How many hours' notice must a landlord give before entering in Washington?

2 days. Except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable, the landlord must give the tenant at least two days' written notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times. For entry to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers or tenants, the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to entry at a specified time once the landlord has given at least one day's notice.

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

A landlord may enter to inspect the unit, to make necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements, to supply necessary or agreed services, or to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.

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. The statute specifies no fixed clock hours.

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

Verified October 1, 2026 Correction October 2, 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 notice when the entry is to show the unit to a prospective tenant or buyer — and entry must occur at reasonable times.

Cited to RCW 59.18.150 (6) and 1 more cited source · Verified October 1, 2026

No notice is required in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable, and the landlord may enter without consent in an emergency or after the tenant has abandoned the unit; tenants may not unreasonably refuse lawful entry, landlords may not use access rights to harass, and statutory penalties run in both directions for violations after written warning.

Washington entry notice at a glance

Advance notice required	2 days
Notice standard	Except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable, the landlord must give the tenant at least two days' written notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times. For entry to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers or tenants, the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to entry at a specified time once the landlord has given at least one day's notice. RCW 59.18.150(6) sets those periods, and subsection (5) lets the landlord enter without the tenant's consent in an emergency or where the tenant has abandoned the premises. The notice must specify the exact time and date or dates of entry, or a period of time during that date or dates, in which case it must give the earliest and latest possible times of entry; it must also give a telephone number the tenant can use to object or to ask to reschedule. 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	A landlord may enter to inspect the unit, to make necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements, to supply necessary or agreed services, or to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors. Entry is 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. The statute specifies no fixed clock hours.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Washington Landlord Entry Notice Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/entry-notice/washington/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

The statute counts days, not hours — the law says two days' written notice, and one day for showings; the 48-hour figure is only that rule expressed in hours. Read it as 2 days (1 day for showings).
When no notice is required — subsection (5) covers emergency and abandonment — entry there is permitted without consent.
The notice must be specific about timing — a written entry notice must specify the exact time and date, or dates, of entry, or a period of time within those dates, in which case it must state the earliest and latest possible times of entry. It must also give a telephone number the tenant can use to object or to ask to reschedule.
The $100 penalty runs both ways — subsection (8) allows up to $100 per violation, plus costs and fees, against a party who continues violating the access duties after written notice — that reaches a landlord abusing access and a tenant unreasonably refusing it alike.
Legislative history — the section's legislative history is current through 2011 c 132.
Entry for a city inspection certificate — Where a local municipality requires the landlord to produce a certificate of inspection, the landlord must give the tenant written notice of the intent to enter for that inspection, on the same timing as any other entry. The notice must state the date and approximate time of the inspection and the company or person performing it, and must tell the tenant that they may see the inspector's identification before the inspector enters. The inspector may ask for a copy of that notice on the day of the inspection. A tenant who keeps denying access faces the same penalty that applies to any unreasonable refusal of lawful entry. Where the owner has only a sample of the units inspected rather than all of them, written notice must go to every unit at the property, telling tenants that some units will be inspected, that anyone needing repairs or maintenance should put the request to the landlord in writing, and that they may contact local municipality officials if the landlord does not respond adequately.

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. Except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable, the landlord must give the tenant at least two days' written notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times. For entry to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers or tenants, the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to entry at a specified time once the landlord has given at least one day's notice.
What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Washington?: A landlord may enter to inspect the unit, to make necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements, to supply necessary or agreed services, or to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.
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. The statute specifies no fixed clock hours.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (October 1, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Correction, October 2, 2026 — Notice periods now print in the unit each statute uses (correction). Entry notice: the statutes of Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Washington say two days and Oklahoma's says one day, and those pages show days; Delaware's and Vermont's say 48 hours, and their pages, which had shown 2 days, now show 48 hours. Eviction notice for unpaid rent: California, Florida and Utah give three days that leave out Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and their pages now show 3 business days, as does California's lease-violation notice; Nevada's shows 7 judicial days; Alabama's two notices show 7 business days. Each statute was read on its official site on October 1, 2026. No period changed.

Citations

RCW 59.18.150 · (6) (verified 2026) Official source
RCW 59.18.125 (inspections by local municipalities; notice) · (5), (7) (verified 2026) Official source

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 directly 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 initially corroborated across the official AG page, Seattle SDCI, and consistent legal-aid sources, then read directly and in full on the official app.leg.wa.gov pages 2026-08-05 (each read twice, all dependent claims confirmed verbatim, and the three sections added to the deposit topic's citations); the rent-stabilization sunset was pinned the same day from the statute text itself (RCW 59.18.700(8), 59.18.710(3), 59.18.720(4) each expire July 1, 2040; session law 2025 c 209). Committee-stage reports on 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. For manufactured/mobile-home tenancies the enacted law caps move-in fees and deposits at one month's rent, two with pets (RCW 59.20.170(1)), and sets tiered late-fee limits of 2%, 3% and 5% (RCW 59.20.060(2)(j)); chapter 59.18 RCW, read in full, sets no statewide residential deposit or late-fee amount cap. October 1, 2026: RCW 59.18.030, .125, .140, .150, .170, .253, .260, .270, .280, .285, .610, .700, .710, .720 and .730, RCW 59.12.040, RCW 35.21.830 and 36.01.130 and RCW 59.20.060 and 59.20.170 were read again on app.leg.wa.gov (site last updated July 15, 2026, with the 2026 session included), and the 2026 and 2027 maximum increases on the Department of Commerce's page.