miami record has no city or county entry rule: Miami-Dade's Tenant's Bill of Rights never set one, and Fla.
Read the law's words
Stat. 83.425 (HB 1417, effective July 1, 2023) supersedes local rules on matters the state landlord-tenant act covers. For repair visits, the state rule is 24 hours' notice (Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)).
Sources include Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Step by step
How it plays out
- Notice arrivesLandlord gives repair noticeAt least 24 hours' notice is required before entering to make repairs. No notice is needed in an emergency (Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)).
- 24 hours laterEarliest the repair entry should happenTwenty-four hours is the minimum notice for a repair visit (Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)).
- The visitRepair between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.A repair visit must fall between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)). The landlord may not use access to harass you.
Count it for your dates
24 hours: when does it end?
What it means: The landlord should not enter to make repairs before 24 hours have passed, and the visit must fall between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Applies to a Florida landlord entering to make repairs; not in an emergency, when the landlord may enter at any time to protect or preserve the premises; showings and inspections rest on your consent or the statute's listed exceptions instead (Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: After a repair entry came with less than 24 hours' notice, outside 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., or as part of a pattern of visits
Ask for 24 hours' notice before repairs
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Florida's entry rules sit in Fla. Stat. 83.53:
- Repairs, 83.53(2). The landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice before entering to make repairs, and the visit must fall between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
- Emergencies. No notice is required, and the landlord may enter at any time to protect or preserve the premises.
- Showings and inspections. Under 83.53(1) you may not unreasonably withhold consent to show the unit to prospective buyers, lenders or tenants. Under 83.53(2) the landlord may enter with your consent, in an emergency, if you unreasonably withhold consent, or during certain extended absences.
- No harassment. The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass you.
The 7:30 to 8:00 window is written for repair visits. Section 83.53 as we read it names no hours for inspections or showings. A lease that spells out the notice and the window gives you something concrete to point at.
What's Specific to Miami
How Florida 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.
Our Miami record has no city or county entry rule. A renter in Brickell, Little Havana or Homestead works from the same state rule for repair visits.
The friction here is the condo stack. Many Miami rentals are single units inside association-run buildings, so the owner's handyman, the association's contractors and the property manager may all want access.
A repair visit by your landlord still owes you the 24 hours and the daytime window. Showings run through your consent instead.
That matches Fla. Stat. 83.53(2). Anything shorter for a non-emergency repair visit is below what Florida requires.
That is the repair window in 83.53(2). A lease that repeats it gives you a written term to quote.
That phrase turns the 24 hours and the evening cutoff into the landlord's judgment call. Raise it before you sign.
Showings rest on your consent. A clause agreeing to showings without further notice is written to give that consent in advance.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) on flsenate.gov, Florida's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Everything counts as an emergency
Some leases define emergency to include routine maintenance. Florida's no-notice exception is for protecting or preserving the premises, not a broken dishwasher.
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Notice with no time window
A text saying only sometime Tuesday is not a real appointment. Ask for a window inside the 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. repair hours.
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Standing key for vendors
Permanent access for cleaners, association contractors or listing agents. A repair visit still needs 24 hours of notice; other visits need your consent or a listed exception.
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Every visit called an inspection
The 24 hours in 83.53(2) is written for repair visits. A lease that labels repair work as an inspection blurs which rule applies, so ask what each visit is for.
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Entry whenever you are away
Florida's list names certain extended absences, not any time you are out. A clause that lets the landlord in whenever you are gone reaches further. Ask what it means.
Your Rights as a Miami Tenant
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24 hours before repairs
At least 24 hours of advance notice before your landlord enters to make repairs. It is state law, not a courtesy your building chose to offer.
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A daytime repair window
Repair visits belong between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. A contractor who wants to start at 6:30 a.m. before Miami traffic is outside it.
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A say in showings
Showings and inspections rest on your consent. You may not withhold it unreasonably, but the landlord needs it or one of the statute's listed exceptions.
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No harassment through access
The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass you, even for visits that are each allowed on their own.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read your entry clause
Search the lease for enter or access. Compare it with the 24 hours and the repair window in 83.53(2).
Ask for notice in writing
Ask that entry notices come by text or email with a date and time window. It costs nothing and creates your paper trail.
Log every visit
Note the date, time, who came in and why. Photos of a moved item or a left-behind work order back up your log.
Send one clear written warning
Email your landlord or property manager citing Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) and asking for 24 hours' notice going forward. Keep it short and calm.
Go over the on-site manager
In a condo, escalate to the actual owner or the management company's regional office. Many entry problems are one handyman, not company policy.
Get legal help
If it keeps happening, contact Legal Services of Greater Miami or Dade Legal Aid for free help, or a private tenants' rights lawyer.
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Notice to Enter rules near Florida
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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