Does it sometimes feel like your landlord has only just had your rental home inspected before they’re requesting to schedule another one?
When it comes to rental inspections, as a tenant it’s important to know the rules, as well as your rights.
While rarely convenient, rental inspections are a necessary part of the residential property system in order to protect property owners.
99% of tenants and landlords work well together to ensure a property is maintained, however it’s still important to remember the rules that govern what landlords and tenants can and can’t do.
And though there can be slight variations on the rules and regulations from state to state, in general they’re very similar and offer you, as a tenant, key rights when it comes to the inspection of your home.
Although it’s not fun having your landlord and/or real estate agent walk through your home, rental inspections are a necessary part of the residential property system. Picture: realestate.com.au/rent
Adequate notice
Belle Property Annandale’s head of property management, Lisa Stenning says landlords or agents can’t simply turn up and ask to inspect your home, or tell you they’re coming around the next day.
“It needs to be written notice and at least seven days in advance, for a routine inspection,” Stenning says.
Landlords can enter the property on less than seven days’ notice, but only if you agree to it, however in many cases agents will give tenants much more than the the requisite seven days.
Shorter notice
For repairs or urgent maintenance situations, in some states landlords are only required to give two days notice.
But given this type of inspection is to fix something that’s broken or not working within your property, chances are two days will be just fine.
“It’s a two-day notice to carry out ordinary repairs and maintenance,” Let’s Rent principal Lisa Indge says.
“Then there’s a two-day notice for checking smoke alarms, because of the health and safety aspect.”
“If you’ve got a complicated repair situation, it may be that the legislation says you can do four routine inspections per year, but it may be that you put one of those into a repair category, and if you don’t get the access then how do you complete the repair?”
Again, there’s that aspect of working with your agent and your owner so you can get things done.”
Your rights as a tenant when it comes to run-down rentals
Frequency
How often your landlord or agent is permitted to inspect the property depends on the state in which it is situated.
In Victoria, it’s a maximum of once every six months, while in New South Wales it’s four times in any 12-month period.
“A tenant must provide reasonable access, but they can refuse access if the owner tries to inspect more than four times in a year for the purpose of a routine inspection,” Stenning says.
Some states also prevent routine inspections within the first three months of a tenancy.
Time of day
This one is a consideration for both tenants and landlords.
Landlords or agents are able to inspect at any time within business hours, which means that if you would prefer to be present for the inspection, you’ll need to be flexible.
Rather than seeing inspections as an invasion of your privacy, think of the agent as working with you too, to ensure your rental is up to standard. Picture: realestate.com.au/rent
“It does have to be within business hours. Some tenants prefer to be there, and it’s absolutely fine to request to be there during a routine inspection,” Indge says.
“But from our perspective as agents, flexibility around that is also great.
“As agents, we work between 9 and 5, so don’t ask us to come on a Sunday at 10 o’clock.”
“We just want to have positive relationships with our tenants.”
“This isn’t about invading people’s privacy, it’s just about us doing our job and working with the tenants rather than against them.”
Open for inspections
Should you decide to move out of your rented property, you’ll need to make the property available for agents to show prospective tenants through the property, as your tenancy nears its end.
“Tenants are obliged to give access for open house inspections within the last two weeks of their tenancy,” Stenning says.
“They can refuse access prior to this, if they have given notice to vacate well in advance.”
