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 Oklahoma law says, what's specific to Oklahoma City - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Oklahoma requires at least 1 day's notice before entry, except in an emergency or where notice is impracticable.
- The landlord may enter only at reasonable times and may not use access to harass you.
- You may not unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs, services or showings (§ 128(A)).
- Outside the Act or a court order, the landlord has no other right of access (§ 128(D)).
- An unlawful entry lets you seek an injunction or end the lease on written notice, plus actual damages (§ 124(A)).
Count it for your dates
1 days: when does it end?
What it means: The landlord may enter no sooner than 1 day after the notice reached you, and only at a reasonable time. Applies to a landlord entering under the Oklahoma Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; the notice rule does not apply in an emergency or where notice is impracticable (Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(C)). 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 short notice, at an unreasonable time, or in an unreasonable manner
Ask for a day's notice before entry
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma City renters whose landlord wants to come in, or already came in. The state rule has three parts: a day's notice, a reasonable time, and a reason the Act allows.
Your strongest ground is a visit on short notice, at an unreasonable hour, or a run of repeated demands. Your weakest is refusing a properly noticed visit for repairs or an inspection. Keep every notice with the date and time it reached you.
What renters assume
Once my landlord gives a day's warning, they can come in at any hour and for any reason.
What is actually true
The day's notice is only one limit. § 128(C) also requires entry at reasonable times and bars using access to harass you, and § 128(D) leaves no other right of access except under the Act or a court order.
Oklahoma City makes 26 rows in the comparison on this page. Eleven of the 26 rows share one bar height.
Ten of them count in hours, at 24: Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas, Columbus, Newark, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Kansas City. Oklahoma City's reads 1 day.
Five rows stand taller: Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington read 48 hours, and Louisville reads 2 days. Milwaukee's bar stands at 12 hours.
Nine rows draw no bar: Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Denver and Boston read no requirement, Philadelphia reads no statute, Detroit reads permission required, Charlotte reads no hours set and Indianapolis reads reasonable notice, no hours.
Oklahoma City's label keeps the unit of Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(C), which says "at least one (1) day's notice". The bar measures notice only.
The purposes in § 128(A) and the limit in § 128(D), which decide whether a visit is allowed at all, are not drawn.
Notice to Enter Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Oklahoma City, OK
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
“hereby grants to the Lessor or his agents”
The grant runs to agents as well as the owner, and Oklahoma's Act already counts them in. Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(A) asks the tenant not to unreasonably withhold consent to “the landlord, his agents and employees”, and § 128(B) lets the same group enter without consent in an emergency. Read any grant in a lease against § 128(D), which says the landlord has “no other right of access during a tenancy except as is provided in this act or pursuant to a court order.”
See the example
“at reasonable times”
Reasonable times is the statute's own phrase, and in Oklahoma it never travels alone. 41 O.S. § 128(C) says that except in an emergency or where it is impracticable, the landlord “shall give the tenant at least one (1) day's notice of his intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times.” This clause names the hour limit and leaves out the notice; the Act puts both in one sentence.
See the example
“or to inspect the premises”
Inspection heads the purposes listed in Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(A), beside necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, necessary or agreed services, and showings. A tenant “shall not unreasonably withhold consent” to any of them. § 128(C) adds that a landlord “shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant”, and a run of inspections is the pattern to read against those words.
See the example
“after notice of termination”
The notice named here is notice that the tenancy is ending, and in Oklahoma termination is also how each side answers an entry dispute. If the landlord makes an unlawful entry, a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner, or repeated unreasonable demands for entry, 41 O.S. § 124(A) lets the tenant obtain injunctive relief or, upon written notice, terminate, and “In either case the tenant may recover actual damages.” Showings to prospective tenants sit on the § 128(A) list, and the 1 day of § 128(C) applies to an entry for that purpose too.
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.
Oklahoma Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- The figure is in § 128(C): "A landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
Read the law's words
Except in case of emergency or unless it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least one (1) day's notice of his intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times." Section 128(C) as we read it states the period in days and does not use the word written. - The tenant's side is in § 128(A): a tenant "shall not unreasonably withhold consent" to the landlord, his agents and employees, to enter the dwelling unit to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or show it to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors.
Read the law's words
Section 128(B) allows entry without the tenant's consent "in case of emergency". - Section 128(D) closes the door on other entries: "Unless the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises, a landlord has no other right of access during a tenancy except as is provided in this act or pursuant to a court order." If the tenant refuses lawful access, § 128(E) lets the landlord obtain injunctive relief to compel access or terminate the rental agreement.
- The tenant's remedy is in § 124(A): if the landlord makes an unlawful entry, a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner, or harasses the tenant with repeated unreasonable demands for entry, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief or, upon written notice, terminate the rental agreement, and "In either case the tenant may recover actual damages." Section 124(B) withholds both remedies where the landlord is executing a writ under Section 1148.10A of Title 12, and § 113(A)(1) bars a lease term that waives rights or remedies under the Act.
Sources include Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(C); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(A); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(B); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(D); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(E); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 124; Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 103; Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 113(A)(1); Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 14-101.1; Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 22-110.1 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Oklahoma's entry rules sit in Okla. Stat. tit. 41, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act:
- § 128(C) Notice. Except in an emergency or where it is impracticable, the landlord must give at least one day's notice of the intent to enter, and may enter only at reasonable times.
- § 128(A) and (B) Your side. You must not unreasonably withhold consent for entry to inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or show the unit to buyers, mortgage lenders, tenants, workmen or contractors. In an emergency the landlord may enter without consent.
- § 128(D) and (E) Limits. Unless you have abandoned or surrendered the unit, the landlord has no other right of access except under the Act or a court order. If you refuse lawful access, the landlord may get a court order to compel access or end the rental agreement.
- § 124(A) Remedies. For an unlawful entry, a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner, or repeated unreasonable demands, you may get an injunction or, on written notice, end the rental agreement, and recover actual damages. § 124(B) withholds these while the landlord is executing a writ under Section 1148.10A of Title 12.
§ 113(A)(1) bars a lease term that waives your rights under the Act. Check the current text on oscn.net.
What's Specific to Oklahoma City
No section we read in the Oklahoma City Municipal Code sets a notice period for a landlord's entry, including Chapter 24, the Housing and Property Maintenance Code, from § 24-11 through § 24-112. The city entry rule we did read, § 34-9(b)(1) in the noise chapter, covers a city noise enforcement officer, not your landlord.
So the one-day rule in § 128(C), which § 103(A) applies to a rental agreement for a dwelling unit within the state, is the entry rule we found for an Oklahoma City tenancy.
It should promise at least the 1 day's notice in § 128(C), outside an emergency or a case where notice is impracticable.
A list matching § 128(A) (inspections, repairs, services, showings) gives you a fixed list to hold each request against.
§ 128(D) allows no other right of access except under the Act or a court order, and § 113(A)(1) bars terms waiving your rights.
§ 128(C) allows entry only at reasonable times. Raise wording that leaves the hour to the landlord alone before you sign.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(C); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(A); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(B); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(D); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 128(E); Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 124; Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 103; Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 113(A)(1); Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 14-101.1; Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 22-110.1, read on oklegislature.gov. The Oklahoma Legislature's Title 41 file, posted under the note that the Oklahoma Statutes were last updated on November 18th, 2025, prints § 128 with the history line Added by Laws 1978, c. 257, § 28, eff. Oct. 1, 1978, and the Oklahoma State Courts Network copy saved by the Internet Archive on 15 August 2021 carries the same text and history.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
-
Entry announced the same morning
Less than a day's notice falls short of § 128(C) unless there is an emergency or notice is impracticable. Note when each notice reached you.
-
An emergency label on a routine visit
§ 128(B) allows entry without consent only "in case of emergency". Ask in writing why a routine inspection was called one.
-
Repeated demands to come in
§ 124(A) treats repeated unreasonable demands for entry as their own violation. A dated log is how you show the pattern.
-
A clause waiving your entry rights
§ 113(A)(1) bars a rental agreement term that waives rights or remedies under the Act. Raise it before you sign.
-
A visit with no purpose on the list
§ 128(A) names inspections, repairs, services and showings. Ask what any other visit is for.
Your Rights as a Oklahoma City Tenant
-
A day's notice first
At least 1 day's notice and entry at reasonable times, outside an emergency or a case where notice is impracticable (§ 128(C)).
-
No harassment through access
A landlord "shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant" (§ 128(C)).
-
A closed list of entries
Unless you abandoned or surrendered the unit, no other right of access except under the Act or a court order (§ 128(D)).
-
An injunction, an exit and damages
After an unlawful or unreasonable entry, an injunction or termination on written notice, and actual damages either way (§ 124(A)).
What To Do - Step by Step
Find your entry clause
Search the lease for enter, entry or access. Note the notice it promises, the purposes it names and the hours it allows.
Keep every notice with its time
Texts, emails and portal messages show when they were sent. Save them all, and ask for future notices in writing.
Answer reasonable requests
Offer a time that works for a listed purpose. Refusing lawful access lets the landlord seek a court order or end the agreement (§ 128(E)).
Log each visit
Write down the date, the time, who came in and the reason given. An unreasonable manner of entry is its own claim.
Put any termination in writing
Termination under § 124(A) runs on written notice. Keep a copy and proof of when it was delivered.
Bring a pattern and get help
Take your lease and your dated log to an Oklahoma City legal aid office or tenant attorney.
Why renters trust LeaseDecoded
Frequently Asked Questions
Notice to Enter rules near Oklahoma
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
Was this guide helpful?Your answer is anonymous and helps us fix what is unclear.