Entry Restrictions After Notice to Leave Queensland: The 2-Per-Week Cap

You've served a Notice to Leave on your tenant, the property is going on the market, and you need to schedule open homes. Before you book in a week of back-to-back inspections, you need to know about the post-notice entry cap — because breaching it is a statutory offence.

The Rule: 2 Entries Per 7-Day Period

Since 1 May 2025, while a Notice to Leave (Form 12) or a Notice of Intention to Leave (Form 13) is in effect, the landlord or their agent is limited to a maximum of 2 entries in any 7-day period. Open homes, routine inspections, repairs, and prospective-tenant viewings count toward the cap, except entry by mutual agreement, to comply with smoke-alarm or approved safety-switch requirements, or to protect the premises or its contents from imminent or further damage.

The restriction is found in the amendments to the RTRA Act that commenced under Stage 2 of Queensland's rental reforms. It applies to general tenancies and is enforced by the RTA's compliance unit.

What Counts as an Entry

Each physical attendance at the premises where the landlord (or their agent) enters the property for a permitted reason counts as one entry, unless one of the exceptions above applies. This includes:

• Open homes for prospective buyers
• Routine inspections
• Tradesperson access for repairs or maintenance
• Pre-sale or pre-marketing photography appointments
• Prospective-tenant viewings (if the landlord is re-letting rather than selling)

The critical detail: it's per 7-day rolling period, not per calendar week. If you enter on Monday and Thursday of the same week, you've used both entries until the following Monday.

The Penalty

Exceeding the entry cap is an offence under the RTRA Act. The maximum penalty is 20 penalty units. With the Queensland penalty unit value set at $172.70 from 1 July 2026, that's a maximum fine of $3,454.

Beyond the fine itself, excessive entry may lead to an RTA complaint or a separate tenancy dispute. A QCAT dispute when you're trying to recover vacant possession is the last thing a landlord needs.

How to Manage the Cap When Selling

The entry cap is tightest for landlords ending a tenancy because of a sale. Two open homes per week is workable, but it requires coordination:

1. Schedule strategically. Book one Saturday open home and one midweek private inspection per week. That's your full allocation.
2. Combine purposes. If a tradesperson needs access for a pre-sale repair, schedule it alongside one of your two allowed entries rather than as a separate visit.
3. Issue Form 9 correctly. Use the entry notice period required for that purpose: for example, 48 hours for repairs or sale viewings, and 7 days for a general inspection. An entry by mutual agreement can occur at the agreed time.
4. Track entries. Keep a written log of every entry — date, time, purpose, who attended — so you can demonstrate compliance if the tenant disputes your conduct.

Entries by the Tenant's Request

If the tenant invites or requests your attendance — say, to inspect a repair they've reported — that entry is made by mutual agreement and doesn't count against the cap. The tenant can agree verbally; documenting the agreement is useful for your records.

How This Interacts With the Notice Period

The cap applies while the notice is in effect and ends when the tenancy ends. If a Form 12 is served well in advance, the RTA says the cap applies once the notice period starts, regardless of when the notice was given. For a sale-ground notice with a 2-month notice period, that's roughly 8 weeks of capped entry.

Plan your marketing and inspection schedule around these limits from the time the notice period starts. The full entry cap rules and a tracking worksheet are covered in the Ending a Tenancy in Queensland guide, alongside the notice periods and service rules for every termination ground.

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