How to Survive Your First Rental Inspection

Survival Guru·August 24, 2026

A clean empty rental kitchen with a mop, bucket, spray bottle and cloth on the bench

Here is the thing most first-time renters get wrong: your bond is not decided at the end of the tenancy. It is decided in the first week, by a document you probably filled in carelessly while surrounded by boxes.

The entry condition report is the baseline against which every later claim is judged. If a mark on the wall is not recorded then, it is presumed to be yours now. Renters lose money not because they damaged things, but because they never established what was already damaged.

Routine inspections are the smaller problem, and mostly a matter of knowing what the rules are and what the inspector actually cares about.

The 10-minute version

The condition report is the whole game. Photograph and film everything before you unpack, note every mark, and return the report inside the deadline. This is what gets your bond back years later.
You are owed notice. In NSW, at least 7 days’ written notice for a routine inspection, up to 4 times in 12 months. Queensland is also 7 days’ notice, with routine inspections no more than once every 3 months unless you agree in writing. Victoria’s general inspections can only happen after the first 3 months and at most every 6 months. Check your own state — the numbers differ.
Inspectors are looking for damage and maintenance, not tidiness. Clean matters far less than you think. Water, mould, breakage and smells matter far more.

The condition report: do this in week one

You will be given a condition report at the start of the tenancy. In NSW the landlord or agent must provide two copies, and the tenant completes one and returns it within seven days.

Do not tick “good” down the page. Do this instead, before you unpack, in under an hour:

Photograph every room. Wide shot from each corner, then close-ups of every mark, scuff, chip, stain, crack and burn. Open every cupboard and photograph inside. Photograph the oven interior, under the sink, the shower grout, window tracks, blind cords, flyscreens, the letterbox, the garage floor.

Film a slow walk-through, narrating: “Second bedroom, mark on the wall behind the door, about ten centimetres.” Video with narration is remarkably persuasive evidence and takes four minutes.

Test everything and note what fails. Every tap, hot water, every light, every power point you can reach, exhaust fans, the stove and oven, heating and cooling, every window and lock, the smoke alarms.

Write it all on the report — not just the big items. “Scuff marks, multiple, hallway walls” is better than silence.

Note anything that smells of damp, and anything that looks like mould, however small. Mould is the single most expensive dispute in renting.

Keep your own copy with dated photos, in cloud storage, for the entire tenancy.

That hour is worth more than every cleaning session you will do put together.

Routine inspections: the actual rules

Notice periods, frequency limits and process are set by state and territory legislation, so know your own. As reference points:

State	Notice for a routine inspection	Frequency limit
NSW	At least 7 days’ written notice	Up to 4 times in a 12-month period
QLD	At least 7 days’ notice (entry notice form)	No more than once every 3 months unless the tenant agrees in writing
VIC	Written notice required	General inspections only after the first 3 months, and at most every 6 months

Other states and territories set their own notice periods and limits — check your tenancy authority or tenants’ union rather than assuming.

Two things worth knowing regardless of state:

You do not have to be home. Entry with proper notice is permitted whether or not you are there. Being present is a choice, and being present is often useful for raising maintenance issues in person.
Entry without valid notice is unlawful entry. In NSW, an inspection carried out without valid notice cannot be relied on as evidence, and you can complain to the tenancy authority. If entries are happening without notice, start writing down dates and times.

What inspectors actually record

Not whether your washing is folded. In practice, a routine inspection is looking for:

Water damage and mould — under sinks, around the shower, on window sills, on ceilings, behind furniture on external walls.
Damage beyond fair wear and tear — holes, cracked tiles, broken fittings, damaged flyscreens, pet damage, burns.
Unauthorised changes — painting, shelving screwed into walls, removed fixtures, unapproved pets.
Maintenance issues — dripping taps, sticking windows, a toilet that runs, failing seals. They want to find these, because unreported small problems become expensive ones.
Signs of more occupants than the lease allows, and smoking indoors.
Garden and outdoor areas, if your lease makes you responsible.

Which means the highest-value preparation is not a deep clean. It is fixing the things that read as neglect and reporting the things that are the landlord’s job.

The hour before: what to actually do

Wipe wet areas and run the exhaust fans. Bathroom mould is the number one flag.
Clear the floor. Visible floor reads as “cared for” with no effort.
Empty the bins, especially the kitchen. Smell is what people remember.
Move anything sitting flush against an external wall and check behind it for condensation or mould.
Wipe the stovetop and the kitchen bench. These two surfaces carry most of the impression.
Open the curtains and a window. Light and air do a genuinely large amount of the work.
Put the maintenance list on the bench — a short written list of things needing attention. It looks organised and it creates a record.

Twenty-five minutes. Not a weekend.

What actually goes wrong

The condition report gets skimmed. The single most expensive mistake in renting.

Maintenance goes unreported. A slow leak reported in writing is the landlord’s problem. The same leak found at exit, unreported, becomes an argument about whether you caused the damage. Report in writing, always — email, not a phone call — and keep the thread.

Mould gets cleaned rather than reported. Wiping it away and saying nothing means you now own a recurring problem that may be structural.

Holes get patched badly. A neat, disclosed picture hook is usually fine or negotiable. A badly filled and mismatched patch reads as concealment.

Nobody keeps a copy of anything. Photos, condition report, emails, receipts, notices. Keep the lot in one folder for the whole tenancy.

Renters do not realise they can push back. Notice periods and frequency limits are law, not courtesy.

Cleaning is confused with condition. People scrub for a weekend and never mention the broken flyscreen or the tap that has dripped for a year.

Thresholds and rules

Situation	The rule
Move-in day	Photos and video of everything before unpacking. Cupboards and oven open
Condition report	Complete it in detail and return it inside the deadline (7 days in NSW)
Any maintenance issue	Report in writing the day you notice it. Keep the thread
Mould	Report immediately in writing, with a photo, however small
Inspection notice	Check it meets your state’s minimum. NSW 7 days written; QLD 7 days; VIC after 3 months and at most 6-monthly
Entry with no valid notice	Note the date and time. It is unlawful entry, and unusable as evidence in NSW
Anything you break	Report it and offer to fix it properly. Concealment costs more than the repair
Before you move out	Photos and video again, same coverage, before you hand back the keys

Where to get help

Your state tenancy authority — NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, RTA Queensland, and their equivalents. All publish the rules and handle complaints.
Tenants’ unions and advocacy services exist in every state and give free advice.
The tribunal — NCAT, VCAT and equivalents — hears bond disputes. Filing fees are modest, and a well-documented tenant does well there. Which is the entire argument for the photos.

What it costs

Tier	Spend	What it buys
Free	$0	An hour of photos and video, a properly completed condition report, written maintenance reports, cloud storage of the lot
Solid	~$30–60	Basic cleaning supplies, a squeegee for the shower, a mould-inhibiting bathroom spray, picture hooks that do not need screws
At exit	$150–400	Professional clean and carpet clean if your lease requires it — check whether it actually does, as blanket clauses are not always enforceable

The drill: the move-in hour

Do this before a single box is unpacked.

Twenty minutes. Photograph every room: wide from each corner, then every mark up close. Cupboards, oven, under sinks, shower grout, window tracks.
Five minutes. Film a narrated walk-through.
Ten minutes. Test every tap, light, power point, window, lock and smoke alarm. Write down what fails.
Fifteen minutes. Complete the condition report in detail. Note everything, including small marks.
Five minutes. Upload everything to cloud storage in a folder named for the address and the date.
Five minutes. Email the agent the completed report plus the list of anything needing repair. Keep the sent email.

That hour is the difference between getting your bond back and arguing about a scuff mark you never made.

Frequently asked questions

How much notice does a landlord have to give for an inspection?

It depends on the state. NSW requires at least 7 days’ written notice, up to 4 inspections in 12 months. Queensland requires 7 days’ notice, with routine inspections no more than once every 3 months unless you agree in writing. Victoria allows general inspections only after the first 3 months and at most every 6 months. Check your own tenancy authority.

Do I have to be home for a rental inspection?

No. With proper notice, entry is permitted whether or not you are there. Being present can be useful for pointing out maintenance issues, but it is your choice.

What do inspectors actually look for?

Water damage and mould, damage beyond fair wear and tear, unauthorised alterations, maintenance issues, occupancy beyond the lease, and smoking indoors. Tidiness matters much less than renters assume.

How do I make sure I get my bond back?

Document the property exhaustively before you unpack, complete the entry condition report in detail and return it on time, report every maintenance issue in writing, and document again at exit. The evidence at the start is what settles disputes at the end.

What if the agent turns up without notice?

That is unlawful entry. Note the date and time, and raise it in writing. In NSW an inspection carried out without valid notice cannot be relied on as evidence, and you can complain to the tenancy authority.

Should I clean the mould or report it?

Report it in writing with a photo, then clean surface mould if it is minor. Cleaning without reporting means you may end up carrying a recurring or structural problem that was never yours.