Do you mean someone to go in to help the tenant while they recover from an injury, or someone authorized to enter & remove stuff if the tenant is permanently incapacitated / in an institution / no longer going to live in your rental?

The former: no need to do anything.

The Latter- You might like something like this in your rental agreement:

If for any reason Tenant cannot be reached, or is non-responsive to management calls or notices, such as in the case of an emergency, incapacitation, incarceration, hospitalization, abandonment, or death Tenant designates the following persons as approved to receive mail, notices, phone calls, texts, messages, deliveries, etc. from Landlord for Tenant. Tenant authorizes this person to remove their personal items, and to act on their behalf with Landlord. Each person listed as an Emergency Contact has 100% authority to receive legal notices on behalf of Tenant.

Persons listed must be at least 18 years old. Provide as much information as you can. Please print clearly.

I do what Ken does. I want nothing to do with allowing anyone other than a tenant or authorized resident to enter the unit. And people change relationship status all the time. The "love birds" today are at each throats tomorrow, and some people have a revolving door with family. So whomever they authorize today, they may hate their guts 2 weeks later.

If a tenant wants someone else to have access, he or she give that person a copy of the key... which I never advise them to do, but I can't stop them either.

If I get a signed court order for the executor of an estate, that's the only time I get involved. And then I did once let slip the location of a spare key to a group of bounty hunters who found a guy that skipped parole and wound up staying with his GF who was renting from me. Interesting things, those ankle monitors. Very precise devices!

Not exactly as you describe it but in my lease I have this:

CONTACT PEOPLE IN EVENT OF DEATH OR EMERGENCY OF TENANT

In the event I cannot be reached, the following persons are trusted friends or family members I designate as approved to receive mail, notices, phone calls, texts, messages, deliveries, etc. for me from Owner / Management.

I have wording in my lease such as DJ mentioned. I also have two contacts per tenant.

But I do agree that people change who they like or get along with.

An emergency contact is as far as I go. I really don't want to be in the business of judging who is incapacitated and who isn't. As a landlord, how would you know? HIIPA laws cut us out so it would be largely hearsay.

Great question - real concern, especially when dealing with elderly residents, but knowing someone's specific health conditions can easily push you beyond the typically tenant landlord relationship. What would be next the landlord telling them who should be spending then night or providing care for them?

Excellent comments. I will implement