NT Entry Condition Report — Landlord Requirements

No entry condition report, no claim for damage, uncleanliness, or lost ancillary property from the bond. The Residential Tenancies Act 1999 is blunt on this point — and the three-business-day deadline catches landlords who treat the report as a formality they can fill in later.

The Three-Day Rule

Under Part 5 (Sections 25–28) of the Act, the landlord must inspect the property, complete an ingoing condition report, and deliver a signed copy to the tenant within three business days of the tenant taking possession. Three business days — not calendar days, not "sometime during the first week."

The tenant then has five business days to review the report, mark any items they agree or disagree with, sign it, and return a copy to the landlord.

Once the landlord receives the tenant's marked-up version, a further five business days apply. The landlord can accept the tenant's modifications, negotiate a variation, or apply to NTCAT for an order setting the contents. If the landlord does nothing within those five business days, the tenant's version is deemed accepted by operation of law.

Why the Report Exists

The entry condition report is the baseline. At the end of the tenancy, every bond deduction claim will be measured against it. The exit condition report is compared directly to the entry report to determine what, if anything, the tenant is responsible for.

Section 28 creates a hard evidentiary bar: if the landlord failed to complete a compliant ingoing condition report, the landlord cannot make any claim against the bond for damage, uncleanliness, or lost ancillary property. It does not matter what the photographs show or what the trades quote says. Without the entry report, the landlord cannot claim those losses against the bond.

What to Document

A thorough entry condition report covers every room and external area of the property:

• Walls, ceilings, and floors — note paint condition, marks, cracks, stains, carpet wear.
• Doors and windows — operation, locks, flyscreens, blinds, curtains.
• Kitchen and bathrooms — fixtures, taps, basins, benchtops, cabinets, tiling, grouting.
• Appliances — oven, cooktop, rangehood, air conditioning units, hot water system.
• External areas — gardens, fencing, carport, driveway, gutters, external lighting.
• Ancillary property — keys, remotes, fobs, landlord-owned furniture and fittings.

For each item, note the condition — not just "good" or "fair," but specific observations. "Minor scuff marks on hallway wall near light switch" is useful at NTCAT. "Walls — acceptable" is not.

Photographic Evidence

The Act does not mandate photographs, but NTCAT members rely heavily on them. Date-stamped, high-resolution photos taken room by room immediately before the tenant takes possession create a visual record that is hard to dispute.

Take wide shots of each room plus close-ups of any pre-existing wear, marks, or damage. Store them alongside the written report. At the end of the tenancy, take matching photos from the same angles for direct comparison.

The Exit Report

Within three business days of the tenant vacating, conduct the exit inspection and prepare an outgoing condition report. Compare it item by item against the entry report. Any deterioration beyond fair wear and tear is a potential deduction — but only if the entry report documented the starting condition.

The Complete Documentation System

The free Northern Territory Rental Bond Checklist includes the three-day deadline alongside every other statutory timeline. The complete guide walks through the full condition report process, the five-day tenant review sequence, and the photographic evidence standards that hold up at NTCAT.

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