Notice to Enter Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Washington law says, what's specific to Seattle - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Two days' written notice (48 hours) before entry to inspect, repair, or supply agreed services.
- One day's notice before your unit is shown to a possible renter or buyer.
- No notice is needed in a genuine emergency or where the tenant has abandoned the unit.
- A lease can give you more notice, but a shorter clause does not lower the state minimum.
- Seattle repeats the same periods in SMC 22.206.180.F and lets SDCI enforce them locally.
Understanding the Notice to Enter Clause
This page is for Seattle renters whose landlord wants to come in, or already came in without enough warning. The notice to enter clause in your lease says when the landlord can come inside and how much notice you get.
In Washington, the lease does not set the floor: RCW 59.18.150 does. Two numbers matter, and they apply to different visits.
Keep every notice with the time it arrived, because the gap between that moment and the visit is what counts.
What renters assume
The notice period is whatever my lease says, even if that is a phone call the same morning.
What is actually true
Washington sets the minimum. A clause offering less than 48 hours before a repair or inspection does not let the landlord skip RCW 59.18.150.
Washington sits at the strict end of this chart. A renter in Austin, Atlanta, or Denver has no statutory notice to point at, and Miami and Los Angeles renters get 24 hours - half of what a Seattle repair visit requires.
Entry Notice Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Seattle, WA
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
“Lessor hereby reserves, and the Lessee hereby grants”
Notice the direction of travel: the lease says you granted this. That framing is doing work, because it invites you to treat entry as something you agreed to rather than something the law limits. In Washington it is limited whatever the lease says - RCW 59.18.150 sets the floor and a clause cannot go under it.
“at reasonable times”
“Reasonable” sounds like a limit and is really a gap. Washington fills it with numbers: two days' written notice to inspect, repair or supply services, and one day to show the unit. A lease that only says “reasonable” has told you nothing the statute does not already tell you better.
“for the purpose of making repairs or to inspect the premises”
The purpose list is the real limit, and this one is short. The court read the clause and the statute together as granting only a limited right to inspect - not a general right to be in your home. A clause with an open-ended purpose list is claiming more than Washington gives.
“to show the dwelling to prospective tenants after notice of termination”
Showings get their own, shorter notice period: one day. And the two exceptions run the other way - in a genuine emergency, or where the unit has been abandoned, the landlord may enter with no notice and no consent at all.
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.
Washington Law on Notice to Enter Clause
- 48 hours of advance notice is required before a non-emergency entry.
- Washington landlords must give at least two days' written notice before entering to inspect, repair, or supply services, and at least one day's notice to show the unit.
- In a genuine emergency or where the tenant has abandoned the unit, the landlord may enter without notice or consent.
- Seattle restates the same two-day and one-day periods in SMC 22.206.180.F and lets SDCI enforce them locally, but it does not require more advance notice than state law.
Sources include RCW 59.18.150 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Step by step
How it plays out
- Notice arrivesLandlord says they will enterFor an inspection, repair, or agreed service, the notice must be in writing (RCW 59.18.150).
- 1 day laterShowing allowedAt least one day's notice is enough to show the unit to a possible renter or buyer (RCW 59.18.150).
- 2 days laterRepair or inspection entry allowedAt least two days' written notice is needed before entry to inspect, repair, or supply agreed services (RCW 59.18.150).
- Any timeEmergency or abandoned unitIn a genuine emergency, or where the tenant has abandoned the unit, the landlord may enter without notice or consent.
Count it for your dates
48 hours: when does it end?
What it means: The landlord may not enter for that purpose until at least two days (48 hours) have passed. Applies to Washington landlords, including in Seattle (SMC 22.206.180.F); a showing to a possible renter or buyer needs only one day, and no notice applies in a genuine emergency or where the tenant has abandoned the unit (RCW 59.18.150). 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 less notice than the law requires
Ask for proper notice before entry
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Washington's entry rule sits in RCW 59.18.150. It has two clocks and two exceptions:
- Two days, in writing. Before entering to inspect, make repairs, or supply services you agreed to, the landlord must give at least two days' written notice.
- One day for showings. Before showing the unit to a possible renter or buyer, the landlord must give at least one day's notice.
- No notice in two cases. In a genuine emergency, or where the tenant has abandoned the unit, the landlord may enter without notice or consent.
Check which clock applies to each visit. A one-day notice works for a showing but falls short for a repair visit, and a phone call falls short where the law asks for written notice.
What's Specific to Seattle
How Washington compares
Required entry notice, state by state
12 hrs24 hrs48 hrsNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 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.
Seattle adds enforcement, not extra hours. SMC 22.206.180.F restates the same two-day and one-day periods, and the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) can enforce them locally.
The city does not require more advance notice than state law. A same-day message from building staff saying they are coming in to check the smoke detector is still short of the 48 hours a non-emergency inspection needs.
It should for inspections, repairs, and agreed services. Anything under two days is below the Washington minimum.
One day is the floor before your unit is shown to a possible renter or buyer.
Outside a genuine emergency or an abandoned unit, each entry needs advance notice. Raise it before you sign.
One signature at move-in does not replace notice. Each non-emergency entry still needs its own 48-hour written notice.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- RCW 59.18.150 on app.leg.wa.gov, Washington's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Blanket 24-hour entry clause
One 24-hour period for every visit under-notices repairs and inspections, which need two days in Washington.
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Verbal notice treated as enough
The law calls for written notice before an inspection, repair, or service visit. A clause saying a phone call counts asks for less.
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Landlord defines its own emergency
No-notice entry is for a genuine emergency. Wording that lets the landlord alone decide what is urgent stretches that exception.
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Standing access for vendors
Open-ended access for contractors, cleaners, or inspectors skips the 48-hour written notice those visits still need.
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Unlimited showings near lease end
Some leases claim you consent to unlimited showings in the final weeks. Each showing still needs at least one day's notice.
Your Rights as a Seattle Tenant
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Two days before repairs
48 hours' written notice before entry to inspect, repair, or supply agreed services, whatever your lease says.
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A day before showings
At least 24 hours' notice before your unit is shown to a possible renter or buyer.
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Ask for proper notice
If someone arrives with no notice and no emergency, you can ask for proper notice first. Put the request in writing.
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A city office that enforces
Seattle mirrors the rule in SMC 22.206.180.F, so SDCI can enforce entry violations locally.
What To Do - Step by Step
Save every notice
Screenshot texts, emails, and door notices with their timestamps. The gap between when notice arrived and when someone entered is the key fact.
Log every entry
Write down the date, time, who came in, the reason given, and the notice you got. A pattern is stronger than one incident.
Reply in writing
Say you are not refusing access, you are asking for the notice the law requires. Email shows when you sent it.
Name the sections
Cite RCW 59.18.150 and SMC 22.206.180.F in your message, with the dates and times from your log.
Ask for a written policy
Ask the office to confirm in writing how it will give notice from now on. That reply helps if the entries continue.
Report it to SDCI
If entries keep happening without notice, file with SDCI, which can enforce the rule in Seattle, or ask a tenant counselor about other options.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Notice to Enter rules near Washington
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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