Tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment. That grand legal term means that your tenants must be left alone in their home. It means that you as the landlord cannot just barge into their home anytime you please. You cannot disturb tenants quiet enjoyment without good reason. What is a good reason? Read on to find out.
Quiet Enjoyment
Some landlords hold the notion that they truly are the lords of their properties. And to some extent they are. But once a lease with a tenant is in place, landlords give up some of their property rights. One is the right to freely enter the property. Landlords are not allowed to go in their tenant’s home anytime they want even though they own the property. Imagine if the bank that holds the mortgage to your home was allowed to come and go anytime they wanted to. You would not like it. Under the law, a person’s home (even a leased one) is their castle.
There are times however when landlords can, and should disturb a tenant’s quiet enjoyment. Landlords just have to know when these times are and how to properly go about it.
When And How To Disturb Your Tenants
Three scenarios come to mind. The first is repairs and maintenance, the second is routine inspections and the third is showings for prospective tenants. Each of these scenarios is a legitimate reason to disturb your tenants. But, each also requires a bit of planning on the part of the landlord.
First, landlords must insert clauses into their lease which allows them entry into a tenant’s home for the reasons stated above. It has to be spelled out for example, that the landlord will enter the property and conduct an inspection every year. It has to be stated that the tenant will allow showings to prospective tenants when they give notice to move. And it has to be stated that you will at times need to do routine maintenance nd upkeep.
Of course, even with these clauses in your lease, a landlord has to give their tenant advance notice of the disturbance. How much notice? A week or two for routine maintenance and property inspections is usually enough. Notice for showings and unexpected maintenance could be a little as twenty-four hours however. In any case, be sure to provide as much notice as you can. Doing so will cut down on a lot of tenant animosity.
Disturbing Tenants Without Notice
Are there times when you can barge in to your tenant’s home? Times when you will just have to disturb your tenant no matter what? Yes there are. These are times of emergency. If water is gushing, sparks are cracking or gas is leaking, you are just going to have to go in and disturb them. They may not like it and may protest, but it has to be done to save your property and perhaps even a life.
For example, I once had a tenant bump the knob of his gas stove and accidentally turn it on before he went to sleep. Gas leaked for hours before it was smelled by another tenant. Since I could not get an answer on the sleeping tenant’s door, I went in, turned off the gas and likely saved the building. Another time a tenant got drunk, passed out and left her kitchen sink running. The sink overflowed and started to pour through the ceiling downstairs. Thinking a pipe had burst and unable to rouse the tenant, I went in. She was mad I woke her and I was even angrier at her stupidity, but that is another story. Both times I was completely justified in disturbing my tenants (and yes, she had to pay to repair the ceiling.).
Do Not Disturb Your Tenants
Your tenant has the right to be left alone in their home. You cannot go in and disturb them just because you own the place. Even failure to pay rent does not give you the right to barge into their home anytime you want. In fact, doing do may just get you in trouble. But, with proper lease clauses, reasonable and expected notice or in the case of an emergency, you can go in and disturb your tenant.
Have a good “disturbing your tenant” story? Please share it with us.
Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com. He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors. Subscribe to Smarterlandlording here. Contact Kevin here.
