Difficult tenant refuses to give the key

[Gade Chua]

I inherited the tenant with the condo I recently purchased. He's been on time with rent, but been extremely hard to reach. We have a few items we want to repair in the unit and we don't have a copy of the key, plus he got into an argument with our first contractor because he didn't answer the door when our contractor showed up. We have been trying to get a key from him for months now and haven't been successful. What's the best way to approach in this situation? I like the fact that he has been paying so far, but really don't like that he's denying my request. I am remote and our friend helps manage the property, but she's having a hard time reaching him as well. At this point I don't even care about bringing contractor to improve the unit, but I do want to get my access in case there is an emergency while he is not home.

[Account Closed]

I agree, something is fishy. By law you need to give 24 hours notice to access the property. I'd send him a certified letter, giving him 24 hours notice. I'd inform him, if he doesn't grant access to your friend/handyman at a specific time and day that a locksmith will be on call, the locks will be changed at his expense.