Housing & Tenant · Landlord Entry
Landlord Entry Notice in Tennessee
How much warning a landlord must give before entering your home in Tennessee, the hours entry is allowed, and what to do if they walk in unannounced, cited to the statute.
The rules and your rights in Tennessee
The notice, the allowed hours, the reasons a landlord may enter, and what to do about an unlawful entry.
Tennessee has no statute that sets how much notice a landlord must give before entering. That means your lease controls, and a city or county ordinance may add its own rule. Read your lease first, then check for a local ordinance where you live.
| Advance notice | No notice period set by state statute |
| Allowed entry hours | Not set by statute for ordinary entry. No hours are specified. |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | Where the Act applies: to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, and exhibit the premises to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, workers, or contractors. You may not unreasonably withhold consent for these. |
| Emergency entry | A landlord may enter without notice in an emergency, and Tennessee is one of the few states that defines the word: a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action. That definition stops the exception from swallowing the rule. |
| Local ordinance | This is central to Tennessee. T.C.A. 66-28-102 limits the Act to counties with more than 75,000 people by the 2010 federal census. In a smaller county, the Act does not apply and the lease governs. The census year is fixed, so coverage does not move with population. |
| Statute | No state entry statute |
If the landlord enters unlawfully
Where the Act applies, it bars a landlord from abusing the right of access or using it to harass you. Outside a covered county, an improper entry is a lease matter. Confirm whether your county is covered before relying on the statute, and ask a local legal aid office.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if a landlord keeps entering your Tennessee home without proper notice. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- First, check your county
Tennessee is a where-do-you-live question. The Act, including its entry rules, only reaches counties over 75,000 by the 2010 census. If your county is smaller, or grew past the line after 2010, the Act may not cover you.
- Do not expect a general notice rule
Even in a covered county, there is no general entry-notice period. The only 24-hour figure applies to showing the place in the last thirty days of the tenancy, so for ordinary repairs the statute sets no countdown.
- Read your lease
Because the general notice rule is absent and the Act is county-limited, the lease carries the weight. Find the access clause and see what notice, hours, or reasons it sets.
- Get local help
A local Tennessee legal aid office can tell you whether the Act covers your county and what that means for entry. Search for legal aid in your area.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change what applies to your home.
What Tennessee renters get wrong
Tennessee is a double caveat. First, the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act only reaches counties above a population line drawn against a census that is now more than a decade old, so a renter in a county that grew past 75,000 after 2010 is outside it under T.C.A. 66-28-102. Second, even inside a covered county there is no general notice rule. The only twenty-four hour figure in the section applies to showing the place in the last thirty days of the tenancy, so for an ordinary repair or inspection the statute sets no countdown at all. What Tennessee does give, and most states do not, is an actual definition of emergency, a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action, which stops that exception from swallowing the rule. Because a flat statewide figure would mislead renters in uncovered counties and overstate the rule in covered ones, this page is held as cited and opens with the county question rather than a number.
Common questions
Does the Tennessee landlord tenant act cover my county?
Only if your county had more than 75,000 people by the 2010 federal census, under T.C.A. 66-28-102. The census year is fixed, so a county that grew past 75,000 after 2010 is still outside the Act, and there the lease governs entry.
Is there any notice rule for ordinary repairs in Tennessee?
Not a general one. Even where the Act applies, the only 24-hour notice rule is for showings in the last thirty days of the tenancy under T.C.A. 66-28-403. For ordinary repairs the statute sets no fixed notice period, so the lease matters.
What counts as an emergency in Tennessee?
Tennessee defines it, which is rare. An emergency is a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action. That definition limits when a landlord can skip notice, so a routine repair does not qualify.
Why is there a special rule for the last 30 days in Tennessee?
Because that is when a landlord typically shows the unit to re-rent it. T.C.A. 66-28-403 gives a 24-hour notice for showings in the final thirty days of the tenancy, which is the one concrete notice figure in the section.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.