Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
How this page is sourced
Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what Tennessee law says, what's specific to Nashville - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Our Tennessee record finds no general advance notice before your landlord enters for repairs or inspections.
- Showings to prospective tenants in the lease's final 30 days need 24 hours' notice.
- An emergency, meaning a sudden event demanding immediate action, lets your landlord in with no notice.
- Your landlord may not abuse the right of access or use entry to harass you.
- Nashville adds nothing: § 66-28-102(e) preempts the field, so no local entry-notice requirement applies.
Count it for your dates
24 hours before: the last day to act
What it means: Your landlord must give you notice at least 24 hours before the showing. Applies to the landlord, only for showings to prospective tenants during the lease's final 30 days; our Tennessee record finds no general notice period for other entries (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-403). 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 no warning, or after repeated visits
Ask for written notice before entry
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Tennessee compares
Required entry notice, state by state
12 hrs24 hrs48 hrsNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 26 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.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
This page is for Nashville renters whose landlord wants to come in, or already came in. The most important point is that our Tennessee record finds no general notice period, which makes the entry clause in your lease the paragraph to read first.
Your strongest ground is the 24-hour showing notice in your final 30 days, an "emergency" that is not one, or a pattern of entries that looks like harassment. Keep every notice and log every visit with the date and time.
What renters assume
Tennessee law gives every renter 24 hours' notice before any landlord entry.
What is actually true
Our Tennessee record finds no general advance-notice requirement in § 66-28-403. The only 24-hour notice it finds covers showings to prospective tenants during the lease's final 30 days.
Nashville sits with Austin, Atlanta, and Denver in the no-notice column, while Seattle and Phoenix renters get 48 hours and Miami tenants get 24 hours and an 8:00 p.m. cutoff for repair visits. Same rent, wildly different privacy.
Entry Notice Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Nashville, TN
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”
With no general statute behind you, this word is doing more work in Tennessee than almost anywhere else. What you granted in the lease is close to the whole of the landlord's entry right - so the wording of your own access clause is the thing to read, not a statute.
“at reasonable times”
Tennessee leaves “reasonable” genuinely open for ordinary entry. There is no statutory hour count to measure it against, which means a specific number written into your lease is worth more here than in a state that supplies one.
“or to inspect the premises”
The emergency exception is defined more carefully in Tennessee than the word suggests: a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence demanding immediate action. A planned inspection that the landlord left late is not sudden, and it is not unexpected.
“to show the dwelling to prospective tenants after notice of termination”
This is the one place Tennessee does put a number on it, and this clause happens to name exactly that situation. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-403 requires 24 hours' notice for showings to prospective tenants during the lease's final 30 days. Outside that window, showings fall back to the lease.
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.
Tennessee Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- No general advance-notice statute in our record. Our Tennessee record finds no minimum notice before entry.
- Our Tennessee record finds no general advance-notice requirement for entry; the only statutory 24-hour notice it finds covers showings to prospective tenants during the lease's final 30 days.
- The landlord may enter without tenant consent or notice in an emergency, meaning a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action.
- Nashville adds nothing: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-102(e) preempts the entire field of landlord-tenant regulation, so Metro Code ch. 11.22 (a rent-increase notice rule, not an entry rule) is unenforceable and no local entry-notice requirement applies.
Sources include Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-403 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Our record of Tennessee's entry rules sits in Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-403:
- Notice. Our Tennessee record finds no general advance-notice requirement before entry.
- Showings. During the lease's final 30 days, the landlord must give 24 hours' notice before showing the unit to prospective tenants.
- Emergencies. The landlord may enter without your consent or notice in an emergency, meaning a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action.
- Harassment. The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use entry to harass you.
A notice period written into your lease binds your landlord as a contract term, so ask for one before you sign. Read the current text of § 66-28-403 before you rely on it in a dispute.
What's Specific to Nashville
Nashville adds nothing on entry notice. Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-102(e) preempts the entire field of landlord-tenant regulation, so no local entry-notice requirement applies.
Metro Code ch. 11.22 is a rent-increase notice rule, not an entry rule, and that preemption leaves it unenforceable. The 24 hours before showings in your final 30 days comes from the state statute, § 66-28-403, not from any Metro ordinance.
Ask for 24 hours in writing. With no general period in our Tennessee record, the clause gives you a written term to point to.
A fair clause matches the statute: a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence demanding immediate action. A vague as-needed definition swallows the rule.
Our Tennessee record finds no hours limit for entry. Ask for a daytime window in the lease before you sign.
Watch for wording that waives the 24-hour showing notice in your final 30 days. It is the one entry notice our Tennessee record finds.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-403, read on codes.findlaw.com. Tennessee publishes its official code through LexisNexis; there is no free government edition. FindLaw marks its copy of this section current as of January 2, 2024; confirm the current text with the Tennessee General Assembly before relying on it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Entry at any time language
Our Tennessee record finds no general notice period to set against a clause letting your landlord enter at any time for any reason. Raise it before you sign.
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No entry clause at all
A lease silent on entry leaves you no written notice term to point to, and our Tennessee record finds no general notice period to fill the gap.
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Emergency defined as anything
The statutory standard is a sudden occurrence demanding immediate action, not a routine repair someone wants done today. Calling maintenance an emergency turns a narrow exception into open entry.
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Unlimited showings clause
A clause allowing showings at reasonable times all term long can be read to skip the 24 hours' notice owed during the lease's final 30 days.
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Verbal notice counts as notice
A phone call or door knock leaves no paper trail. Insist on written or emailed notice so a pattern of entries can be shown later.
Your Rights as a Nashville Tenant
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24-hour showing notice
During the lease's final 30 days, your landlord owes 24 hours' notice before bringing prospective tenants through your unit.
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Emergency has a real limit
No-notice entry is for a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action.
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Access can't become harassment
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-403 bars your landlord from abusing the right of access or using entry to harass you.
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Your lease clause binds them
Negotiate 24 hours' written notice into the agreement and it binds your landlord as a contract term.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read your entry clause
Find the exact wording on notice, hours and emergencies. Our Tennessee record finds no general notice period behind it.
Start an entry log
Record the date, time, who came in and why, every time. A pattern is what shows abuse of access.
Ask in writing first
Email your property manager asking for 24 hours' notice going forward. Email creates a timestamp a hallway talk never will.
Cite the harassment limit
If entries keep coming, point to the bar on abusing access in § 66-28-403. Send it by email and keep the sent copy.
Escalate above the manager
Put it in writing to the owner or the management company's regional office.
File in General Sessions
Davidson County General Sessions Court hears small landlord-tenant claims, and you can appear without a lawyer. Bring your entry log and every email.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Notice to Enter rules near Tennessee
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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