Entry in the absence of a statutory procedure.
A landlord has no inherent right to enter his tenant’s dwelling unit. The essence of the lease is that it transfers the right of occupancy from the landlord to the tenant. This right of occupancy is what the tenant pays for when he pays his rent. In connection with this right is an implied or explicit covenant of quiet enjoyment of the premises, which binds the landlord to leave the tenant to hold the premises in peace for the term for which the premises are let to him.
In the absence of a statute, which most states have, permitting the landlord a right to enter under specified circumstances, the parties may contract to confer this right on the landlord as a condition of tenancy. Keep in mind, also, that there may be rules pertaining to a landlord’s right to enter the dwelling unit related to rent control, if the landlord’s property is covered by it.
For the sake of retention of one’s tenants and the avoidance of strife during tenancy, the keys to exercise of the right to entry are as follows. 1. Enter as infrequently as possible. 2. Always give ample notice and, if possible, allow rescheduling of the entry at least once to accommodate the tenant. 3. Always enter with a clearly defined objective in mind, and notify the tenant of it unless there is a strong reason not to do so.
A tenant must recognize that the landlord has entrusted a serious portion of his net worth to him for use as his residence. Even if there are no obvious repairs, it is important for a landlord to view his property from time to time, say, twice a year, perhaps to do occasional routine maintenance that might not be obvious, or even just to ensure that there are no small problems that threaten to become large ones if not tended to early on. The covenant of quiet enjoyment is meant to protect a tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment of the benefit of the rental agreement, not to enforce a landlord’s neglect of his property
