Confirming receipt of notices

[Wesley W.]

I conduct semiannual inspections on my rental units, and typically give notice through text message.  I have a relatively new marginal tenant whom I have had some minor problems with. (In hindsight, this person was a poor decision on my part, but with COVID I having to stand pat at the present time.) She "did not get the message" and thus produced some pushback when I showed up for the inspection.

This situation left me wondering how I might proceed in the future with "notice to enter".  If I send a text message (or email) and request a confirmation, then a sketchy tenant (whose unit I would like inspect above all others) will ignore the request, causing me a dilemma of not being able to proceed with my inspection as planned.  Besides tacitly giving the tenant the control by "confirming receipt" it also will require that I make a separate trip back to that property to inspect that particular unit on a date different than the others at the property I inspected on the planned day.  I am all about developing systems, and if there is even one outlier in a process, I essentially no longer have a system.

If I post a physical notice on their door, I still have the possibility of a denial of receipt ("it was not there when I got home that day!"); it also might look like a rent demand notice, so some bad optics for my tenants with their neighbors.  I would also have to visit the property a day or two before to post said notices.  (Again, two separate trips for one routine operation.)

Again, I know this particular situation today is an exception, but the experience caused me to reevaluate my process to see if there is a better way.  Thus far I am have been very lucky with having very cooperative and responsible tenants, this one notwithstanding.

Thanks in advance!