Landlord Atlas

How much notice must a landlord give before entering in Washington?

Verified July 8, 2026 All Washington topics →

Washington requires at least two days' written notice before a landlord enters an occupied rental for inspections, repairs, or services — dropped to one day's written notice when the entry is to show the unit to a prospective tenant or buyer — and entry must occur at reasonable times.

No notice is required in a genuine emergency or where the premises appear abandoned, tenants may not unreasonably refuse lawful entry, and landlords may not use access rights to harass; statutory penalties run in both directions for violations after written warning.

Washington entry notice at a glance

Advance notice required 2 days
Notice standard RCW 59.18.150(6): except in emergencies or abandonment (subsection (5)), the landlord must give the tenant at least two days' written notice of intent to enter at reasonable times — reduced to one day's notice for entry to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers or tenants. The notice must specify the exact time and date or dates of entry, or a period of time during that date or dates. The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent at reasonable times, and the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
Permitted reasons Inspection, necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements, supplying necessary or agreed services, or exhibiting the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, tenants, workers, or contractors — with consent, which the tenant may not unreasonably withhold (RCW 59.18.150).
Emergency exception Yes
Time-of-day restrictions Entry must be at reasonable times; no fixed clock hours are specified in the statute.

Notes and caveats

notice_hours is encoded as 48 because the statute says 'two days'' written notice (24 for showings) — render on-page as '2 days (1 day for showings)' rather than hours to match statutory language, mirroring the schema convention discussion in the OH record. Full text read on app.leg.wa.gov 2026-07-09 (resolving the carry-forward flag): emergency/abandonment entry without consent is subsection (5); the written notice must specify the exact time and date(s) of entry or a period within those dates; and subsection (8) sets the reciprocal penalty — up to $100 per violation, plus costs and fees, for a party who continues violating access duties after written notice (landlord abuse of access or tenant unreasonable refusal). Legislative history current through 2011 c 132.

Common questions: Washington entry notice

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How many hours' notice must a landlord give before entering in Washington?
2 days. RCW 59.18.150(6): except in emergencies or abandonment (subsection (5)), the landlord must give the tenant at least two days' written notice of intent to enter at reasonable times — reduced to one day's notice for entry to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers or tenants. The notice must specify the exact time and date or dates of entry, or a period of time during that date or dates. The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent at reasonable times, and the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Washington?
Inspection, necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements, supplying necessary or agreed services, or exhibiting the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, tenants, workers, or contractors — with consent, which the tenant may not unreasonably withhold (RCW 59.18.150).
Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in Washington?
Yes — Washington recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.
Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in Washington?
Entry must be at reasonable times; no fixed clock hours are specified in the statute.

Statute citations

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Washington Legislature site (app.leg.wa.gov): RCW 59.18.280 (full text, current through the 2023 c 331 amendments), RCW 59.18.610 and 59.18.253 (full text); RCW 59.18.170 and RCW 59.18.150 full texts read 2026-07-09 (upgrading them from the 2026-07-08 multi-source corroboration). HB 1217 (2025) rent stabilization provisions (RCW 59.18.700-.730, amended 59.18.140) verified against the Washington Attorney General's official landlord-tenant page and Know Your Responsibilities flyer and the Department of Commerce's official HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center (which publishes the annual cap; re-read raw in the browser pane 2026-07-16 — 9.683% for calendar 2026, and the 2027 figure is now published: 10%, because 7% + June 2026 Seattle CPI = 11.53% exceeds the 10% statutory ceiling, so the ceiling controls). RCW 59.18.260, .270, and .285 confirmed across the official AG page, Seattle SDCI, and consistent legal-aid sources. IMPORTANT verification note: committee-stage bill reports of HB 1217 describe a one-month residential deposit cap and a 1.5% late-fee cap that are NOT in the enacted law for standard residential tenancies — those limits apply to manufactured/mobile-home tenancies (ch. 59.20 RCW) per the AG's post-enactment flyer; current legal-aid guidance confirms no statewide residential deposit or late-fee amount cap.