Can a tenant prevent the landlord from showing the apartment to a prospective renter or buyer?

My tenant is threatening to stand at the door and prevent me from showing the apartment/rental unit to a prospective buyer/renter. What are my rights as a landlord in this situation?

Ohio Landlord Tenant Law attempts to balance a tenant's right of possession with a landlord's right of ownership. Tenants generally have the right of quiet enjoyment which means that they are entitled to possession of the premises and may live in the premises without disturbance of their right of possession from the landlord or others; however, a landlord has the right of ownership and has the right to show the apartment from time to time in order to attempt to sell it or rent it to other tenants. The law strikes a balance between these rights. A landlord may show the apartment so long as he or she conforms within the bounds of reasonableness.

A landlord should give the tenant as much written notice as possible of upcoming showings. It is advisable that the landlord give at least 24 hours written notice of a showing. In the world of real estate, it is not always possible to give that much notice to the tenant as prospective buyers/renters can often request showings with less than a few hours notice. If a landlord can give at least 24 hours written notice of a showing then the tenant should cooperate with that showing. If a landlord cannot give that much notice then the landlord should at least try to come to an agreement of when showings can take place.

For example, the landlord and tenant could agree in advance to conduct showings between certain hours and on certain days. If the landlord tenant relationship has soured and no agreement can be reached then the landlord should try to give as much written notice as possible, or the landlord could indicate to the tenant in advance that showings are likely to occur between certain hours and only on certain days. The landlord should respect the tenant's right to live at the premises free of such disturbances and keep showing times reasonable.

If the tenant threatens to physically prevent the showing then the landlord should be ready to enlist the help of the local police to gain access to the premises. The local police may or may not choose to get involved. They may resort to the familiar line that "this is a civil matter" and won't get involved. Of course, common sense would dictate that an uncooperative tenant will likely ruin a potential buyer/renter's first impression of the rental unit in one way or another. Instead of forcing the issue, the landlord may choose to wait until the tenant has moved on before conducting showings.

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