New York City does have rules on this, they are more specific than most tenants realise, and they cut both ways: the owner owes you notice, and you owe the owner reasonable access.
The two notice periods
The governing rule is Rules of the City of New York section 25-101, "Owner's Right of Access and Requirements for Notification". It sets two different periods depending on why the owner wants in:
| Purpose | Notice required |
|---|---|
| Repairs or improvements required by law | At least one week, in writing |
| Inspection for compliance | At least 24 hours |
| Emergency — immediate repair to prevent damage or injury | No advance written notice; contact by other means |
Access is generally expected on weekdays other than holidays, between 9am and 5pm. A notice that gives you a week but names a Sunday is not using the rule properly.
The obligation that runs the other way
NYC Administrative Code section 27-2008 is the other half, and tenants are often surprised by it. It provides that a tenant shall not refuse to permit the owner to enter the dwelling unit to make repairs or improvements required by the Housing Maintenance Code or other law, or to inspect for compliance, where the right of entry is exercised at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner.
That phrase is the whole test. An owner turning up unannounced at 8pm is not exercising it reasonably. A tenant refusing a properly noticed weekday appointment to correct a class C violation is not either — and a refusal is a poor position to be in if the same conditions later reach housing court, because an owner who can show they were denied access has an answer to the delay.
What "emergency" means
Narrower than it is often used. The exception is for conditions needing immediate attention to prevent damage to property or injury to people — a burst pipe, a gas leak, a ceiling coming down. It is not a general-purpose override for an owner who did not plan ahead. Where it genuinely applies, the owner should still try to reach you: a call, a text, an email, a knock.
If it keeps happening
- Object in writing, once, clearly. State the rule, state the notice you expect, and say you will make reasonable appointments. This turns a dispute about manners into a dispute about a rule.
- Keep a log. Date, time, who entered, what for, what notice was given. Contemporaneous notes are worth far more than a recollection months later.
- File a 311 complaint. It creates a record you did not write yourself.
- Get advice if it is a pattern. Repeated unauthorised entry can amount to harassment, particularly in a rent-regulated apartment, and can breach the covenant of quiet enjoyment. Both are fact-specific and both are built on the record above.
Changing the locks without the owner's agreement is a common instinct and a bad one — the Housing Maintenance Code contemplates the owner having access, and self-help tends to weaken an otherwise strong position.
Knowing who is actually entering
The person legally responsible for the building's day-to-day operation is named in its HPD registration — the managing agent, alongside the head officer. Looking that up is often the fastest way to escalate past whoever is knocking. Search the address free at Check a Building, or read how to look up your landlord.
General information about New York City rules and public records, not legal advice, and not tenant screening. Harassment and quiet-enjoyment claims are fact-specific — consult a tenant attorney or a legal services organisation. Sources: Rules of the City of New York section 25-101 (Owner's Right of Access and Requirements for Notification); NYC Administrative Code section 27-2008 (Owner's right of access); NYC HPD, Tenants' Rights and Responsibilities. Checked 7 August 2026.