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Has "reasonable prior notice" been defined? Our leasing company says they only have to give five minutes notice prior to entering our apartment to show it. I would like to go back to them with a legal definition of "reasonable."
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): New York
Hello and welcome,There is no agreement in writing as to how long they must provide notice prior to entering the apartment?
The lease specifies that they need to give us hours when they can show the apartment, but no agreement of how much notice prior to to entering they have to give.
Regarding weekends, yes, we have scheduled appointments, but we never know what we’re going to show someone until they’re in the office and have filled out the welcome sheet. So no, I, unfortunately, don’t know until very last minute if your apartment is appropriate to show.
That said, we will do our best to give you as much time as possible. For instance, if we show 2 or 3 apartments, we’ll make yours last. But any more than 10 minutes notice is unlikely, I’m afraid. That’s why we let you know the hours in the initial email.
Thank you for the additional information.The NY statute does not define reasonable as that word would typically be defined depending on all the circumstances on a case by case basis.Ten minutes notice would normally not be reasonable where the tenant has indicated they need additional notice from the landlord because of some circumstance.In addition, landlords would normally have an incentive to provide more notice in order to avoid a claim for invasion of privacy since tenants do have a right to exclude anyone including the landlord, for the term of the lease, subject to receiving reasonable notice to enter. If the landlord is providing dates and times where they anticipate the need to enter and only provide the exact time with 10 minutes notice, a court may very well find that to be reasonable since the landlord did provide prior notice.Here is a link that provides more information on this issue:http://books.google.com/books?id=ea9JDnnivl4C& pg=SA10-PA5&lpg=SA10-PA5&dq=new+york+reasonable+notice+enter+24+hours&source=bl&ots=pzhIx7IQEd&sig=Rs9I0T-56a1O53nXHXgUk2PG6Mw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xhHyT6rwGafs2QWqlviAAg&ved=0CFoQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=new%20york%20reasonable%20notice%20enter%2024%20hours&f=false
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Thank you and all the best to you,
Tina
Can you further clarify "If the landlord is providing dates and times where they anticipate the need to enter and only provide the exact time with 10 minutes notice, a court may very well find that to be reasonable since the landlord did provide prior notice." for me?
No, that would not typically be reasonable where they name all business hours and then only give 10 minutes notice. I thought they might be giving you relatively short blocks of time, like 11am to 1pm on Saturday and then only 10 minutes notice of the precise time.I would not expect a court to find the practice you indicate the landlord is engaging in as reasonable, as you basically have to be "on-call" during all business hours. That is not reasonable.
Experience: JD, BBA Over 20 years legal and business experience.