What to Do When Your Tenant Won't Let You In for Inspection

By Solutions Property Management — Mon Jun 15 2026

The 24-hour notice rule, what counts as reasonable access, and what to do when a tenant refuses.

Section 27 of the Residential Tenancies Act governs when a landlord can enter a rental unit. Read it once and it's clear. Skip it and you'll end up at the LTB — as the respondent.

**When you can enter with 24 hours written notice**

• To carry out a repair or replacement or do work in the unit
• To show the unit to a prospective purchaser
• For any reasonable purpose allowed by the tenancy agreement
• To allow a mortgage lender to conduct an inspection

The notice must be in writing, must state the reason, and must specify a time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

**When you can enter without notice**

• Emergency (fire, flood, gas leak)
• The tenant consents at the time
• You're providing a cleaning service that the lease already includes

That's it. "I was in the neighbourhood" is not on the list.

**When a tenant refuses to let you in**

If you've given proper 24-hour written notice, the tenant does not have the right to refuse entry. You may enter at the noticed time whether they are home or not. Bring another adult, take photos of your notice, and document that you did not disturb anything.

But — and this is the important part — do not force entry, do not intimidate, and do not enter more frequently than reasonably necessary. Repeated inspections can be found to be harassment.

**If you genuinely need to inspect and access has become impossible**

File an application with the LTB (Form T2 doesn't apply; you're the landlord, so it would be a specific application for entry). The board can order the tenant to permit entry.

In practice, 95% of access issues resolve with a phone call and a rescheduled time. Save the paper for the other 5%.