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

Verified July 11, 2026 All Delaware topics →

Pending legislation — not yet law. The rules on this page reflect current law only. The following bills would change it if enacted:

SB 292 (153rd GA, 2026) — 'Grace Peterson Act' — Amends the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code to (1) close the 25 Del. C. § 5102 exclusion loophole that let unlicensed or uncertified residential operators claim exemption from the Code, including eviction procedure, and (2) add § 5512A duties when a tenant's rent is paid from a state reentry-services fund (landlord must assist with a discharge plan and notify the fund administrator and agencies before terminating; noncompliance brings one-year debarment from state funds; affected tenants may stay on without fund payments or terminate on 30-60 days' notice). Takes effect 6 months after enactment.Status: Passed both chambers 2026-06-24; awaiting the Governor's action as of 2026-07-11 (post-adjournment window under Del. Const. art. III, § 18 runs roughly to the end of July 2026). Not law at this verification. If enacted it changes Code-applicability notes (§ 5102), not the four topic numbers. (checked 2026-07-11).
SB 235 (153rd GA, 2026) — Manufactured-home communities only (25 Del. C. ch. 70): repeals the sunset on the Rent Justification Act pilot calculations, making the § 7052A/§ 7052B CPI-linked justified-rent-increase calculations permanently replace the § 7052 grounds for lot-rent increases. Does not touch apartment/site-built rentals under chs. 51-59.Status: Passed both chambers 2026-06-30; awaiting the Governor's action as of 2026-07-11. Out of v1 scope (lot tenancies) but flagged because rent-increase notes reference ch. 70. (checked 2026-07-11).

Delaware landlords must give tenants at least 48 hours' notice before entering a rental unit and may enter only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., one of the few state codes that fixes both a notice period and a daily time window in the statute itself.

Entry without the 48-hour notice is allowed for repairs the tenant requested, in an emergency (any time of day), and for utility meter readings at reasonable times; the only waiver the statute permits is a signed addendum or separate signed document waiving the 48-hour notice for showings to prospective tenants or purchasers — nothing else in the entry rules can be signed away. Tenants may install their own lock at their own cost if they notify the landlord in writing, supply a key, use a lock fitting the existing system, and do no door damage. A landlord who abuses the right of access or harasses the tenant with repeated unreasonable entry demands gives the tenant grounds to terminate the lease, is liable for theft, casualty, or other harm from entries made without consent, and can be enjoined by a court.

Delaware entry notice at a glance

Advance notice required	2 days
Notice standard	Not addressed by statute
Permitted reasons	Inspecting the premises; making necessary repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supplying agreed services; or exhibiting the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees, or tenants (25 Del. C. § 5509(a)) — the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent for these. Separately, the tenant must allow entry at reasonable times for utility meter or appliance readings (§ 5509(c)).
Emergency exception	Yes
Time-of-day restrictions	Entry only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (§ 5509(b)); emergency entry is allowed at any time.

Notes and caveats

notice_hours=48 is express statutory text ('at least 48 hours'' notice') — no unit conversion needed; render with the equally express 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. window (few states pair both). EXCEPTIONS to render precisely: (1) tenant-REQUESTED repairs need no 48-hour notice; (2) emergency entry 'at any time'; (3) the waiver valve is NARROW — 'as to prospective tenants or purchasers only,' by signed lease addendum or other separate signed document (a buried lease clause waiving notice for maintenance or inspections is void — § 5510(d) nullifies any agreement exempting landlord liability except consent to a particular entry). Meter-reading entry (§ 5509(c)) is a separate 'reasonable times' track tied to § 5312, not a way around the 48-hour rule for other purposes. Remedies live in § 5510: landlord liability for theft/casualty/harm from entry when the tenant is absent and did not consent, or present and did not consent, or from landlord negligence; repeated unreasonable entry demands or an unreasonable non-consented entry are tenant grounds for termination; injunctions available both directions (tenant refusing reasonable access is liable for resulting harm and enjoinable). Tenant lock-change right is in § 5509(a) (written notice + key to landlord, system-compatible, no door damage) — unlike many states, no domestic-violence-specific lock statute here (DV protections are in § 5316). Verified negative: no other entry/access provision in Part III (full ch. 53/55 section sweeps). Both subsections double-read verbatim (delcode HTML + official Title 25 PDF).

Statute citations

25 Del. C. § 5509 (a)-(c) Official source
25 Del. C. § 5510 (a)-(d) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Delaware Code site (delcode.delaware.gov), each load-bearing section read twice through independent official paths: the delcode HTML chapter pages (25 Del. C. ch. 51 subchapters I-II, ch. 53, ch. 55) and the official Title 25 PDF served from the same host, with every load-bearing figure matching verbatim (1-month deposit cap and its 1-year-lease / month-to-month-after-1-year scope; 20-day return and itemized-list deadline with 10-day tenant objection window; double damages and account-forfeiture penalties; 1-month pet deposit cap; application-fee cap at the greater of 10% or $50; 5% late-charge cap with the 5-day no-imposition window and 3-day extension for no in-county payment office; 48-hour entry notice and the 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. window; 60-day renewal-with-modifications notice with the 45-day tenant rejection right; 60-day month-to-month termination notice with the first-of-following-month start). Sections read in full: 5101, 5102, 5106, 5107, 5108, 5116, 5123, 5124, 5141, 5310, 5311, 5501, 5502, 5509, 5510, 5514, 5514A, 5515, plus complete section listings of ch. 51 subch. I, ch. 53, and ch. 55 as sweep basis for verified negatives (no deposit-interest requirement, no other late-fee or entry provision, no rent-increase tiers or frequency limits, no rent-control preemption statute in Title 25). The Delaware Attorney General's official Summary of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code corroborates the 60-day rent-increase-notice reading of section 5107 for month-to-month tenancies. 2025-2026 session sweep: the complete 153rd General Assembly docket (all 1,961 pieces of legislation) was retrieved from the official legis.delaware.gov AllLegislation API and title-filtered; one on-topic enactment incorporated (HB 217, 85 Del. Laws c. 295, key-surrender rules, signed 2026-06-24), two passed bills awaiting the Governor flagged (SB 235, SB 292), and three on-topic bills confirmed dead at the 2026-06-30 sine die adjournment (SB 186 deposit e-communications, HB 229 summary-possession service window, HB 467 renters insurance). HB 455 (152nd GA statewide rent cap) confirmed dead in committee in 2024. Wilmington's 2025 rent-stabilization ordinance confirmed failed 6-5 in City Council on 2025-06-05.