California notice of entry: free 24-hour notice template

A California landlord can enter a rented unit only for the reasons the law lists, and usually only after reasonable written notice. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable. This free fillable notice has a place for everything the notice needs, plus a record of the entry to leave behind.

When a landlord can enter

Civil Code § 1954 lists the only reasons a landlord may enter a rented home:

• An emergency.
• Repairs and services: to make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, or to supply necessary or agreed services.
• Showings: to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers or contractors.
• A pre-move-out inspection the tenant asked for under the deposit law.
• After the tenant leaves: when the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the unit.
• A court order.
• Two specialized cases: work on water submeters, and the required inspections of balconies and other exterior elevated elements.

A landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.

What the notice must say, and how to deliver it

Unless one of the exceptions below applies, the notice is in writing and gives the date, the approximate time and the purpose of the entry. The entry itself has to be during normal business hours. The statute doesn't define those hours; weekday daytime is the safe reading.

These are presumptions: evidence can show that a particular notice wasn't reasonable. The statute doesn't list email or text messages, so if you also email the notice, deliver it one of the ways above as well.

When written notice isn't needed

• An emergency. No notice is required to respond to one.
• The tenant is home and agrees. If the tenant is present and consents to the entry at that moment, no notice is needed.
• The unit has been abandoned or surrendered.
• Agreed repairs, by phone or in person. You and the tenant can agree orally to an entry for agreed repairs or services. The agreement has to include the date and approximate time, and the entry has to happen within one week.
• Showings to buyers. If you've told the tenant in writing, within the last 120 days, that the property is for sale and that you may contact them orally about showings, you can give notice in person or by phone. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable, and you must leave written evidence of the entry inside the unit. Page 2 of the template works for that.

How to fill in the template

1. The top. The date of the notice, every adult tenant's name, and the rental address.
2. Date and time. The day of the entry and a short time window, for example 10 a.m. to noon, during normal business hours.
3. Purpose. Tick the reason and say what will be done, for example "replace the leaking kitchen faucet". Add who will enter.
4. Delivery. Tick how you delivered it and note the date and time. Mail at least six days ahead.
5. After the visit. Fill in page 2 and leave a copy inside the unit, especially after a showing to buyers. Keep a copy of both pages.

Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving out the purpose or the time. "We'll be in this week" isn't a date and approximate time.
• A reason the law doesn't list. Entry is limited to the reasons above, and there's no separate reason for routine inspections. Landlords usually tie them to checking for needed repairs, so say what you'll check.
• Entering on short notice when it isn't an emergency. A slow drip can wait 24 hours; a burst pipe can't.
• Entering outside business hours without agreement. Outside normal business hours, you need the tenant's consent at the time of entry.
• Using entry to pressure a tenant. A significant and intentional violation of the entry rules, aimed at getting a tenant to move out, can bring a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation.

Sources

• California Civil Code § 1954 (entry by the landlord), last amended by SB 721 (Chapter 445, Statutes of 2018), as in force in 2026.
• California Civil Code § 1950.5, subdivision (f) (pre-move-out inspection notice), as amended by AB 414 (Chapter 340, Statutes of 2025).
• California Civil Code § 1940.2, subdivisions (a)(4) and (b) (civil penalty).

Checked against the statutes' text in November 2026. General information, not legal advice. For a specific situation, talk to a California landlord-tenant attorney or your local rent board.