A landlord must provide due notice before coming into the premises in all cases save that of an emergency: eg. a weeks notice to affect repairs or inspection of the property; 24 hrs to show the property during the last rental period before the tenant vacates.If the tenant can establish proof the landlord is coming into the property unannounced and uninvited - perhaps a motion activated webcam - then they can make a case to the relevant authority - here it would be the Office of the Rentalsman.

Document your decisions/meetings (if multi-manager) and memorialize in a formal motion/resolution book.

Not the tenants; they sat and watched TV while Bill and I did the work (even had to bring out own light bulbs as this family tended to save money by never replacing burned out light bulbs).When the unit failed again (because they failed to put in new batteries I left for the smoke detector) we said that's it; we're outta the Section 8 program. 

I also check all smoke detectors and check for water entering the property at that time.

Some examples of habitability codes are functional toilets, functional sinks, functional smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms, weathertight windows and doors leading outside, bathrooms must have a mechanical vent or an easily opened window, a bedroom must have an easily opened window and either two electrical outlets or one electrical outlet and a light fixture and all pipes, plumbing and electrical must be per code.

Now that I use 10 year batteries in smoke detectors, it's hard to be sneaky about doing an inspection.

The same is true if I manage my own rental property and my tenant dies of smoke inhalation because my rental property didn’t have any smoke detectors.

No smoke detector in the basement, hot water heater, stove wouldn't light, and the stairs to the basement needed repair.A little background.

You need to file a motion with the Court and request that the Court pay you money currently in the Court registry.

Always address health and safety issues that impact tenants first (smoke detectors, electrical or plumbing problems, etc), then items that could compromise the integrity of the building ( dry rot needs repaired, for example) and then tackle cosmetics.I also would not recommend you allow a tenant to do their own painting.