Kansas: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements
The short answer
A Kansas landlord may enter your rental only 'at reasonable hours, after reasonable notice' — the statute sets no fixed number, so it does not lock in a 24-hour rule the way many states do; what counts as reasonable depends on the situation. Entry is limited to specific purposes: inspecting, making repairs, supplying agreed services, or showing the unit. No notice is needed only for 'an extreme hazard involving the potential loss of life or severe property damage.' The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass you. The access section itself carries no penalty, so a tenant's recourse for a wrongful entry runs through Kansas's general landlord-noncompliance remedy or a common-law trespass or quiet-enjoyment claim.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Kansas. Ezel applies current Kansas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | K.S.A. 58-2557 ('Landlord's right to enter; limitations'), part of the Kansas Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (K.S.A. 58-2540 to 58-2573), Kansas's own version of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The access section is unusually short and, unlike most URLTA states, sets no numeric notice period. It has not been amended since it was enacted (History: L. 1975, ch. 290, § 18) |
|---|---|
| Advance notice required | 'Reasonable notice' — no fixed figure. Section 58-2557(a) lets the landlord enter 'at reasonable hours, after reasonable notice to the tenant.' Kansas does not specify 24 hours or any set number, so how much notice is required turns on the circumstances (24 hours is the common benchmark, but the statute does not say so). There is no separate, shorter figure for showings |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | Entry is for the purposes listed in § 58-2557(a): 'to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors.' The statute frames these as the landlord's 'right to enter' at reasonable hours on reasonable notice; it does not add the 'no other right of access' exclusivity clause some states use |
| Permitted hours | 'Reasonable hours' (§ 58-2557(a)). Kansas imposes a reasonableness standard rather than a fixed clock or a 'normal business hours' limit — the time of entry must be reasonable under the circumstances |
| When no notice is needed | One statutory no-consent case: the landlord 'may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of an extreme hazard involving the potential loss of life or severe property damage' (§ 58-2557(b)). Kansas's emergency standard is phrased more demandingly than a generic 'emergency' — it takes an extreme hazard threatening life or severe property damage. Separately, K.S.A. 58-2565 governs a landlord's entry during a tenant's extended absence and when a unit is treated as abandoned |
| Form and delivery of the notice | Section 58-2557 does not say whether the notice must be written or oral, list required contents, or fix a delivery method — it requires only 'reasonable notice.' A dated written notice stating the time and purpose is the safe practice, but the statute leaves the form open |
| Special rules for showings | No separate showing rule. Exhibiting the unit to 'prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors' is one of the ordinary purposes in § 58-2557(a) and runs on the same reasonable-hours, reasonable-notice standard. See the advance-notice row |
| Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry | The access section bars abuse: the landlord 'shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant' (§ 58-2557(c)) — but it provides no remedy of its own. Kansas's general landlord-noncompliance remedy, K.S.A. 58-2559, lets a tenant 'recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement' or the habitability duties (§ 58-2559(b)), and a Kansas court has held that this damages/injunction remedy does not require the tenant to give the 30-day termination notice first (Love v. Monarch Apartments, 1989). Whether a particular entry is actionable under § 58-2559 depends on whether it breaches the lease; a tenant may also have a common-law trespass or quiet-enjoyment claim |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Kansas's entry rule is K.S.A. 58-2557 ("Landlord's right to enter; limitations"), part
of the Kansas Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (K.S.A. 58-2540 to 58-2573). Kansas
adapted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act but wrote a notably short access
section — three subsections and no numeric notice period. It has not changed since it
was enacted in 1975.
Advance notice required
The landlord may enter "at reasonable hours, after reasonable notice to the tenant"
(§ 58-2557(a)). Unlike California or the many states that fix 24 hours, Kansas sets no
number — the requirement is simply that the notice be reasonable, which depends on the
circumstances. Twenty-four hours is the usual practical benchmark landlords and courts
look to, but the statute does not say so, and there is no separate, shorter figure for a
sale or re-rental showing.
Reasons a landlord may enter
Section 58-2557(a) lists the purposes: to inspect the premises; make necessary or agreed
repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements; supply necessary or agreed services;
or exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or
contractors. Kansas frames these as the landlord's "right to enter" on reasonable notice
at reasonable hours; it does not add the "no other right of access" exclusivity language
some states use.
Permitted hours
Entry must be at "reasonable hours" (§ 58-2557(a)). Kansas uses a reasonableness standard
rather than a fixed clock or a "normal business hours" cap — the time chosen has to be
reasonable in the circumstances.
When no notice is needed
The one statutory no-consent case is a serious emergency: the landlord "may enter the
dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of an extreme hazard involving the
potential loss of life or severe property damage" (§ 58-2557(b)). That is a demanding
standard — an extreme hazard threatening life or severe property damage, not just any
inconvenience. A landlord's entry during a tenant's extended absence, and when a unit is
treated as abandoned, is handled separately by K.S.A. 58-2565.
Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry
Section 58-2557(c) commands that the landlord "shall not abuse the right of access or use
it to harass the tenant," but the access section provides no penalty of its own. The
tenant's statutory tool is the Act's general remedy, K.S.A. 58-2559(b): a tenant "may
recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance by the landlord with
the rental agreement" or the landlord's habitability duties. A Kansas appellate court has
held that this damages-and-injunction remedy does not require the tenant to first serve
the 30-day termination notice under § 58-2559(a) (Love v. Monarch Apartments, 1989).
Whether a given entry is actionable under § 58-2559 turns on whether it breaches the
lease; separately, a landlord who forces entry with no lawful purpose may be liable at
common law for trespass or breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment.
What trips people up
Kansas has no fixed 24-hour rule. Many online guides state a flat 24-hour figure for
every state. Kansas's statute says only "reasonable notice," with no number. Twenty-four
hours is a sensible benchmark, but the legal test is reasonableness, not a set count of
hours.
The emergency exception is narrow. No-notice entry requires "an extreme hazard
involving the potential loss of life or severe property damage" (§ 58-2557(b)) — a burst
pipe flooding the building or a gas leak, not a routine repair the landlord would rather
not schedule.
The access section itself has no penalty. Section 58-2557(c) forbids abusing or
harassing entry, but you enforce it through the Act's general remedy (§ 58-2559) or a
common-law claim — the entry section does not create its own damages award.
Common questions
How much notice does my Kansas landlord have to give before entering? "Reasonable
notice" (§ 58-2557(a)). Kansas fixes no number; 24 hours is the common benchmark, but
what is reasonable depends on the situation.
Can my landlord enter without notice in an emergency? Only for "an extreme hazard
involving the potential loss of life or severe property damage" (§ 58-2557(b)) — a
genuinely serious emergency, not an ordinary repair.
For what reasons can my landlord enter? To inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs
or improvements, supply agreed services, or show the unit to buyers, mortgagees,
prospective tenants, workmen, or contractors (§ 58-2557(a)).
What can I do if my landlord keeps entering without reasonable notice? The landlord
may not "abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant" (§ 58-2557(c)). You can
pursue damages and an injunction under the Act's general remedy (§ 58-2559(b)) where the
entry breaches your lease, and you may have a common-law trespass or quiet-enjoyment
claim.
Statutes and sources
- K.S.A. 58-2557 — the access section: the landlord's right to enter at reasonable hours after reasonable notice for listed purposes (a); no-consent entry only for an extreme hazard involving potential loss of life or severe property damage (b); and the bar on abusing or harassing use of the right of access (c).
https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch58/058_025_0057.html (accessed 2026-07-11) - K.S.A. 58-2559 — the Act's general remedy for a landlord's noncompliance: the tenant may recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance with the rental agreement or the habitability duties of § 58-2553 (b), in addition to the 30-day termination right in subsection (a).
https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch58/058_025_0059.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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