How to Write a Legally Compliant 24-Hour Entry Notice in Ontario (2026)

When entry is allowed under the RTA

Section 27 of the Residential Tenancies Act lets a landlord enter a rental unit between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. after giving the tenant at least 24 hours of written notice. The notice must state the reason, the date, and a time of entry. Verbal heads-up or a text message that gets ignored is not enough on its own.

There are narrow exceptions where notice is not required, such as emergencies, situations where the tenant consents at the time of entry, or cleaning if the lease specifically schedules it. Most disputes at the Landlord and Tenant Board come from landlords stretching these exceptions instead of just sending the notice.

What the notice must contain

A compliant 24-hour entry notice is short but specific. Vague language like 'sometime Tuesday afternoon' or 'this week for repairs' is the most common reason a tenant successfully challenges entry.

• Tenant name and the full unit address
• The specific reason for entry (repair, inspection, showing, contractor visit)
• The exact date of entry
• A specific time window between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
• The landlord or agent name and a way to reach them
• The date the notice is delivered to the tenant

Common mistakes that void the notice

Even landlords who know the rule trip on delivery and timing. The 24-hour clock starts when the notice is actually delivered, not when it is written. Sliding a notice under the door at 9 p.m. for a 10 a.m. entry the next morning does not meet the requirement.

• Counting hours from drafting instead of delivery
• Giving a full-day window instead of a specific time block
• Reusing one notice for several entries spread across the week
• Listing a vague reason like 'maintenance' with no detail
• Sending the notice only through a channel the tenant has not agreed to

What happens at the LTB if you skip it

A tenant can file a T2 application for substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment if a landlord enters without proper notice. Remedies include rent abatement, fines, and orders restricting future entries. Repeat violations are treated more seriously, and the Board will look at your written records.

If you cannot produce a copy of the notice and a delivery record, the Board generally sides with the tenant. That is the operational risk: it is not the law that fails landlords, it is the paper trail.

Building a repeatable notice workflow

The simplest fix is to stop writing notices from scratch. A standard template, a delivery log, and a single place to store the signed copy removes the most common failure points.

In TenantBay, entry notices fit naturally into the Visits module alongside the tenant record, so the reason, date, time, and delivery timestamp are all attached to the unit and the tenant. When a dispute comes up months later, the history is already there instead of buried in a personal inbox.