What can a seller do if a tenant refuses to allow a home inspector access before the sale closes?

A home inspection requires the same proper entry notice under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 as a showing does, and a seller or their agent cannot let an inspector in without following that process, regardless of how important the inspection is to closing the sale. A tenant who was not given proper notice, or asked to accommodate an unreasonable time, is within their rights to decline that particular request.

If entry was properly noticed at a reasonable time and the tenant still refuses without a legitimate reason, the landlord's recourse is to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board rather than attempting to gain access anyway, since self-help entry is not an option under Ontario law. In practice, many sellers manage this by communicating directly and cooperatively with the tenant well ahead of the planned inspection date, explaining the purpose and offering some flexibility on timing, since a contested access dispute can meaningfully delay a sale. If a buyer's own conditions depend on inspection access being achieved by a certain date, this friction should be factored into the transaction's timeline from the outset.