Entry to a Queensland rental: inspections, notice and the tenant's rights

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Kooky

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A rented house or unit belongs to its owner, but it is the tenant's home. Queensland tenancy law draws a firm line between the two: the lessor or the agent may come in, but only for a reason the law recognises, after the right written notice, at a reasonable hour and within limits on how often. Most entries go smoothly. When they do not, the cause is usually a notice given too late, a time nobody agreed to, or an inspection that turned into something else.

This guide sets out how entry works in a general tenancy under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, drawing on the guidance published by the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA), the state body that administers the Act. It covers the grounds for entry and the notice each one needs, the Entry notice (Form 9) itself, routine inspections, the hours and the two-hour window, how to count a notice, entry without notice, photographs, the tighter limits once a tenancy is ending, and what each side can do when the rules are not followed. Entry to show the home to buyers has its own extra steps and is only touched on here.

Residential Tenancies Authority guidance on entry to the property and the Entry notice (Form 9), general tenancies.

The tenant's home comes first

The RTA's own guidance on entry opens with a plain principle: when a tenant rents a property or a room, it is their home, and their privacy must be respected. The legal basis is the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment. According to the RTA's fact sheet on rules of entry, the owner or manager must not interfere with the tenant's reasonable peace, comfort and privacy in using the premises, and must take reasonable steps to make sure the tenant has quiet enjoyment of them.

Entry is therefore an exception to that right, and it is framed by three conditions the RTA repeats throughout its material. The lessor or agent needs a valid reason, has to give the correct written notice on the approved form, and must come at a time the law treats as reasonable. If one of the three is missing, the entry is not authorised, unless the tenant agrees to it or one of the narrow no-notice situations applies.

The same rules bind everyone who enters on the lessor's behalf. A property manager, a selling agent, a valuer arranged by the owner and a tradesperson sent to do repairs all come in under an Entry notice. According to the RTA's fact sheet on rules of entry, a tenant who does not know the agent named on a notice can ask the owner or manager for written evidence of that agent's appointment.

The Entry notice (Form 9)

Notice of entry is given in writing on the RTA's approved form, the Entry notice (Form 9). The current version listed by the RTA is version 20, dated 13 November 2025. Rooming accommodation uses a separate form, the R9.

The form is filled in by the property manager or the owner and handed to the tenant. It is not sent to the RTA; the issuer keeps a copy. The form records:

• the address of the rental property;
• who is issuing the notice: the owner, the property manager, or another authorised person such as a selling agent;
• the details of the people who will be entering;
• the date the notice was issued and how it was given;
• the ground for entry, ticked from the list printed on the form;
• the day and date of entry, with either a set time or a two-hour period;
• the issuer's signature, printed name and the date.

When the property is being sold, the RTA explains that the selling agent gives the Entry notice to the tenant and sends a copy to the property manager or owner. The ground ticked on the form matters: it sets the notice period, and it limits what the visit can lawfully be used for.

Grounds for entry and the notice each needs

The Act lists the reasons a lessor or agent may enter, and the Entry notice prints them as a list to tick. Each ground carries its own minimum notice. Since 1 May 2025, most entries other than a routine inspection need 48 hours' notice in a general tenancy, up from 24 hours before that date, according to a summary of the changes published by Tenants Queensland, the state's tenant advice service.

Two grounds in the table depend on other notices. A breach check follows a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11) that the lessor gave the tenant, and the follow-up visit has to happen within two weeks of that notice expiring. Showing the home to prospective tenants is only possible once the tenancy is ending, after the tenant has given a Notice of intention to leave (Form 13) or received a Notice to leave (Form 12). Showing it to prospective buyers requires the lessor to have given a Notice of intention to sell (Form 10) before or with the first Entry notice, and open houses and on-site auctions need the tenant's written agreement, according to the RTA.

The RTA also notes that in a remote area where tradespeople are scarce, repairs can be carried out with no notice at all, and that in a caravan park, regular site maintenance set out in the agreement needs no notice either.

Routine inspections: what they are for

The routine inspection is the entry most tenants know best. The RTA describes its purpose as checking that the tenant is caring for the property and finding any repairs, maintenance or health and safety issues. The owner or manager typically looks for water leaks, pests, damage or deterioration, whether the inclusions and fixtures work, and what maintenance may be needed later.

The rules are specific. The first inspection can take place at any time after the tenancy starts, as long as at least 7 days' notice is given on the Entry notice. After that, inspections can happen no more than once every three months, unless the tenant agrees in writing to more. The RTA's guidance adds a point that often eases tension on both sides: a routine inspection is not a housework inspection, because people live in the property.

The same RTA page lists what tenants usually do to prepare: cleaning, removing mould, repairing damage, mowing and gardening, and tidying outdoor areas. It also suggests tenants report maintenance issues as soon as they arise, ideally in writing for non-urgent ones, rather than holding them for the next inspection.

An inspection can also bring a breach to light. The RTA gives examples of significant breaches that may lead to a Notice to remedy breach: using the property for an illegal purpose, more occupants than the agreement allows, keeping a pet without permission, and damage costing more than one week's rent to fix. The scope of the visit remains the ground written on the notice.

Hours and the two-hour window

The law also controls when entry happens. According to the RTA, entry is generally allowed between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday. Entry before 8am or after 6pm, on a Sunday or on a public holiday, needs the tenant's agreement.

For an inspection by the owner or manager, the Entry notice must give either a set time or a window of no more than two hours, and the owner or manager must arrive within it. The RTA's fact sheet on rules of entry clarifies that they may stay beyond the window to finish what they came to do. The window rule does not apply to other visitors, such as tradespeople or valuers.

Tenants Queensland adds two practical points. A tenant who is at home during an entry cannot be asked to leave while it happens. And where the reason for entry is lawful but the proposed time is not reasonable for the tenant, the tenant can suggest another time in writing. The RTA notes that a tenant does not have to be present unless their presence is an agreed condition of entry, though it recommends entering when the tenant can be there.

Counting the notice period

A notice period is only as good as the way it is counted. The RTA's fact sheet on allowing time when serving notices sets the method, with worked examples.

The method shifts with the way a notice is sent. By post, the first counted day is the day after the notice arrives at the address, so delivery time has to be added. Email can only be used if the tenant agreed to it in the tenancy agreement, and an email counts as received when it reaches the recipient's email server. For notices counted in hours, the time can be calculated to the hour: the RTA's example is a 48-hour notice emailed at 2pm on 12 June, which allows entry from 2pm on 14 June.

The same fact sheet says short notices such as entry notices may not suit every method of service, and suggests phoning ahead or allowing an extra day where a dispute is likely. It also notes that a person serving a notice by hand cannot rely on a general right to walk up to the door and knock, and should use a letterbox on the fence line or another method.

When no notice is needed

There are situations where the lessor or agent can enter without an Entry notice. The RTA lists them:

1. in an emergency;
2. to protect the premises from damage that is about to happen, or from further damage;
3. when the tenant agrees, at the time agreed;
4. for repairs in a remote area with a shortage of tradespeople;
5. for regular site maintenance in a caravan park, where the agreement provides for it.

Agreement is the most flexible of these, and it has a limit. The RTA's fact sheet states that entry by agreement is allowed only at the agreed time. An agreement to let a plumber in on Tuesday morning is not consent to an inspection on Tuesday afternoon.

Photographs during entry

Photographs are a common source of friction, and the Act does not ban them during an inspection. The RTA's fact sheet for tenants on taking photos says a manager may take photos for maintenance or damage issues, wear and tear, completed repairs or suspected breaches of the agreement, and that a tenant who is unsure of the reason can ask. Photos count as personal information: they may be collected where they relate to managing the property, must be stored securely, be accessed only by people who need them, and be destroyed within the required timeframe.

The firm rule concerns advertising. Photos that show a tenant's belongings, inside or outside the home, from furniture to cars and boats, need the tenant's written permission before they are used in an advertisement. An RTA article on taking photos in a rental property adds that a tenant letting a photographer in cannot be treated as consent to use the pictures.

For a routine inspection, the RTA recommends that tenants be told in advance that photos will be taken, and that managers explain their reporting process. A tenant with concerns about security, safety or privacy, which the RTA notes is especially important for anyone fleeing domestic and family violence, can ask for reasonable steps: advance notice so personal items can be moved, blurring or editing, or photos that show the condition of an item rather than what is inside it.

What the photographs must not do is widen the visit. In a Gold Coast case reported by the RTA in July 2025, a magistrate found that an agent who came in under a repairs notice exceeded their authority by carrying out a general inspection and taking photos not needed for the repairs. The agent had also arrived before the time on the notice, while the tenants were out, and opened closed bedroom doors.

Entry once a tenancy is ending

The rules tighten when a tenancy is about to end. Once a Notice to leave (Form 12) or a Notice of intention to leave (Form 13) has been given, the owner or manager cannot enter more than twice in any seven-day period, according to the RTA.

The RTA lists the exceptions: entry by mutual agreement, entry to comply with smoke alarm and safety switch rules, and entry to protect the premises from imminent or further damage. It also points out a detail that is easy to miss. A Notice to leave issued at the start of a tenancy does not bring the limit into effect early: the twice-in-seven-days rule applies once the notice period starts.

The general rules keep applying on top of the cap. Each entry still needs its ground, its notice period and a reasonable hour, and the RTA's routine inspection guidance confirms that the inspection limits still apply after either notice has been issued. Showing the home to prospective tenants, which only becomes possible at this stage, needs 48 hours' notice each time and a reasonable interval since the previous showing.

When the rules are not followed

Most disagreements about entry are settled by a conversation before the visit. Where they are not, the steps are set out by the RTA and by Tenants Queensland.

On the tenant's side, a valid notice for a lawful reason at a reasonable time cannot be refused, according to Tenants Queensland. A defective notice, or no proper notice, means the tenant does not have to allow entry. A tenant who thinks their quiet enjoyment is being breached can first raise it with the owner or manager, and may then give a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11). Either party can ask the RTA's free dispute resolution service for help, online or with a Form 16. The RTA's conciliators are impartial and do not decide the outcome; if conciliation fails, a notice of unresolved dispute is issued and either side may apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). The RTA also notes that an urgent tribunal application is possible in some entry disputes.

Tenants Queensland adds that where unlawful entry happens three times in 12 months, the tenant may be able to apply urgently to the tribunal to end the agreement for repeated breaches, and that unlawful entry can be reported to the RTA's investigations unit.

The RTA's report on that case sets out how it unfolded. The agency had first received a penalty infringement notice in February 2024 after a tenant's complaint, and chose to contest it in court. The offences were unlawful entry under section 202(a) of the Act and interference with the tenants' reasonable privacy under section 183(2). No conviction was recorded. According to the RTA, a penalty infringement notice can be issued to an individual or a company, only for an offence committed in the past two years, and a person or company who contests one in the Magistrates Court may have a conviction recorded if found guilty.

The path is the same when the disagreement starts on the other side, for example over a tenant refusing an entry. The RTA's guidance is to discuss the issue with the person who issued the notice before the planned entry, then turn to its dispute resolution service and, where the matter is urgent, to the tribunal.

The notice is the whole permission: its ground sets the purpose, its date and window set the time, and nothing outside them is part of the visit.

Rooming accommodation works differently

A resident who rents a room in a share house run as rooming accommodation, rather than a whole home, is covered by the same Act but by different entry rules. The provider uses the Entry notice for rooming accommodation (Form R9), and the RTA's routine inspection guidance states that entry to a resident's room needs at least 48 hours' notice, while common areas can be entered at any reasonable time.

According to the Tenants Queensland summary of the 2025 changes, entry to a room to inspect it, carry out pest control, make routine repairs, show it, value the property or deal with a smoke alarm needs 48 hours' notice, while entry to clean a room needs 24 hours. Tenants Queensland also notes that if a resident is in or near their room, the provider must tell them before entering and must not stay longer than necessary. The twice-in-seven-days cap applies here too once a notice to leave or of intention to leave has been given, with exceptions that include agreed entry, emergencies, abandonment and urgent repairs.

Whatever the type of tenancy, the RTA's forms, fact sheets and the Act itself remain the reference. The RTA's fact sheet on photos states that the Act takes precedence if the two ever differ, and the details of an individual case, such as a domestic and family violence situation or a moveable dwelling, can bring further rules into play.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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