The short answer, as a checklist
Yes. California lets a landlord or the landlord's agent enter an occupied unit to show it to prospective tenants, but only after giving the current tenant written notice. The notice has to state the date, the approximate time, and the purpose of the entry. Twenty-four hours is presumed to be reasonable notice unless there is evidence to the contrary.
This guide is for leasing agents and small property managers who schedule showings while a tenant is still living in the unit. It was checked in October 2026 against Civil Code section 1954 and the Department of Real Estate's 2026 landlord-tenant guide. It is general information, not legal advice, and local rules or the lease may add requirements.
Run through this list each time you book showings in an occupied unit.
- Put the notice in writing. A call, a voicemail, or a message to the prospective renter does not do the job.
- State the date, the approximate time, and the purpose, for example "to show the unit to prospective renters."
- Give at least 24 hours when you deliver by hand or at the door, or mail it at least six days ahead.
- Schedule inside normal business hours unless the tenant agrees to another time when you arrive.
- Do not rely on the oral-notice shortcut. It exists for showings to buyers, not to new renters.
- Keep a copy of the notice and a note of how and when it was delivered.
- Keep the number and length of showings reasonable. The right of access can't be used to harass the tenant.
What the law lets you do
Section 1954 starts from the idea that a landlord may enter a rented dwelling only in listed cases. One listed case is to exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors. So showing an occupied unit to people who might rent it next is allowed, as long as the notice rules are followed.
The statute speaks of the landlord, and the DRE guide says the landlord or the landlord's agent must give the notice. In practice a leasing agent who books showings is usually the one who prepares it, so agree with the owner on who signs and sends it before the first showing is on the calendar.
The same section lists emergencies, necessary or agreed repairs, abandonment, and court orders as other reasons to enter. None of those is a reason to walk a prospective renter through the unit, so don't borrow their notice rules.
What the written notice has to say and how to deliver it
The notice has to include the date, the approximate time, and the purpose of the entry. Give a window, such as 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., rather than a single minute, and say plainly that the purpose is to show the unit to prospective renters.
The statute lists the delivery methods. It does not mention text messages or email as a way to deliver the written notice, so don't treat a text thread as the legal notice unless you have confirmed it with your attorney or the lease provides for it. If the tenant has agreed to electronic notice in the lease, still keep a paper method available for anything you can't afford to get wrong.
- Hand the notice to the tenant in person.
- Leave it with a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises, such as a roommate.
- Leave it on, near, or under the usual entry door in a way a reasonable person would find it.
- Mail it. Mailing at least six days before the intended entry is presumed reasonable.
- For hand delivery or posting, 24 hours is the presumed reasonable minimum, and a tenant who is willing to agree to shorter notice can do so.
The oral-notice exception is for buyers, not renters
This is the rule agents most often misapply. Section 1954 allows oral notice, in person or by phone, when the purpose is to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers. Even then, the landlord or agent must first have told the tenant in writing, within 120 days before the oral notice, that the property is for sale and that the tenant may be contacted orally to arrange showings. At the time of entry the agent leaves written evidence of the entry inside the unit.
Nothing in that provision covers showings to prospective renters. The only other oral agreement the statute allows is for agreed repairs or services, and the entry has to happen within a week. If you call the tenant and they say "sure, Thursday at 3 is fine," that conversation is useful, but it is not the written notice the statute asks for for a rental showing.
There is one practical exception. No notice is required if the tenant is present and consents to the entry at the time of entry. That covers a tenant who opens the door and says come in. It does not cover an earlier agreement.
Business hours, consent, and not overusing access
Except in emergencies or after the tenant has left, entry should happen during normal business hours unless the tenant consents to another time at the time of entry. The statute does not define normal business hours. The DRE guide describes them as generally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, so evening and early-morning showings need the tenant's agreement on the spot.
The statute also says a landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant. A schedule with a showing every afternoon for two weeks, or repeated short-notice requests after the tenant objected, is the kind of pattern that invites a complaint. Group showings into a small number of set windows, such as one open-house block per week, instead of sending a new notice for every inquiry.
- Pick fixed showing windows inside business hours and send one notice per window.
- Tell prospective renters the window, not a promise of an exact minute.
- Ask the tenant about pets, work-from-home hours, and anything that makes a time hard, and adjust within reason.
- If the tenant objects to a time, move it rather than argue.
A note on scheduling tools and Rentalot
Whatever tool holds your calendar, the notice to the current tenant is a separate legal step. A calendar entry that a prospective renter booked does not tell the tenant anything.
Rentalot's showings and calendar keep your showing slots in one place, and its structured pre-screening collects a renter's answers before you meet them, so you can offer a small number of set windows and have renters arrive with their answers already on file. Writing and delivering the section 1954 notice to the tenant is still your job, and so is the decision about who gets to see the unit. Check your lease and any local ordinance before you set the schedule.
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