What happens if a tenant won't let the inspector into a unit?

That unit does not get inspected, and the report says so by unit number. An inspection is only as complete as the access provided, and a tenant who declines entry — or who simply is not home at the scheduled time — leaves you buying a dwelling nobody has looked inside. We will not force the issue or enter without permission; instead we document precisely which unit was not entered and which systems in it were therefore not evaluated, so there is no ambiguity later about what you did and did not get. The way to prevent it is to handle access before the inspection, not on the day of it. Occupied units require notice to the tenant, and the required notice period is set by state landlord-tenant law and by the individual lease — Iowa and Minnesota have their own statutes and the lease can be stricter, so ask the seller's agent for the leases and confirm the notice requirement for that specific property rather than assuming a standard. Then make written access to every unit a condition of your inspection contingency. If a unit still cannot be entered, your practical options are to schedule a return visit for that unit, to extend the contingency, or to price the unknown into your offer. Even with full cooperation an occupied unit inspects differently than a vacant one: belongings block electrical panels, water heaters, furnaces, attic hatches and crawlspace entries, and stored possessions conceal floors and the base of walls, which is exactly where water damage shows first. Anything blocked is reported as not inspected. To schedule a duplex or multifamily inspection, call us or use the free instant quote tool below.