Routine Inspection and Landlord Entry Rights in Queensland

Entering a tenant's home without following Queensland's entry rules is a breach of the RTRA Act — even if the landlord owns the property and has a legitimate reason to inspect it. The rules are specific about how often, how much notice, and what hours, and getting any of them wrong can result in a QCAT order or a breach notice from the tenant.

How Often Can You Inspect?

Under the RTRA Act, a landlord or managing agent may conduct a routine inspection of a general tenancy property no more than once every three months, with at least 7 days' written notice. The first inspection can take place during the first three months of the tenancy.

There is no minimum — a landlord who does not want to inspect quarterly is not required to. But from a compliance perspective, quarterly inspections are the best opportunity to catch emerging defects (leaking taps, mould growth, smoke alarm battery issues) before they become Schedule 5A breaches or QCAT repair orders.

Notice Requirements

For a planned entry, give the appropriate written Entry Notice (RTA Form 9). Notice is not required if the tenant agrees to entry at that time, in an emergency, or when there are reasonable grounds to believe entry is necessary to protect the property from imminent damage.

Showing a property to prospective tenants requires a Notice to Leave (Form 12) or Notice of Intention to Leave (Form 13); for prospective purchasers, give a Notice of Lessor's Intention to Sell (Form 10) before or with the entry notice. For a notice-based entry, Form 9 must state the entry date, time or two-hour window for a general inspection, and reason. A verbal heads-up alone does not replace the notice; the tenant may agree to entry at a particular time without one.

Permitted Entry Hours

Queensland law restricts entry to between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, Monday to Saturday. Entry on a Sunday, public holiday, or outside those hours requires the tenant's agreement. A landlord cannot schedule a routine inspection for 7:00 AM or 7:00 PM without that agreement.

The landlord or agent must not stay on the premises longer than is reasonably necessary. A routine inspection should take 20 to 40 minutes for a standard three-bedroom house. Spending two hours going through a tenant's belongings would likely be considered unreasonable.

What to Check During a Routine Inspection

A routine inspection serves two purposes: checking for tenant-caused damage and verifying ongoing compliance with minimum housing standards. Most landlords focus on the first and ignore the second. Both matter.

Compliance checks to build into every routine inspection:

• Smoke alarms: press the test button on every unit. Check the manufacture date — replace any alarm older than 10 years. Confirm all alarms sound simultaneously (interconnection test).
• Safety switches: press the test button on each RCD at the switchboard. Reset after testing.
• Locks and latches: test every external door lock and accessible window latch. Report any that are stiff, broken, or not engaging properly.
• Visible moisture: look at ceiling corners, under sinks, and around bathroom exhaust fans for new water stains or mould growth. If structural moisture has appeared since the last inspection, photograph it and arrange a plumber or builder.
• Subfloor ventilation: if the property has subfloor vents, check they are not blocked by stored items or garden debris.
• Supplied appliances: confirm the cooktop, oven, and any supplied air conditioning units are operational.
• Gutters and external drainage: visible from ground level — check for overflow marks, sagging sections, or vegetation growth.

Tenant condition checks:

• General cleanliness and maintenance of gardens (if the lease requires it)
• Condition of walls, floors, and carpets compared to the Entry Condition Report
• Any unauthorised modifications (removed doors, installed fixtures, additional locks)
• Pet damage if the tenancy permits pets

Emergency Entry: The Exception

A landlord may enter without notice in a genuine emergency — fire, flood, a burst pipe flooding the property, or a situation where someone inside needs urgent help — or if there are reasonable grounds to believe entry is necessary to protect the property from imminent damage. The emergency must be real and immediate. Entering without notice because the landlord "smelled gas from the street" is reasonable. Entering without notice to check whether the tenant is keeping the garden tidy is not.

After an emergency entry, the landlord should document the reason, the date and time of entry, and what was found. This protects both parties if the entry is later disputed.

Repairs Entry vs Routine Inspection

These are different entry types with different notice periods. A landlord who discovers a compliance issue during a routine inspection cannot then enter again the next day to fix it without issuing a new Form 9 with 48 hours' notice for repairs.

The practical sequence:

1. Conduct routine inspection under 7-day Form 9 notice
2. Identify a defect (e.g., a broken window latch)
3. Issue a new Form 9 with 48 hours' notice for the specific repair
4. Enter to complete the repair (or have the licensed trade complete it)
5. Update the property records with the repair date and contractor details

This two-step process is why landlords who combine their routine inspection with a maintenance checklist save significant time — issues identified on Tuesday can have a repair Form 9 issued that day for an entry after the full 48-hour notice period, rather than waiting another quarter to discover the same problem.

Connecting Inspections to Compliance Records

Every routine inspection generates evidence that protects the landlord in bond disputes, insurance claims, and QCAT proceedings. The Queensland Rental Minimum Standards Compliance Guide includes a printable inspection checklist aligned to the Schedule 5A standards, so each quarterly walkthrough doubles as a compliance audit with a paper trail.

The landlords who run into trouble at QCAT are almost always the ones who stopped inspecting — or inspected without documenting what they found.

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