Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what New Jersey law says, what's specific to Newark - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1(c) says an occupant must give the owner access during reasonable hours "After receiving prior, written notice of at least 24 hours". The access is for repairs and alterations needed to comply with the city's rent control chapter or a lawful order under it.
- Where the lease is silent, the same subsection says "the tenant shall provide access at all reasonable times after receiving prior notice of at least 24 hours". § 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or such other time mutually agreed.
- For multiple dwellings, N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) requires access for inspections and for repairs needed to comply with the law upon reasonable notification, one day under ordinary circumstances, and immediate access in a safety or structural emergency.
- Refusing a repair visit has a price. In a case under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-88, § 2A:42-91(c) makes it a defense that a tenant refused the owner entry to a portion of the premises to correct the condition.
- Newark added § 19:2-25.1 by Ordinance 6PSF-B, adopted May 20, 2026, for rental units subject to the rent control chapter. Read its current text yourself before relying on the 24 hours, and check whether your unit is on the § 19:2-2 exemption list.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
A notice-to-enter clause decides how much warning you get before someone with a key comes into your home, and what the visit may be for. In Newark the figure a renter works from sits in the city's rent control chapter, with a state regulation beside it.
The two texts count the warning differently, one in hours and one in days, and each is written for its own set of homes.
Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1(c) puts the duty on the occupant and the condition on the owner: access for repairs is owed "After receiving prior, written notice of at least 24 hours". At state level, N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) asks for one day under ordinary circumstances in a multiple dwelling.
The city section was added in May 2026, recent enough that its wording is worth checking as it stands today. Read the current text of § 19:2-25.1 yourself before you rely on the 24 hours in a dispute with your landlord.
What renters assume
A clause reserving entry "at all reasonable hours" means the landlord may come in at any sensible hour without warning, and a tenant who says no is simply in the wrong.
What is actually true
In a unit covered by Newark's rent control chapter, § 19:2-25.1(c) makes repair access follow "prior, written notice of at least 24 hours", and § 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or another time agreed. A flat refusal still costs something: § 2A:42-91(c) turns a refused repair entry into a defense in a case under § 2A:42-88.
Newark joins the 24-hour group, which holds seven of the 17 rows: Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas, Columbus and Newark. Four rows sit at 48 hours - Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington.
The other six carry no figure: Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Denver and Boston read no requirement, and Philadelphia reads no statute.
Newark's label carries two qualifiers, and both change what its bar means. The 24 hours is a city rule, as the Chicago and New York City figures are, and it is scoped to repairs, as Miami's is.
The state regulation's one day for multiple dwellings is not what the bar draws, and neither the written-notice requirement nor the city's daytime window appears on it at all. A bar can hold one number, and in Newark the rule behind that number has several moving parts.
Plain English Version
If the rent control chapter covers your Newark unit, your landlord owes you at least 24 hours of notice before you must let them in for repairs, and the section's first sentence asks for that notice in writing. The city defines reasonable time as 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless you agree to another time.
The state regulation for multiple dwellings asks for one day ordinarily and immediate access in a safety or structural emergency. Turning a repair visit away can be used against you in a repair case.
Entry Notice Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Newark, NJ
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.
11. Entry of Premises: Landlord reserves the right to enter upon the leased premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting the same, or of making repairs, additions or alterations to the building in which the leased premises are located...
Quoted from the published opinion in Eickhoff v. Gelbach, 611 S.W.3d 834 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. 2020). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“11. Entry of Premises”
The lease titles this paragraph from the landlord's side of the door. The New Jersey texts in our record frame it from the tenant's side: Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1(c) says every occupant “shall give the owner of the rental unit access”, and N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) requires access upon reasonable notification. Which of the two reaches your unit is the first question. The city section covers “All rental units subject to this chapter”, and § 19:2-2 lists dwellings that chapter does not apply to, among them public housing.
“reserves the right to enter upon the leased premises”
A reserved right is the landlord's half of the deal, and Newark attaches a condition to it. For repairs, access follows “prior, written notice of at least 24 hours”. Where the lease is silent, the tenant “shall provide access at all reasonable times after receiving prior notice of at least 24 hours”.
“reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting”
Within Newark's rent control chapter the phrase already has a clock. § 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as “Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or such other time mutually agreed”. Inspection is the harder half of the phrase. Our record reads the city section as tying owner access to repairs and alterations, and the text in our record that names an owner's inspection is the state regulation, at one day for multiple dwellings under ordinary circumstances.
“repairs, additions or alterations to the building”
Both New Jersey texts in our record tie repair access to compliance. Newark's is for repairs and alterations needed to comply with the rent control chapter or a lawful order under it, and the state regulation's is for repairs needed to comply with the law. Our record of either text does not reach additions. The state regulation also carries the emergency rule: “In case of safety or structural emergencies immediate access shall be given”. § 19:2-25.1(c), as our record quotes it, states no exception of its own.
The clause was used against the landlord. Because they kept a key and had “reserve[d] the right to enter upon the leased premises at all reasonable hours”, the court held they had reserved the legal right to enter without permission - even though in practice they never did. Read with the clause forbidding the tenants from making their own repairs, that was enough to put the landlord's control of the unit in issue.
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.
New Jersey Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- Newark requires 24 hours' written notice before owner access for repairs. Section 19:2-25.1(c) says: "After receiving prior, written notice of at least 24 hours, every occupant shall give the owner of the rental unit access during reasonable hours to any part of such rental unit". Where the lease is silent, "the tenant shall provide access at all reasonable times after receiving prior notice of at least 24 hours".
- Reasonable hours are defined for the rent control chapter. Section 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as "Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or such other time mutually agreed".
- City inspections have their own rule. Under § 19:2-25.1(b) they need "prior, written notice to the occupant at least 24 hours in advance" and are made "between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. with the consent of the occupant". The exceptions are an immediate threat to health or safety, and a case where waiting for a court order would defeat the action needed.
- The state rule for multiple dwellings is one day's notice. N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) requires access for inspections and for repairs needed to comply with the law "upon reasonable notification, which under ordinary circumstances shall be one day for multiple dwellings". It adds: "In case of safety or structural emergencies immediate access shall be given". Under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 55:13A-3(k), a multiple dwelling includes a building in which three or more units are occupied, or intended to be occupied, by people living independently, subject to the exclusions it lists.
- Refusing entry can cost a tenant in a repair case. In a case under § 2A:42-88, § 2A:42-91(c) makes it a defense that a tenant "has refused entry to the owner or his agent to a portion of the premises for the purpose of correcting such condition or conditions".
Sources include Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1; Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-2; N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c); N.J. Stat. Ann. § 55:13A-3; N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-91 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
The state-level notice figure in our New Jersey record is a regulation rather than a statute. N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) requires access for inspections and for repairs needed to comply with the law "upon reasonable notification, which under ordinary circumstances shall be one day for multiple dwellings".
Read the qualifiers before the number. The duty is reasonable notification, and one day is the measure the regulation gives for ordinary circumstances.
The regulation names two purposes, inspection and compliance repairs, and the notice attaches to both. A visit for a purpose outside those two is one our record of the regulation does not describe.
The regulation reaches multiple dwellings, and the definition decides who is inside it. Under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 55:13A-3(k), a multiple dwelling includes a building in which three or more units are occupied, or intended to be occupied, by people living independently.
The subsection lists exclusions, so read them before assuming the one day reaches a smaller or unusual building.
The regulation states its own exception in plain words: "In case of safety or structural emergencies immediate access shall be given". No day of notice attaches to that kind of visit.
A lease clause that lets the landlord put the emergency label on any visit deserves a second read against those words.
New Jersey also puts a price on refusing. In a case under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-88, § 2A:42-91(c) makes it a defense that a tenant "has refused entry to the owner or his agent to a portion of the premises for the purpose of correcting such condition or conditions".
The defense turns on a refusal of entry whose purpose was correcting the condition. A tenant objecting to short notice and a tenant refusing the repair itself can look alike from the outside, which is why a dated record of when notice arrived and what time you offered is worth keeping.
Our New Jersey record read these sections for this clause and does not reach every state text that touches entry. Regulations are amended, so read the current text of § 5:10-5.1(c) yourself before relying on the one-day figure.
New Jersey Tenant Protections
In Newark, Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1(c) requires an occupant of a rental unit subject to the rent control chapter to give the owner access during reasonable hours after receiving prior, written notice of at least 24 hours. That access is for repairs and alterations needed to comply with the chapter or a lawful order under it.
Where the lease is silent, the tenant provides access at all reasonable times after receiving prior notice of at least 24 hours.
Section 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or such other time mutually agreed, and lists dwellings the chapter does not apply to, among them public housing and newly constructed multiple dwellings as set out in § 19:2-18.1. City inspections under § 19:2-25.1(b) need prior, written notice at least 24 hours in advance and are made between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. with the occupant's consent.
Their exceptions are an immediate threat to health or safety, and a case where waiting for a court order would defeat the action needed. At state level, N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) requires access in multiple dwellings for inspections and compliance repairs upon reasonable notification, one day under ordinary circumstances, and immediate access in a safety or structural emergency.
In a case under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-88, § 2A:42-91(c) makes a tenant's refusal of entry to correct the condition a defense.
Read the current text of both the city section and the regulation before relying on either figure.
What's Specific to Newark
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.
Newark writes the hours down. Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1(c) says: "After receiving prior, written notice of at least 24 hours, every occupant shall give the owner of the rental unit access during reasonable hours to any part of such rental unit".
The purpose is specific. The access is for repairs and alterations needed to comply with the rent control chapter or a lawful order under it.
Where the lease is silent, "the tenant shall provide access at all reasonable times after receiving prior notice of at least 24 hours".
Reasonable is defined rather than left to argument. § 19:2-2 sets reasonable time as "Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or such other time mutually agreed". An evening visit fits that definition only by mutual agreement.
The section has an edge worth finding before anything else. It applies to "All rental units subject to this chapter", and § 19:2-2 lists dwellings the rent control chapter does not apply to, among them public housing and newly constructed multiple dwellings as set out in § 19:2-18.1.
A unit on that list sits outside the section's own words, and the state regulation is the other text our record holds.
The subsection as our record quotes it states no emergency exception for owner access. The exception our record does carry sits in § 19:2-25.1(b), and it belongs to the city's own inspections.
Those inspections run on separate terms. They need "prior, written notice to the occupant at least 24 hours in advance" and are made "between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. with the consent of the occupant".
They give way where there is an immediate threat to health or safety, or where waiting for a court order would defeat the action needed.
Whether your home is a floor of a three-family house in the Ironbound or an apartment in the North Ward, the first question is whether the rent control chapter covers it. The second is when the written notice reached you, and the third is the hour of the visit.
Newark added § 19:2-25.1 by Ordinance 6PSF-B, adopted May 20, 2026. We read it on ecode360, marked as including legislation through July 15, 2026, and in the adopted ordinance text, which carries the same 24-hour wording.
Read the section as it stands today before you cite it to your landlord.
§ 19:2-25.1(c) asks for prior, written notice of at least 24 hours before repair access in a covered unit. A clause saying the same puts the rule in a document you both signed.
§ 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or another time mutually agreed. A clause naming a window gives both sides a clock to point at.
Newark's rent control chapter defines the word in § 19:2-2 rather than leaving it to one side. A clause letting the landlord decide what is reasonable is worth raising before you sign.
The immediate-access sentence in N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) covers safety or structural emergencies. Wording that lets the landlord apply that label alone reaches wider than those words.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-25.1; Newark Rev. Gen. Ord. § 19:2-2; N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c); N.J. Stat. Ann. § 55:13A-3; N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-91, read on ecode360.com. ecode360 marks its copy of the Newark code as including legislation through July 15, 2026; the section was added by Ordinance 6PSF-B, adopted May 20, 2026, whose adopted text, posted on ecode360, carries the same 24-hour wording.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Entry reserved with no notice period
§ 19:2-25.1(c) attaches 24 hours of prior, written notice to repair access in covered units. Read a clause reserving entry without any warning against that section before you sign.
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Reasonable hours left undefined
§ 19:2-2 fixes reasonable time at 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or another agreed time. A lease leaving the phrase open invites an evening visit outside the city definition's hours.
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Emergency access with no limits
The state regulation gives immediate access in a safety or structural emergency. A clause stretching that to any visit the landlord calls urgent is broader than the regulation's words.
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Notice by word of mouth
The first sentence of § 19:2-25.1(c) asks for written notice. A lease accepting a knock or a call as notice leaves you nothing dated to show when the 24 hours began.
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Turning away a noticed repair visit
§ 2A:42-91(c) makes a tenant's refusal of entry to correct a condition a defense in a case under § 2A:42-88. Object to short notice in writing and propose a time instead.
Your Rights as a Newark Tenant
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24 hours of prior written notice
§ 19:2-25.1(c) requires prior, written notice of at least 24 hours before an occupant must give the owner access for repairs in a unit the rent control chapter covers.
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A defined daytime window
§ 19:2-2 defines reasonable time as between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or such other time mutually agreed.
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Consent before a city inspection
§ 19:2-25.1(b) requires 24 hours of written notice for a city inspection, made between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. with the occupant's consent, subject to its two exceptions.
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One day under the state regulation
N.J. Admin. Code § 5:10-5.1(c) asks for reasonable notification, one day under ordinary circumstances, before access in a multiple dwelling, with immediate access in a safety or structural emergency.
What To Do - Step by Step
Check whether the rent control chapter covers your unit
§ 19:2-25.1 applies to rental units subject to the chapter, and § 19:2-2 lists exempt dwellings, among them public housing and newly constructed multiple dwellings under § 19:2-18.1. Start there, because it decides which text you cite.
Read the entry clause beside the city section
Search the lease for enter, entry or access. Set the clause beside § 19:2-25.1(c), which asks for 24 hours of prior, written notice, and note what your clause says about notice, purpose and timing.
Keep the written notice
Save the letter, note or message with its date and time. The 24 hours runs from when you received it, and the first sentence of § 19:2-25.1(c) asks for it in writing.
Log each visit against the window
Record the date, the hour, who came in and why. § 19:2-2 sets reasonable time at 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless you agreed otherwise, and a log shows which visits fell outside it.
Offer a time instead of refusing
§ 2A:42-91(c) makes a refused repair entry a defense in a case under § 2A:42-88. If the notice was short, say so in writing and propose a time inside the window.
Take the notice and the log to local help
New Jersey legal aid offices and Newark tenant groups can read the lease and the log with you. Bring the current text of § 19:2-25.1, since the section was added in 2026 and is worth checking as it stands.