Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Wisconsin law says, what's specific to Milwaukee - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Milwaukee's row in the comparison on this page reads 12 hours. That figure is the definition of advance notice in ATCP 134.09(2); the statute, § 704.05(2), speaks of advance notice and reasonable times without a number of hours.
- Entry serves three purposes under ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1.: inspecting, making repairs, or showing the unit to prospective tenants or purchasers, for the amount of time reasonably required.
- No advance notice is needed if you request or consent to the entry knowing its time, if a health or safety emergency exists, or if you are absent and the landlord reasonably believes entry is needed to protect the premises from damage.
- To widen the landlord's entry rights, a lease needs a separate written document titled NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS under ATCP 134.09(2)(c). Under ATCP 134.09(2)(d) the landlord must announce its presence before coming in.
- The Milwaukee sections we read set no entry notice of their own. § 704.95 limits rules that change rights or duties under Chapter 704, and we take no position on how it applies to ATCP 134.09(2).
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
Your landlord may hold a key to your home. An entry clause says when that key may be used, for what reason, and how much warning you get first.
Wisconsin answers all three, in a statute and in a consumer protection rule that sits beneath it.
The statute is Wis. Stat. § 704.05(2): a landlord may enter to inspect, make repairs or show the premises upon advance notice and at reasonable times. The number comes from Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2), which defines advance notice as at least 12 hours, unless you agree to a shorter time once you are told of the proposed entry.
Two details shape how a Milwaukee lease reads against that rule. A lease that wants wider entry rights has to put them in a separate document titled NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS.
And the 12 hours belongs to the administrative rule, so its source is worth knowing before you count from it.
What renters assume
Wisconsin's statute gives my Milwaukee landlord 12 hours of notice, and once that much warning is given any visit is allowed.
What is actually true
§ 704.05(2) speaks of advance notice and reasonable times; the 12 hours is how ATCP 134.09(2) defines advance notice. Even with notice, entry is for inspecting, repairing or showing the unit, for the amount of time reasonably required.
22 rows sit in the comparison on this page. Nine of the 22 rows read 24 hours: Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas, Columbus, Newark, Baltimore and Minneapolis. Four read 48 hours: Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington.
Eight rows draw no bar. Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Denver and Boston read no requirement, Philadelphia reads no statute, Detroit reads permission required and Charlotte reads no hours set. Milwaukee's bar stands at 12 hours, the shortest figure drawn.
Read it with its source in mind. The 12 hours is the definition of advance notice in ATCP 134.09(2), an administrative rule, and a tenant told of a proposed entry may agree to a shorter time.
Our record leaves open how § 704.95 bears on that rule, so read the current text before counting on it.
Plain English Version
In Milwaukee your landlord can come in to inspect, fix something or show the unit to someone who might rent or buy it. Wisconsin's rule asks for at least 12 hours' advance notice, at a reasonable time, unless you agree to less after hearing about the visit.
No notice is needed in an emergency, when you ask for the visit, or when you are away and the place needs protecting. The landlord must announce themselves before entering, and any wider entry right has to be in a separate signed page.
Notice to Enter Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Milwaukee, WI
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.
“Lessor hereby reserves”
The lease frames entry as a right the landlord keeps for itself. In Wisconsin the baseline right is already written down, and a lease that wants more has a set route. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2)(c) lets a rental agreement authorize entry at reasonable times in other circumstances through a nonstandard rental provision in a separate written document entitled “NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS”. The landlord must specifically identify and discuss that document with the tenant before the tenant signs.
“at reasonable times”
Reasonable times is half of Wisconsin's test. Advance notice is the other half, and its number lives in the rule rather than the statute. § 704.05(2) lets a landlord enter upon advance notice and at reasonable times. ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. then says advance notice “means at least 12 hours advance notice unless the tenant, upon being notified of the proposed entry, consents to a shorter time period”. Kalmas turned on a landlord who gave the notice its state required; this paragraph, read by itself, promises no entry notice at all.
“for the purpose of making repairs”
Repairs and inspection are two of the three purposes Wisconsin names, and the rule adds a limit on the visit itself. ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. allows entry to inspect, make repairs, or show the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers, “for the amount of time reasonably required” to do so. ATCP 134.09(2)(d) adds that no landlord may enter “without first announcing his or her presence” to anyone who may be inside.
“to show the dwelling to prospective tenants”
Kalmas allowed showings once notice of termination had been given, and the court read the right narrowly. Wisconsin's rule names showing the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers among the purposes of entry, under the same 12-hour definition of advance notice. The city layer is framed by statute. Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(a)4. bars a city ordinance that prohibits or limits a landlord's showing of a premises to a prospective tenant during the current tenancy, and ATCP 134.10 provides that the state rule does not nullify a local ordinance unless complying with one would mean violating the other.
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.
Wisconsin Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- The 12 hours is a definition with three exceptions. ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. bars a landlord from entering a dwelling unit during tenancy "except upon advance notice and at reasonable times. Advance notice means at least 12 hours advance notice unless the tenant, upon being notified of the proposed entry, consents to a shorter time period." Under ATCP 134.09(2)(b) that rule does not apply where the tenant, knowing the proposed time of entry, requests or consents in advance, where "A health or safety emergency exists", or where the tenant is absent and the landlord reasonably believes entry is necessary to protect the premises from damage.
- The reason and the length of the visit are limited too. ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. allows entry during tenancy only to inspect the premises, make repairs, or show the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers, "for the amount of time reasonably required" to do so. The statute behind it, § 704.05(2), gives the tenant "the right to exclusive possession of the premises" until the tenancy ends and the tenant is not in default, and lets the landlord enter without notice "and with such force as appears necessary" only if the tenant is absent and the landlord reasonably believes entry is necessary to preserve or protect the premises.
- A lease can change the rule only in a separate, flagged document. Under ATCP 134.09(2)(c) a rental agreement may authorize entry at reasonable times in other circumstances only through a nonstandard rental provision in a separate written document entitled "NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS" that the landlord must specifically identify and discuss with the tenant before the tenant signs; a tenant's signature or initials creates a rebuttable presumption that this happened. ATCP 134.09(2)(d) adds that no landlord may enter "without first announcing his or her presence" to anyone who may be inside and identifying himself or herself upon request.
- Notice can arrive electronically if the lease allows it. Section 704.10(4) lets a rental agreement include a provision permitting the landlord to provide "Advance notice of entry under s. 704.05 (2)" by electronic means. Section 704.05(1) makes § 704.05 govern "in the absence of any inconsistent provision in writing signed by both the landlord and the tenant", which is the statute's own route for a signed agreement to vary the default.
- Who the 12-hour rule covers, and one open question. ATCP 134.01 applies the chapter to the rental of dwelling units in Wisconsin but excludes, among others, units owned and operated by government, institutional housing incidental to medical, educational or similar services, units rented only to tourist or transient occupants, units provided free or to an employee who operates or maintains the premises, and units occupied by a tenant engaged in commercial agriculture on the premises. Wis. Stat. § 704.95 provides that the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection "may not issue an order or promulgate a rule under s. 100.20 that changes any right or duty arising under this chapter"; we describe ATCP 134.09(2) as published and take no position on how § 704.95 applies to it.
Sources include Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2); Wis. Stat. § 704.05(2); Wis. Stat. § 704.05(1); Wis. Stat. § 704.10(4); Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.01; Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.10; Wis. Stat. § 704.95; Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(a)4. - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Start with the statute. Wis. Stat. § 704.05(2) gives the tenant “the right to exclusive possession of the premises” until the tenancy ends, if the tenant is not in default.
A landlord may enter to inspect, make repairs or show the premises upon advance notice and at reasonable times.
The number comes from the rule beneath it. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. bars entry during tenancy “except upon advance notice and at reasonable times”, and adds: “Advance notice means at least 12 hours advance notice unless the tenant, upon being notified of the proposed entry, consents to a shorter time period.”
The purposes are set too. Under ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1., entry is to inspect the premises, make repairs, or show the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers, “for the amount of time reasonably required” to do so.
Three situations need no advance notice under ATCP 134.09(2)(b):
- The tenant, knowing the proposed time of entry, requests or consents in advance.
- “A health or safety emergency exists”.
- The tenant is absent and the landlord reasonably believes entry is necessary to protect the premises from damage.
The statute carries its own absent-tenant rule. Under § 704.05(2) the landlord may enter without notice “and with such force as appears necessary” where the tenant is absent and the landlord reasonably believes entry is necessary to preserve or protect the premises.
A lease can vary the default in ways the record names. ATCP 134.09(2)(c) allows entry at reasonable times in other circumstances through a separate written document entitled “NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS”, which the landlord must identify and discuss before you sign. § 704.05(1) makes the section govern absent an inconsistent provision in writing signed by both sides, and § 704.10(4) lets a lease allow advance notice of entry by electronic means.
Two more rules. ATCP 134.09(2)(d) bars entering “without first announcing his or her presence”. ATCP 134.01 leaves some housing outside the chapter, including government-owned units, units rented to tourist or transient occupants, and units provided to an employee who operates or maintains the premises.
One question stays open. Wis. Stat. § 704.95 says the department “may not issue an order or promulgate a rule under s. 100.20 that changes any right or duty arising under this chapter”.
We describe ATCP 134.09(2) as published and take no position on how § 704.95 applies to it, so read the current text of both on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov.
Wisconsin Tenant Protections
Entry during tenancy upon advance notice and at reasonable times under Wis. Stat. § 704.05(2), with advance notice defined in Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. as at least 12 hours unless the tenant, once notified of the proposed entry, consents to a shorter time. Entry is limited by ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. to inspecting, making repairs, or showing the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers, for the amount of time reasonably required.
Under ATCP 134.09(2)(b) no advance notice is needed where the tenant, knowing the proposed time, requests or consents in advance, or where a health or safety emergency exists. The same holds where the tenant is absent and the landlord reasonably believes entry is necessary to protect the premises from damage.
A rental agreement may authorize entry in other circumstances through a separate written document entitled NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS under ATCP 134.09(2)(c), and ATCP 134.09(2)(d) requires the landlord to announce its presence and identify itself on request. § 704.05(1) lets a writing signed by both sides vary the default, and § 704.10(4) lets a lease permit electronic notice of entry. ATCP 134.01 excludes some units from the chapter, among them government-owned units and units rented to tourist or transient occupants. § 704.95 limits rules under s. 100.20 that change rights or duties under Chapter 704; we take no position on how it applies.
Locally, the Milwaukee sections we read set no entry notice period for a tenant's unit.
What's Specific to Milwaukee
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.
Milwaukee renters read Wisconsin's statute and rule first and the city code second. On entry, the city sections we read deal with the city's own access to buildings, not with notice from a landlord to a tenant.
Our Milwaukee record is the City Clerk's PDF of Chapter 200, Subchapter 3 (Enforcement), saved by the Internet Archive on 25 July 2026 with pages dated through 17 December 2024. We read §§ 200-12 and 200-20 through 200-22 in full and text-searched the rest, plus a text search of Chapter 275 (Building Maintenance), saved 18 March 2025.
Those sections set no notice period for a landlord's entry into a tenant's unit, so the 12-hour figure on this page comes from ATCP 134.09(2). The entry provisions we found concern the city. § 275-32, for example, requires the owner of a boarded structure to provide entry to the commissioner upon notification.
Two state provisions speak to how city and state rules meet. Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(a)4. bars a city ordinance that prohibits a landlord from, or places limitations on a landlord with respect to, showing a premises to a prospective tenant during the current tenancy.
ATCP 134.10 provides that the state rule does not nullify a local ordinance unless complying with one would mean violating the other.
Showings are where the two layers meet. ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. lists showing the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers as a purpose of entry, and the same advance-notice definition applies to it.
If showings start near the end of your lease, the 12 hours and the reasonable-times test still frame each visit.
Keep the visitors apart. The commissioner's access under § 275-32 is a different matter from your landlord's entry, and the 12-hour definition in ATCP 134.09(2) is written for a landlord entering a unit during tenancy.
A limit on what this page covers. The City of Milwaukee code is not listed on Municode and city.milwaukee.gov refused our requests, so we read the Clerk's chapter PDFs in archived copies that carry page dates rather than a codified-through line. Chapters we did not open are outside our record.
What makes the state rule usable is a written file. Keep each notice with the time it reached you, and note whether the visit matched a stated purpose and how long it took.
If your lease has a NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS page, keep a copy with it, because that page is where any wider entry right has to sit.
It should. ATCP 134.09(2) defines advance notice as at least 12 hours unless you agree to less once told of the entry. A clause promising that, or more, matches the rule.
ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. names inspecting, making repairs and showing the unit to prospective tenants or purchasers. A clause listing those purposes lets you measure each request against it.
ATCP 134.09(2)(c) routes entry in other circumstances through a separate written document entitled NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS, which the landlord must identify and discuss with you before you sign.
ATCP 134.09(2)(d) says no landlord may enter without first announcing his or her presence to anyone who may be inside, and identifying himself or herself on request.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2); Wis. Stat. § 704.05(2); Wis. Stat. § 704.05(1); Wis. Stat. § 704.10(4); Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.01; Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.10; Wis. Stat. § 704.95; Wis. Stat. § 66.0104(2)(a)4., read on law.cornell.edu. Cornell's Legal Information Institute prints this rule with a history note ending CR 14-038, Register August 2015 No. 716, eff. 11-1-15, and the Wisconsin Legislature's administrative code page, in an Internet Archive copy saved 9 May 2026, carries the same text under the line "Entire code is always current".
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A visit with no stated purpose
ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. ties entry to inspecting, repairing or showing the unit, for the amount of time reasonably required. Ask in writing what a visit is for.
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Notice that arrives an hour before
ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. defines advance notice as at least 12 hours, unless you consent to a shorter time after being told of the entry. Note when each notice reached you.
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Extra entry rights hidden in the lease
Under ATCP 134.09(2)(c), wider entry has to sit in a separate document titled NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS that the landlord identified and discussed before you signed.
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An emergency that is not one
No notice is needed for a health or safety emergency under ATCP 134.09(2)(b). A routine inspection described as an emergency is worth writing down with the date and time.
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Text-message notice you never agreed to
§ 704.10(4) lets a rental agreement permit advance notice of entry by electronic means. Check whether your lease includes that provision before treating a text as notice.
Your Rights as a Milwaukee Tenant
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Exclusive possession
§ 704.05(2) gives you “the right to exclusive possession of the premises” until the tenancy ends, if you are not in default.
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Twelve hours unless you agree
ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. defines advance notice as at least 12 hours, unless you consent to a shorter time after being told of the proposed entry.
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Visits limited by purpose and time
ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. allows entry to inspect, repair or show the unit, for the amount of time reasonably required to do so.
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A knock before the key
ATCP 134.09(2)(d) requires the landlord to announce his or her presence before entering and to identify himself or herself on request.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find your entry clause and any extra page
Search the lease for enter, entry or access, and look for a separate NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS document. ATCP 134.09(2)(c) says wider entry rights belong there.
Check how notice may reach you
§ 704.10(4) lets a lease permit electronic notice of entry. Know whether yours does before counting a text or email as notice.
Count the hours from receipt
ATCP 134.09(2)(a)2. defines advance notice as at least 12 hours. Write down when each notice arrived and the time of the visit it names.
Ask what the visit is for
Entry is for inspecting, repairing or showing the unit under ATCP 134.09(2)(a)1. A written question about the purpose gives both sides a record.
Log each visit
Record the date, the time, who came in, whether they announced themselves and how long they stayed. A log shows where a visit went past its stated purpose.
Read the current text, then get help
The rule was read on Cornell's copy and an archived copy of the Legislature's page saved 9 May 2026. Read ATCP 134.09 and § 704.05 on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov, then take your log to a Milwaukee legal aid office or tenant attorney.