What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Delaware?

A landlord may enter to inspect the premises, make necessary repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply agreed services, or exhibit the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees or tenants (25 Del. C. § 5509(a)). The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent for those purposes.

Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in Delaware?

Yes — Delaware recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.

Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in Delaware?

Entry only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (§ 5509(b)); emergency entry is allowed at any time.

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

Verified July 11, 2026 All Delaware topics →

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. The rules on this page reflect the law in force today. The following measures would change it:

SS 1 for SB 116 (153rd GA, 2026), 85 Del. Laws c. 436 — Already SIGNED but not yet effective: on September 1, 2026 the nonpayment track changes. The 25 Del. C. § 5502(a) pay-or-quit demand period rises from not less than 5 days to not less than 7 days after the notice is given or sent, and the notice warns that the landlord may file a court action to terminate (rather than that the agreement 'shall be terminated'); because § 5112 excludes weekends and holidays only from periods of less than 7 days, the new 7-day period counts calendar days on its face. A rent-only action requires a proper demand and the lapse of the notice period (§ 5502(b)). Payment of all rent due by the tenant, or by anyone on the tenant's behalf, before filing bars a nonpayment possession action and after filing bars maintaining it — the old condition that the landlord accept the payment 'without a written reservation of rights' is deleted; the landlord may not refuse rent payments, may limit methods to those the lease accepts before judgment, and may require certified check or money order after judgment (§ 5502(c)-(d)). New § 5716A gives the tenant a right of redemption in any nonpayment summary-possession case (rental unit or manufactured-home lot): paying all past-due amounts as determined by the court, including all rent due under the lease plus court-awarded costs and fees, at any time before the writ is actually executed stays and then vacates the judgment of possession (minimum 5-day stay for filings; a stay request must be filed if payment comes after the writ is posted; the landlord may ask the court to wait for checks to clear); charitable and government checks count as the tenant's payment; the right is unavailable to a tenant with two nonpayment judgments of possession in the prior 18 months (vacated judgments count). The same act rewrites the manufactured-home-community 7-day notice language in § 7016(b)(3) and adds the same payment-before/after-filing rules for lot tenancies. The figures on this page state the law in force before September 1, 2026.Status: Signed by the Governor August 18, 2026 (85 Del. Laws c. 436, Governor's Advisory No. 54); section 4 makes the act effective September 1, 2026. Not incorporated until effective; the 5-day figure and the reservation-of-rights cure rule shown here remain the law through August 31, 2026. (checked 2026-08-23).
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. As of 2026-07-26 the General Assembly's bill record (LegislationId 143172) still showed 'Ready for Governor'; the post-adjournment window under Del. Const. art. III, § 18 runs roughly to the end of July 2026. Not law as of 2026-08-04. If enacted it changes Code-applicability notes (§ 5102) and adds § 5512A pre-termination duties for reentry-fund tenancies; it changes no figure shown here. (checked 2026-08-04).
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. It reaches lot tenancies only, so it is outside the scope of the answers on this page; it appears here because the 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.

Cited to 25 Del. C. § 5509 (a)-(c) and 1 more Delaware statute · Verified July 11, 2026

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	A landlord may enter to inspect the premises, make necessary repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply agreed services, or exhibit the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees or tenants (25 Del. C. § 5509(a)). The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent for those purposes. 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.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Delaware Landlord Entry Notice Laws (verified July 11, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/entry-notice/delaware/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Delaware statute in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

48 hours and 8 a.m.-9 p.m. are both express statutory text — 'At least 48 hours' notice' appears verbatim in the statute — no unit conversion needed — alongside an equally express 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. entry window. Few states fix both in the code itself.
The three exceptions, precisely — (1) Repairs the tenant requested need no 48-hour notice; (2) emergency entry is allowed 'at any time'; (3) the only waiver the statute permits is 'as to prospective tenants or purchasers only,' by signed lease addendum or other separate signed document.
A buried lease waiver is void — A 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 readings are a separate track, not a loophole — Utility meter-reading entry (§ 5509(c)) runs on its own 'reasonable times' rule tied to § 5312 — it is not a way around the 48-hour requirement for other purposes.
Remedies cut both ways (§ 5510) — The landlord is liable for theft, casualty or other harm from an entry made while the tenant was 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 are available in both directions — a tenant refusing reasonable access is liable for resulting harm and can be enjoined.
Lock changes — and a gap many states don't have — Tenants may install their own lock under § 5509(a) (written notice plus a key to the landlord, compatible with the existing system, no door damage). Unlike many states, Delaware has no domestic-violence-specific lock statute; DV protections live in § 5316.
§§ 5509 and 5510 are the only access provisions — No other entry or access provision exists anywhere in Part III of Title 25 (chs. 53 and 55).
Two official renderings, one text — Both operative subsections read identically in the Delaware Code Online HTML and the official Title 25 PDF.

Common questions: Delaware 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 Delaware?: 2 days.
What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Delaware?: A landlord may enter to inspect the premises, make necessary repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply agreed services, or exhibit the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagees or tenants (25 Del. C. § 5509(a)). The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent for those purposes.
Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in Delaware?: Yes — Delaware recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.
Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in Delaware?: Entry only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (§ 5509(b)); emergency entry is allowed at any time.

Statute citations

25 Del. C. § 5509 (a)-(c) (verified 2026) Official source
25 Del. C. § 5510 (a)-(d) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Delaware Code site (delcode.delaware.gov), each section these answers rest on 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 decisive 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.