Property inspections

A landlord can enter the house or flat between the hours of 8am and 7pm any day of the week to undertake a property inspection. A notice period of not less than 48 hours, and not more than 14 days, is required. Inspections are not allowed to be more often than once every four weeks (s 48(2)(b) RTA). While not ideal, it is lawful for the landlord to inspect the property when the tenant isn’t at home.

If the landlord is following the law, but they are visiting so often that it is disturbing the peace and comfort of the tenant, the tenant can ask them to stop on the basis that it is a breach of their right to quiet enjoyment of the property.

Decide whether to be there or not

Tenants are allowed to be at the house or flat during the inspection, but they don’t have to be there if they don’t want to. Inspections will generally take between 30-60 minutes. Any longer than this may be a breach of the tenant’s quiet enjoyment.

Tidy up

Tenants should tidy up before the landlord comes. There are checklists online guiding landlords on what to look for during an inspection, like this one. Going through a checklist like this may help a tenant prepare for the inspection.

Make a note of issues and repairs to discuss

Tenants should write down a list of any issues or repairs that they want to discuss, or the landlord to see, during the inspection. A copy of this list could be given to the landlord.

Have copy of the initial property inspection report on hand

The tenant and landlord should have a copy of the initial property inspection report on hand, to check how the state of the flat may have changed since the start of the tenancy.

Be aware that the landlord may take photos

Landlords are allowed to take photos during the inspection, but they should avoid taking photos of the tenant’s belongings, if possible. If the landlord is not respectful of the tenant’s personal items this may be a breach of the tenant’s privacy. For peace of mind, the tenant may want to put some of their personal items away.

Take notes of any repairs or maintenance the landlord agrees to do
Tenants should take notes of anything that the landlord says they will fix, and ask them what their time frame is for this work.

During or after the inspection, landlords can give tenants a timeframe to remedy any breaches of the tenancy agreement, such as tidying up or undertaking certain repairs. They can then give notice to come and reinspect the property to check that this work has been done (s 48(2)(c) RTA). The landlord doesn’t have to wait four weeks before doing this reinspection.

A tenant is free to ask for a copy of any property inspection report, but whether the landlord is legally required to supply it depends on the content of the report.

If the property inspection report contains information relating to the tenant - for example, photos with the tenant’s belongings in them, or if the tenant is named on or in some other way is identifiable from the report - then this is considered personal information and the landlord is required, under the Privacy Act, to supply it to the tenant.

If the report does not contain personal information, for example, it only refers to the building condition, then the landlord does not have to give a copy to the tenant.

The landlord may refuse to release the report even if it contains personal information, if they have grounds under the Privacy Act to withhold it. If a tenant believes the landlord is wrongly withholding the property inspection report they can complain to the Privacy Commissioner