Tenants not home. Can I enter with text notification with notice?

Question

I have 3 tenants out of town. Our lease says 24 hour notice, which I have given via text. Told them I'm coming in to do general maintenance (air filter, dehumidifier install, etc) and they asked that I come when they are home. Can I legally enter with text and/or email notification or do I need to send a written letter? This is in saint Louis park, MN. Our lease terms say 24 hour notice.

Thanks a lot!

Bill B. · Answer

What your lease says is superseded by the state/city law. Check what Mn law says and follow it. I don’t know if it’s worth causing a hassle over. You do have proof they received your notice if they responded. I guess It depends to me how good of tenants they have been.

Is there any reason it has to/should be down before they get back? Many people wouldn’t want people they dotn know walking their home while hey aren’t home. If it has to be done, do it with proper notice. If it doesn’t offer them the option to reschedule it for next week for $50 cancellation/reschedule fee. Otherwise just tack on the monthly nuisance fee at lease renewal.

TLDR: if it’s important, do it asap with proper notice, if they are great tenants, and it’s just stupid stuff liek air filter, reschedule and wait. If it’s between, your response is between.

Jim K. · Answer

@Brent R.

Call them and figure it out. Think less about what your rights are here and more about where wisdom lies. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you like to be treated?

Text messages do a very poor impersonation of edicts.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

You're getting a lot of non-answers here.

The law says you "give reasonable notice" not that you "ask for permission" or "negotiate a time that works for the Tenant while inconveniencing yourself." There is a common misconception among Landlords that you have to get the tenant's permission to enter, but the law only requires that you give notice.

On the other hand, you should respect someone's right to privacy. If the tenants are out of town, it's reasonable to schedule a time that they are back so they can pick up or keep you from snooping around their personal belongings. If able, you should find out when they are coming home, then give them 2-3 options of when you can do the install and let them pick one. If they refuse to pick any, let them know the law only requires you give notice and you're coming in on [DATE] at [TIME].

Dwayne Poster · Answer

No offence, but a 24 hr notice for general maintenance, served when the tenant is away, is a bit scummy. Now if it had been preceded with a courteous notice sent earlier, with maybe a reminder, that would be different. Then I'd send the notice as per the channel specified in the agreement (or minimum required by law). You should have a representative there during the access, to guard your client possessions, privacy.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Not sure, but I doubt a text will suffice. No way to provide sufficient proof of service (?)

I notice a lot of threads about tenants refusing to do this or that lately....what is up with tenants getting so uppity?

Scott Mac · Answer

Dehumidifier install--I'll bet they really like that.

So even if they are a put off by the timing they will be more comfortable.

If it were mine and and only 1 rental, or only 1 or 2, the "Rental Experience" I want to offer in this instance would be to try to find a convenient time that works for both.

No need to play Drill Sargent and make them feel their privacy has been violated in a SFH as long as the option to be flexible is there.

But, if you have no other option, then you have no other option.

I'd let them scurry to clean the place for the visit (dust, pick up old crushed beer cans, empty ash trays (and hide them), wash the dishes, make the beds, move secret pets somewhere, etc....

Turns are expensive, why step  on a Hornets nest if you have another option.

An apartment complex is different, those run on a schedule, home or not, dryer vents get cleaned, washer hoses replaced, filters replaced, leaks fixed, etc...

Just my 2 cents.

Justin V. · Answer

@Brent Reid

Replied earlier to the wrong person, so read that first.

Then had the following thought.

What are the St. Louis park mandates, though? I’ve heard they have some of the strictest from a city standpoint. My properties are minneapolis.

Justin V. · Answer

@Isaac S.

Minnesota mandate is “reasonable notice” and is vague. 24 hr notice is more strict than the state mandate.

You can legally enter if you want.

I have entered when told “no” to maintain control of my property with a couple of overstepping tenants (once during an eviction).

I do typically reschedule, but you are within your rights.

Not a lawyer and not legal advice, but this is what my lawyer told me during my eviction situation.

Tenants not home. Can I enter with text notification with notice?

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