Landlord’s Right to Entry & Inspections
A landlord has a right to enter a rental property between 8am and 8pm for any reason, as long as they provide 24 hours’ written notice to the tenant. They can also give notice that someone else will be entering the unit, like a superintendent or contractor. There is no requirement for a landlord or tenant to be there while the other person is in the unit.
The landlord cannot just give a wide range of times that they will be in the unit (e.g. they cannot say they will be there at some point between Mon-Fri between 9am-5pm), it must be a specific time and date.
A landlord can only enter a premises without notice in two situations:
There is an emergency. An emergency is generally something that could cause significant damage to the property or where there is a risk to someone’s life. In these situations, a landlord (or emergency medical responder) can enter regardless of whether or not the tenant is home.
They reasonably believe that the lease has been abandoned by the tenant (i.e. the tenant has moved out and does not intend to pay rent or return).
When a tenancy is ending, a landlord has the right to show the unit under the following conditions:
A Notice to Quit has been given and the unit is being shown at a reasonable hour to a prospective tenant. This is both if the tenant serves a landlord a Notice to Quit, or if a landlord serves a Notice to Quit and the tenant doesn’t challenge the Notice. If a tenant is challenging a Notice, the landlord cannot show the unit to prospective tenants until the dispute is resolved.
The tenant is on a fixed term lease and the lease is ending. A landlord can enter the premises to show the apartment if:
The lease is less than 6 months and there is one month left in the lease, or
The lease is more than 6 months and there are three months left in the lease.
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Some landlords use inspections and frequent entry into the unit as a means of harassing tenants or making them feel like they are being watched. Others will enter the unit without written notice, and sometimes even tenants are not aware that landlords are entering their unit while they’re away.
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If your landlord is showing the rental unit to prospective renters, you can request that they give you notice – however, they aren’t required to provide it if the tenancy is coming to an end, as stated above.
If you feel your landlord is using frequent inspections and entry into your unit as a means of harassing you – assert yourself! Ask why the landlord needs to enter so frequently and record the times they enter, and the reasons provided. In some instances, tenants have brought their landlord to Residential Tenancies for harassment due to frequent entry.
