Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Minnesota law says, what's specific to Minneapolis - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- § 504B.211, subd. 2 asks for a reasonable business purpose and a good faith effort to give notice of not less than 24 hours. The notice must name a time or window, and entry runs between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree otherwise.
- You can shorten the notice but not sign it away. A tenant may permit entry with less than 24 hours notice, and a landlord may not require a waiver of prior notice as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease.
- The 24-hour wording reaches leases signed on or after January 1, 2024 and leases renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026. An estate at will is deemed renewed at the start of each rental period.
- Entry without notice needs a reasonable suspicion that immediate entry is necessary, under subd. 4, and an unannounced entry while you are out requires a written disclosure left in a conspicuous place, under subd. 5.
- A violation can cost the landlord a rent reduction up to full rescission of the lease, your damage deposit less amounts retained under § 504B.178, up to a $500 civil penalty for each violation, and reasonable attorney fees.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
Your landlord may hold a key to your home. An entry clause is the part of the lease that says when that key may be used, for what, and what has to happen first. Minnesota answers all three questions in one section.
Minn. Stat. § 504B.211 asks for a reasonable business purpose from a list, a good faith effort to give at least 24 hours' notice naming a time or window, and a visit between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. unless you agree to another time. Emergencies sit in a separate subdivision, and so do the penalties for a breach.
One question comes before the hours. The 24-hour wording reaches leases signed on or after January 1, 2024 and leases renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026.
The Revisor's page for the section prints the current text without that note, so find your own signing or renewal date first.
What renters assume
A landlord who gives 24 hours' notice may come in for any reason and at any hour, and a lease that waives notice settles the question for good.
What is actually true
§ 504B.211 asks for a reasonable business purpose as well as notice, and limits entry to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree otherwise. It also bars a landlord from requiring a waiver of prior notice as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease.
Nine of the 21 rows on this chart sit at 24 hours: Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas, Columbus, Newark, Baltimore and Minneapolis. Four sit at 48 hours: Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington.
Eight 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.
Minneapolis's bar is the same length as eight others, and the labels beside them differ. Miami's is scoped to repairs, and the New York City and Newark figures come from city rules.
Minnesota's 24 hours comes from state law, § 504B.211, subd. 2, and the city section our record read, § 244.285, states no hours.
The bar does not show the date rule. A Minneapolis lease signed before January 1, 2024 and not renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026 sits outside the dates the 24-hour wording reaches.
Plain English Version
If the current rule covers your Minneapolis lease, your landlord needs a business reason from the statute's list and must make a good faith effort to tell you at least 24 hours ahead, naming a time or window. Visits fall between 8 in the morning and 8 at night unless you agree to something else.
You can agree to shorter notice, but the lease cannot make you give up notice altogether. Emergencies follow their own rule.
A broken rule can cost the landlord rent, your deposit and up to $500 for each violation.
Notice to Enter Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Minneapolis, MN
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 or his agents, the right to”
Minnesota's first answer to a standing grant like this concerns waiver. Under Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 2, a landlord may not require a tenant to waive the right to prior notice of entry as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease. The grant can let the landlord in, but it cannot make notice optional. Minneapolis adds a rule written around whoever comes through the door: Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.285 puts the duty on the person making the entry, who must make a good faith and reasonable effort to notify the tenant beforehand.
“enter said leased premises at reasonable times”
Reasonable times is the lease's own standard, and Minnesota replaces it with a clock and a window. Under § 504B.211, subd. 2, the landlord must make a good faith effort to give notice of not less than 24 hours, and the notice must name a time or anticipated window of entry. Entry runs between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree to an earlier or later time, and a tenant may permit entry on shorter notice if desired.
“making repairs or to inspect the premises”
Repairs and inspection are two of the purposes Minnesota accepts, and its list goes further. Subdivision 3 counts maintenance work and government code inspections as reasonable business purposes, along with a buyer's or insurance representative's visit, a disturbance within the unit, a reasonable belief the tenant is violating the lease within the unit, and a vacated unit. The court in Kalmas read a clause like this as a limited right to inspect. In Minnesota, the statute's list sets the purposes a visit can serve.
“prospective tenants after notice of termination”
Showings are where Kalmas was decided, and Minnesota names the same moment. Subdivision 3 treats showing the unit to prospective tenants during the notice period before the lease ends, or after the tenant has given notice, as a reasonable business purpose. Notice still applies to a showing. In Kalmas the agent gave the notice Washington's statute required, which is why the court found the tenants had no reasonable expectation other than that entry for inspection would occur.
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.
Minnesota Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- The 24 hours is a minimum, and the tenant can shorten it but not sign it away. Section 504B.211, subdivision 2 reads in part: "A residential tenant may permit a landlord to enter the rented premises with less than 24 hours notice if desired. The notice must specify a time or anticipated window of time of entry". It ends: "A residential tenant may not waive and the landlord may not require the residential tenant to waive the residential tenant's right to prior notice of entry under this section as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease."
- Notice alone is not enough; the visit needs a reason on the list. Subdivision 3 names reasonable business purposes, including showing the unit to prospective tenants during the notice period before the lease ends or after the tenant has given notice, showing it to a buyer or insurance representative, maintenance work, government code inspections, a disturbance within the unit, a reasonable belief the tenant is violating the lease within the unit, and a vacated unit. Where a landlord enters without prior notice and the tenant is not home, subdivision 5 requires a written disclosure left "in a conspicuous place in the premises."
- A violation carries money penalties and counts as a breach of the landlord's covenants. Under subdivision 6 the tenant "is entitled to a penalty which may include a rent reduction up to full rescission of the lease, recovery of any damage deposit less any amount retained under section 504B.178, and up to a $500 civil penalty for each violation and reasonable attorney fees", may enforce the section through the procedures in §§ 504B.381, 504B.385 and 504B.395 to 504B.471, and "A violation of this section by the landlord is a violation of section 504B.161."
- The 24-hour wording depends on when the lease was signed or renewed. It was added by 2023 Minn. Laws chapter 52, article 19, section 87, and section 90 of that article, as amended by 2025 Minn. Laws chapter 32, article 4, section 10, makes the 2023 changes effective January 1, 2024 for leases signed on or after that date, and January 1, 2026 for leases renewed or extended on or after that date, with estates at will "deemed to be renewed or extended at the commencement of each rental period."
- Two groups sit outside the section. Subdivision 7 says it "does not apply to residential tenants and landlords of manufactured home parks as defined in section 327C.015." And subdivision 4 lets a landlord enter without prior notice to inspect or take appropriate action where the landlord reasonably suspects immediate entry is necessary to prevent injury to persons or property because of maintenance, building security or law enforcement conditions, to determine a tenant's safety, or to comply with local ordinances on unlawful activity in the premises.
Sources include Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 2; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 3; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 4; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 5; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 6; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 7; Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.285 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
The rule sits in Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 2. Outside the emergencies in subdivision 4, a landlord may enter a residential tenant's home for a reasonable business purpose, after a good faith effort to give notice of not less than 24 hours.
Entry is limited to the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree otherwise.
The same subdivision says who controls the notice: “A residential tenant may permit a landlord to enter the rented premises with less than 24 hours notice if desired. The notice must specify a time or anticipated window of time of entry”.
It closes on waiver. “A residential tenant may not waive and the landlord may not require the residential tenant to waive the residential tenant's right to prior notice of entry under this section as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease.”
Notice is half the test. Subdivision 3 lists reasonable business purposes, including showing the unit to prospective tenants during the notice period before the lease ends or after the tenant has given notice, showing it to a buyer or insurance representative, maintenance work and government code inspections.
It also covers a disturbance within the unit, a reasonable belief the tenant is violating the lease within the unit, and a vacated unit.
Subdivision 4 allows entry without prior notice where the landlord reasonably suspects immediate entry is necessary to prevent injury to persons or property because of maintenance, building security or law enforcement conditions. It also covers checking a tenant's safety and complying with local ordinances on unlawful activity.
If the landlord enters that way while you are out, subdivision 5 requires a written disclosure left “in a conspicuous place in the premises.”
Subdivision 6 prices a breach: a penalty that may include a rent reduction up to full rescission of the lease, recovery of the damage deposit less any amount retained under § 504B.178, up to a $500 civil penalty for each violation, and reasonable attorney fees. A violation is also a violation of § 504B.161, and the tenant may enforce the section through §§ 504B.381, 504B.385 and 504B.395 to 504B.471.
Two scope rules come last. Subdivision 7 says the section does not apply to manufactured home parks as defined in § 327C.015.
And the 24-hour wording, added by 2023 Minn. Laws chapter 52, is effective January 1, 2024 for leases signed on or after that date. For leases renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026, it is effective from that date, with estates at will “deemed to be renewed or extended at the commencement of each rental period.”
Minnesota Tenant Protections
Notice and a reason: under Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 2, a landlord may enter for a reasonable business purpose after a good faith effort to give notice of not less than 24 hours, naming a time or anticipated window. Fixed hours: entry is limited to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree to an earlier or later time.
Your choice, not the lease's: a tenant may permit entry on shorter notice, and a landlord may not require a waiver of prior notice as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease. A list of purposes: subdivision 3 names showings to prospective tenants, buyers and insurance representatives, maintenance work, code inspections, a disturbance or suspected lease violation within the unit, and a vacated unit.
Narrow emergencies: subdivision 4 allows entry without notice where the landlord reasonably suspects immediate entry is necessary to prevent injury to persons or property, to check a tenant's safety, or to comply with local ordinances on unlawful activity. A written trace: subdivision 5 requires a disclosure left in a conspicuous place after an unannounced entry while the tenant is out.
Penalties: subdivision 6 allows a rent reduction up to full rescission, the deposit less amounts retained under § 504B.178, up to $500 per violation and reasonable attorney fees. Locally, Minneapolis § 244.285 requires the person making an entry to make a good faith and reasonable effort to notify the tenant beforehand.
What's Specific to Minneapolis
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.
A Minneapolis renter reads Minnesota's statute first and the city's housing code second. On entry, the state layer carries the hours and the city layer adds a notice duty in its own words.
Our Minneapolis record is Title 12 (Housing) of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-020, adopted June 25, 2026, read in full, plus a text search of the whole code. Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.285 requires the person making an entry into a rented dwelling unit, before the time of entry, to “make a good faith and reasonable effort to notify the tenant or lessee that such entry will be made”.
That city section states no number of hours, and the Title 12 sections we read state no hour figure of their own for an owner's entry into a tenant's unit. The 24 hours on this page comes from § 504B.211.
Read the two together: the city asks for a good faith and reasonable effort, and the state section sets a floor in hours.
The city duty sits with the person making the entry. That makes it worth asking who will come as well as when, and keeping the answer with the notice.
One Title 12 figure is easy to misread. The four-hour notice in § 244.1730 is notice a utility company owes a building owner before entering a multi-unit dwelling, not notice to a tenant, so it is not a figure to count from on a visit to your unit.
The date rule matters here as much as anywhere in the state. A fixed-term Minneapolis lease signed before January 1, 2024 and not renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026 sits outside the dates the 24-hour wording reaches.
If your tenancy is an estate at will, it is deemed renewed at the start of each rental period.
What makes any of this usable is a written file. Keep each notice with the time or window it named, and log every visit: the date, the time, who came in, and the purpose given.
Subdivision 6 counts its civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation, and a log is what shows how many there were.
We read the Minneapolis code on Municode. Check § 244.285 as it reads today before quoting it to your landlord, and read the current text of § 504B.211 on the Revisor's site.
It helps. § 504B.211, subd. 3 names the reasonable business purposes, such as maintenance work, code inspections and showings. A clause that tracks that list gives you a fixed standard for each request.
§ 504B.211, subd. 2 says the notice “must specify a time or anticipated window of time of entry”, so a clause saying the same puts the rule in a document you both signed.
§ 504B.211, subd. 2 says the landlord may not require a tenant to waive prior notice of entry as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease.
Subdivision 2 limits entry to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree to an earlier or later time. Read a clause with no hours against that line.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 2; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 3; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 4; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 5; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 6; Minn. Stat. § 504B.211, subd. 7; Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.285, read on revisor.mn.gov. The Revisor of Statutes prints this section in the 2025 Minnesota Statutes with a History line ending 2023 c 52 art 19 s 87,88, and its Chapter 504B page lists no 2026 session law amending it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A notice with no time or window
§ 504B.211, subd. 2 says the notice must specify a time or anticipated window of entry. Ask in writing for one before the visit.
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A lease clause that waives notice
A landlord may not require a tenant to waive prior notice of entry as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease, under § 504B.211, subd. 2.
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A visit at 7 in the morning or 9 at night
Entry is limited to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. unless landlord and tenant agree to another time. Note the time of any visit outside that window.
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An unannounced entry with nothing left behind
Where a landlord enters without prior notice while you are out, subd. 5 requires a written disclosure left in a conspicuous place. Photograph what you find, or note that nothing was left.
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A four-hour figure quoted to you
Minneapolis § 244.1730's four-hour notice is owed by a utility company to a building owner, not to a tenant. The tenant figure on this page is 24 hours, from § 504B.211.
Your Rights as a Minneapolis Tenant
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24 hours and a named window
§ 504B.211, subd. 2 asks for a good faith effort to give notice of not less than 24 hours, specifying a time or anticipated window of entry.
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A reason from the list
Entry needs a reasonable business purpose. Subd. 3 lists them, from maintenance work and code inspections to showings during the notice period.
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No waiver as a lease condition
A landlord may not require you to waive prior notice of entry as a condition of entering into or maintaining the lease.
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Up to $500 per violation
Subd. 6 allows a rent reduction up to full rescission, the deposit less amounts retained under § 504B.178, up to $500 for each violation and reasonable attorney fees.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find your lease's signing and renewal dates
The 24-hour wording reaches leases signed on or after January 1, 2024 and leases renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026. Settle which side of those dates your lease sits on first.
Read your entry clause beside § 504B.211
Search the lease for enter, entry or access. Compare its purposes, hours and notice wording with subdivisions 2 and 3, and note any line asking you to give up notice.
Ask for the window in writing
Subdivision 2 requires the notice to specify a time or anticipated window. A written reply agreeing to a set day and time protects both sides.
Check the reason given
Hold each request against the purposes in subd. 3. An emergency entry under subd. 4 needs a reasonable suspicion that immediate entry is necessary, not convenience.
Log each visit
Record the date, the time, who came in, what they did and any disclosure left behind. Subdivision 6 counts its penalty of up to $500 for each violation.
Use the enforcement route, then get help
Subdivision 6 lets a tenant enforce the section through §§ 504B.381, 504B.385 and 504B.395 to 504B.471. Take your lease and your log to a Minneapolis legal aid office or tenant attorney.