The knock, opened out
Inside the visit: who stays, what is photographed
The knock opens the door, and the rules that matter most are the ones about the hours inside it: whether the renter has to be there, whether the visitor may ask them to leave, how long the visit may last, and what may be photographed while it runs.
General information only: the state and territory pages linked on this page are the ones to follow for your own tenancy.
Not a housework inspection
Queensland names the mistake before anyone makes it: a routine inspection is not a housework inspection, and the person inspecting the property should appreciate that people are living there. The tenant should have the property in good condition on the day, and the visit itself checks that the home is looked after well, and looks for anything needing repair or maintenance, or any health and safety problem. Victoria states the same purpose from the provider’s side: the general inspection is to check that the renter is keeping the property in good condition, and the provider or their agent may inspect all of the property during one.
From RTA Queensland: routine inspections, Consumer Affairs Victoria: when a rental provider can enter a property.
Who may be there, and who may not be asked to leave
Queensland puts presence first: tenants do not have to be present for an entry unless it is a condition of an agreed entry, though the authority recommends the owner or manager enters at a time the tenant can be present. Western Australia draws the fullest picture of the tenant’s side of the door: a tenant has the right to be present, is free to be out when the visit happens, cannot unreasonably delay inspections, repairs or other visits, and must not be asked to leave while inspections or maintenance are going on. The same page adds that it can help to have the tenant there.
Victoria agrees about the leaving: renters cannot usually be required to leave the property, and while providers sometimes ask renters to be absent during a general inspection or when the property is being shown, the renter is not required to leave. Being home may help avoid disputes. And who is allowed in with the visitor is settled too: if the reason for entry is a valuation, the valuer may enter, and if the reason is photography, the photographer may enter. In South Australia, a tenant who has told the landlord they wish to be present has a term of the agreement behind them: the landlord or the landlord’s agent may not enter unless a reasonable effort has been made to arrange the visit at a time convenient for the tenant, having regard to the work and other commitments of both sides. New South Wales adds a practical line: if the tenant cannot be home, the tenant can try to arrange for someone to be there on their behalf.
From RTA Queensland: rules of entry, general tenancies, Consumer Protection WA: rent inspections and privacy rights, Consumer Affairs Victoria: when a rental provider can enter a property, Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA), NSW Fair Trading: landlord access and entry.
No longer than the purpose needs
Three of the states shown here cap the visit by its purpose rather than by a clock. Western Australia: a landlord or an authorised person is not to remain in the home beyond what the visit needs, unless the tenant permits it, and the Act makes it a term of every agreement that the lessor must not, without the tenant’s consent, stay or permit others to stay on the premises longer than is necessary to achieve the purpose of the entry. Victoria: the provider must not stay or let other people stay any longer than necessary for the purpose of the entry, unless it is with the renter’s permission. New South Wales: the landlord, agent or authorised person should not stay on the property longer than necessary. And the Act in Western Australia carries a price for carelessness: the lessor is to compensate the tenant if the lessor or anyone accompanying them causes damage to the tenant’s goods while exercising a right of entry.
From Consumer Protection WA: rent inspections and privacy rights, Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA), Consumer Affairs Victoria: when a rental provider can enter a property, NSW Fair Trading: landlord access and entry.
Photographs, and the possessions in them
The camera is where the entry rules reach furthest into a home. Queensland states the principle plainly: to help protect the privacy of tenants, photos showing a tenant’s possessions, for example in advertising, can only be used if the tenant agrees in writing. The Act makes it a duty: unless the lessor or the lessor’s agent has the tenant’s written consent, they must not use a photo or other image of the premises in an advertisement if it shows something belonging to the tenant. Photos used to market the property should not show the tenant’s possessions unless they agree in writing.
Victoria gives the renter a veto with a list attached: a renter may object in writing to advertising images or video that show a possession of theirs that directly identifies them, reveals sensitive information, is valuable and would increase the risk of theft at the premises, would be unreasonable to expect them to remove or conceal, or may identify a person at the property who is at risk of family violence or personal violence. If the renter objects, the provider or their agent must not take photos or make videos that do any of these things. A renter who has asked for identifiable or high-value possessions to be left out may ask to see the images before they are used, and then the provider must not use them before the renter has seen them and agreed in writing. An image made for another purpose, such as an inspection, needs the renter’s written agreement before it is used for advertising at all.
Western Australia works by agreement rather than veto. In the west, photographs are a normal part of an inspection and of advertising a home; the consumer page asks both sides to agree, while the visit is happening, that photos may be taken and that they match the home as it stands. For advertising, it says the tenant should give permission, and that the images are to serve that purpose only. For New South Wales, the ACT and Tasmania, check their own official pages for the photo rules.
From RTA Queensland: rules of entry, general tenancies, Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld), RTA Queensland: open houses and viewings, Consumer Affairs Victoria: when a rental provider can enter a property, Consumer Protection WA: rent inspections and privacy rights.
What the visit can find
A routine inspection is also where problems are found, and two states describe what follows. In Queensland, if a significant breach is found on the day, the property manager or owner may issue the tenant a breach notice to rectify the issue; a significant breach involves using the property for an illegal purpose, exceeding the number of occupants allowed to live there, keeping a pet without permission, or a matter caused by the tenant that will cost more than the equivalent of one week’s rent to fix. In Victoria, if the provider believes the renter is not meeting their obligations under the rental agreement, they can give the renter a Notice of breach of duty.
None of this changes what the visit is: a property inspection is a single, finite event with rules on either side of it, and the guides beside this one cover the notice that must come first, the visits that happen for reasons other than a routine inspection, and the two condition reports that bracket a tenancy.
From RTA Queensland: routine inspections, Consumer Affairs Victoria: when a rental provider can enter a property.
Read next: What days and hours can a landlord come? · When else may a landlord enter, and with what notice?
Back to the eight visits, on the propertyinspection.com.au home page