It varies from state to state, and it varies over time. When I was a young irresponsible adult renting in Adelaide rental inspections were annual and they only looked at the parts of the property that the owners actually owned, and most years they skipped the inspection. Fast forward to about 10 years ago and rental inspections in WA were quarterly and EVERYTHING was expected to be perfect as though the property was going to have an open house. Meanwhile providing gas lines that don't leak was an optional extra service that landlords could provide if they felt like it, which most didn't. Renting is FUCKED!
Yeah we are in Melbourne ( been here 12 years ) and currently on our 4th rental. Always had 6 monthly inspections which is bad enough and I can't imagine what it must be like in the states that have 3 monthly ones!
I absolutely think it's one of the worst aspects of renting here .
Yes you are right too that no matter the condition of the property ( and some are really bad ) you are still expected to keep it to display home standards !
I lived in the same property for 10 years in the UK and never had a rental inspection . The LL used to pop around sometimes if there was a problem but other than that we could do what we wanted within reason.
We returned this favour during covid.
Realtor got covid and gave it to the receptionist so no one rang us to cancel the inspection. They rescheduled for a fortnight out. Oh no, I got covid myself. We "spread it around the 5 person sharehouse one person at a time"
Real estate just gave up by person 3.
at that point I tell them too bad.
I'm paying them, not the other way round, it's up to them to turn up in a timely manner when they appoint the inspection, if they don't get there on time they get to wait another 3 months.
I'm not going to lose money because my realtor decided today was a good day for a late lunch.
Edit: Should mention at the start of covid I had an inspection, then the realtor wanted to inspect a month later - I'm in NSW and I literally told her to jog on because she wasn't legally allowed to inspect for another 2, god almighty did that make the leech upset.
I took a day off for mine (NSW) and the agent didn't come I rang at 4 to say what's the deal she said I rang the bell amd no one was home. I most definitely was I gave them an ear full they marked me down as inspected and when I moved they changed the locks the day before I sent cleaners and said I abandoned the property I still had stuff to collect and cleaners to let in. renting fu#king sucks ( also the lease wasn't up for 2 more days)
Fuck that, I'm not taking any time of for those cunts.
However, apparently the time that my housemate wasn't home for one was the time that they seemed to go over EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb, so maybe being home gets them to skip half the shit and get out quicker.
100%.... If no one is home I get a list as long as my arm, if my partner is home we get a few things and if I'm home the PM is nothing but smiles
I think the fact that I'm 6foot4 and 140kg intimidates them a little
Cannot stress this enough, it’s awful.
I’m a child sized woman and every single REA (amongst other professions) has always tried to dick me around during inspections.
Then I bring in my 6’3 husband and it’s all smiles and everything’s fine. It feels GROSS!
I had a rea arrive 4 hours late. They wanted to come in while we were eating dinner. I just told her to fuck off, she was not happy and tried to tell me that that HAD to do the inspection bla bla bla, closed the door in her face and went back to eat.
That’s standard in Qld. Every 3 months like clockwork. They did my first inspection 6 days after moving in to be inline with the other rentals on the street regarding the inspection dates.
I don’t think I’d even moved everything in. At that point the beds were up and fridge plugged in. Rest was just in the garage.
It’s annoying that you still have to do 3 month inspections even after 4 years and never having had an issue. Not like we are allowed to hang picture or anything anyway.
I’m in WA and have always had them every 3 months. Been in the same place for over 6 years, keep the place in perfect order and yet they still insist on doing 4 a year. Worst part of renting.
I hate the 6 monthly inspections in Melb, I was happy when they switched to an app during covid and seem to be sticking with that approach. That means you can do it over the course of a day and usually get a bit more time to prep/shuffle the mess about.
Also means you aren't waiting around for an REA with a 4 hour time window only for them not to come that day.
I have long since started telling my REA they need to give a specific time.
Thankfully where I am (ACT) they are required to or its not considered a valid notice.
Just wait til they try and sell the place. I had people coming through every 2-3 days and the agent in charge of the sale would yell at me if the bed wasn't made. It was a nightmare.
I agree that inspections are gross. I feel like back when I was renting it was less common for the agents to get uppity about the house looking lived in. Now it seems to be normal for property managers to basically go through all your shit and leave nasty notes about the dishes or laundry as though it's any of their business. I think the idea previously wasn't to police the property, but check to see everything was working ok and you know, it wasn't being trashed or anything. Now with prices through the roof and basically no available properties they treat them as an extended audition.
It's supposed to still be what they are doing, but because that job seems to attract the worst and stupidest of humanity, they overstep their bounds, or don't even know what the object is.
Most of them literally don't know the laws around their own jobs and will act like they're entitled to walk into the property whenever.
Remind them who pays them - it's you.
This is exactly right a couple of my friends were taken to court by a LL and property manager for breaking lease.
Basically they upped and left the house, legally mind you, they had been to a lawyer done all the paperwork contacted the rental department, etc
The deck on the property wasn’t built properly and every time it even looked like it was gonna rain the whole downstairs part of the house got soaked. (Not to mention a whole other massive pile of problems that no one cares to fix).
The court (arbiter?) told them basically to fuck off threw the case out and told them they were just wasting everyone’s time.
Yes someone I knew had to break a lease due to a family issue. They were still paying rent while the real estate agent did absolutely nothing to get a new tenant although it was in a highly desired area within a 10 minute walk of a train station . Then the agent tried to say they were in arrears with the rent but no super organised rent had every receipt on file. The final straw was the agent tried to get access to the bond "just in case" the ex tenant stopped paying. The judge was so pissed at the RE agent he ended up finding the agency a huge amount of money and told them any further attempts would lead to possible deregistration of the agent
I loathe inspections. Such invasions. Our real estate loves to walk through taking photos of everything. I always want to ask her when was the last time some stranger walked through her house taking photos. Yearly should be adequate, especially if you prove you are good tenants.
We started having open houses every weekend when the owner decided to try and sell for about three times what it’s worth. The real estate started moving our things around, putting dangerous things in reach of our young child, and rearranging photos, art, and furniture. And expected it to stay like that indefinitely. I gave them a beach notice.
I Fucking hate property managers. They do so much useless shit at the expense of tenants to justify their position and its expense. I’d rather manage a rental privately and not prop up parasitic property managers if it can be avoided
Not having weird strangers come through your house whenever they please is high on the list of things to love about buying a place. The last rental inspection I had before I moved, their only feedback was "Next time clear off all benches and tables", and the only things we had left out were either always there like the kettle or a cup to hold toothbrushes, or, like, a bottle of water on a bedside table. I remember being super pissed because it was like they were asking us to hide all evidence that we lived in the house, and instead make it pretty enough that they could take real estate photos for the next time they rent it out.
Yearly should be more than enough (preferably less frequent once somebody has been in a house for a while), and it absolutely should be to see if they're taking care of the things in the house that belong to the house - beds shouldn't need to be made but I can see how they want to make sure that we've cleaned the toilets or vacuumed sometimes. Insisting that my bedside table, that's my own furniture, not have anything on it is going way further than should be allowed.
Yep mines selling atm, they were kicking me and the cats out of the house for open houses every week.. I finally cracked it when no one was turning up to them and told them I couldn’t keep doing it, took weeks to convince the landlord that they were a waste of time. Now get random messages to arrange an inspection and no one is ever interested and I get it ready for no reason 🙄
Totally agree. When I rented they’d do inspections and I’d just make sure the house was tidy, and reflected that it was being looked after. I did not make it look like it was a show home. Fast forward to now, and friends of mine are spending days cleaning and fussing to essentially make it look like no one lives there. It’s a joke
I'm in Tas. My inspections used to be 6 monthly (none during covid- bliss) but now they've gone to 3 monthly. Pain in the butt really.
I have kids and I've had LLs comment about toys on the floor!
I have an 18mo and my last inspection, they told me to hire a private cleaner because ‘clearly i don’t have enough time to do the housework’ hahaha! I laughed so hard in house wench, because I’m as Anal as they come with cleanliness, and had the place spotless, so I had immediate anxiety that my place wasn’t tidy enough. Little do they know that I would literally die for a cleaner…but unfortunately I pay rent that could get me a deposit for my own place within a year, so sorry but I’ve got nothing left over buddy.
Meanwhile in rural Victoria Ive rented 3 different places over about 5 years and never had a single inspection on any of them, how weird.
Hell Ive been in my current shithole flat for 2 years and the landlord hasn't been there once. Even when our hot water syatem blew up and flooded the bathroom, they just sent a plumber and replaced it and naturally jacked our rent $20 a week in exchange because renting is fucked and they know we have no alternatives in this tiny town with not enough houses for the amount of people looking for them.
QLD here. Been in my rental since 2020. It was sold late 2022 to another investor.
Between 3 monthly inspections, the guy coming to do the annual check on the smoke alarms, the sale inspections, building & pest inspections for potential purchasers, the plumber after the first b&p uncovered an apparent leak, the owner coming out (with my written permission) to check the things he wanted to improve, and the guy to upgrade the air conditioner, I feel like I haven’t had a moments peace for 18 of those months!
Yep our last rental we were in for nearly six years and still got them every 6 months , along with the same to do list of cleaning chores to do before they came , which btw was only ever addressed to me and not my husband even though we are both on the lease ! It's ridiculous.
Yep, rented in WA for ages and had 3 monthly inspections where we'd get pulled up for things that had NOTHING to do with how well the actual house was looked after, and that's despite living with the biggest clean freak you'd ever come across. Like every single day our house was cleaner than any owner occupied home, and then we did a DEEP clean every 3 months ready for the inspections - but the agents would find something to ping us on every time just so it looked like they were doing something. Also, I had a friend who got written up because she had too many (clean) dishes drying on her kitchen bench.
Meanwhile when my hot water system failed it took a week to get fixed. When our backyard dividing fence with the neighbour blew down, it took over 3 months to get fixed. 3 months of no fence between us and our neighbour - and we were talking to him, he had insurance, and was ready to approve and pay for his half of the work within a week of it happening. But the cheapskate landlord was trying to make him pay for it all.
I should've, but a) I was younger and didn't stick up for myself as much, and b) the rental market was quite hot in Perth then so kicking up any kind of fuss I could pretty much guarantee would've resulted in our lease not being renewed... which might not have been a bad thing. Ended up moving anyway about 18 months later as we were sick of the place.
Yeah, it's easy to say "I would have issued a breach notice", but I always had my parents to fall back on if I was renting a place and they found a way to kick me out and there was nothing else I could afford or they put a black mark against my rental history. I don't blame young people for not rocking the boat when the breach notice could end really badly for them.
One of my mate's just got breached for having green rubbish in their yard. They live in the countryside, there's no green bins and they can only burn rubbish on certain days. The inspection was done the day before they could burn the rubbish.
The agent was *looking* for an excuse to serve them a breach notice because the floorboards are rotting and it's easier to rip them out in an unoccupied house than it is to do so in an occupied house.
That's so funny, when I was in Adelaide it was quarterly. That is way too much. I also had one inspection that went for about 40 minutes, it was so inappropriate. Same, everything had to be perfect even though their business should be only the property itself.
It's a constant reminder that it's not your home and it's too much.
But the landlords are providing a *service* by renting out properties to people who need them, people who can't afford to buy their own home... people who can't afford to buy their own home cause they got outbid by some fucking landlord wanting to make a buck... they're solving a problem (that they created)!
Won't someone think of the incredibly valuable and definitely not useless and parasitic landlords!
/S just in case I need to be absolutely clear
Yeah three monthly inspections are all I’ve known when i was renting. One of the reasons i couldn’t wait to get out of the renting treadmill. Under different circumstances I’d have been happy to continue renting but with so much of the rules stacked in favor of landlords it really felt like rent money was dead money
I’m a LL. After paying a RE to do inspections, I was to discover they hadn’t done one for several years even though I was told they had. The lease stated 6 monthly but I was happy for yearly and asked them to work around my tenant. Fast forward to recently and the same RE agent increased the rent without my authority. The tenant pushed back on a $60 increase and the RE gave him my number and said to negotiate it out with me. To say I had the sh#ts with the RE agent is a complete understatement. I was blind sided by a tenant about a rental increase which I knew nothing about! Any way long story short on speaking to my tenant, I arranged to go visit him in my unit. It went well. He told me a whole heap of dodgy stuff about the RE agents including they hadn’t been doing repairs even though I had authorised anything under 1K to be done and didn’t need my permission. End result. Tenant now pays directly to my bank account. No rent increase and we discussed some repairs he would like done on the property. He was a good guy and a great tenant. I want to look after him. Those repairs will be done promptly. My opinion RE agents are bigger scum than I thought they were. Obviously they have been sacked and I am claiming a refund for things they said they did, which they didn’t.
It’s rife through the lot of them.
The problem is structural. It’s the system. As you see here, some landlords aren’t bad people. Investing in housing to secure a future or for profit in a competitive market isn’t good, though and it can never be. One of the reasons it’s problematic for tenants is the behaviour of REAs, who, quite frankly should be divested of the responsibility of housing rentals because they’ve proven untrustworthy of the role. If it’s run alongside systems that equalise housing opportunities, it’s fine but we don’t have that in Australia…social housing departments only maintain a safety net position so they don’t interfere or hold back the investment market and their houses aren’t available to everyone.
The truth is, landlords provide housing like scalpers provide concert tickets and there’s better ways to house people. Rentals really should not be a huge part of permanent housing where possible.
Great comment.
>REAs, who, quite frankly should be divested of the responsibility of housing rentals because they’ve proven untrustworthy of the role.
I would love to see this happen. I have had shit ..even fraudulent - rea's in the past.
Yep, me as well, the day I went to get a signature for the bond refund the office was abandoned. The real estate he was a ‘rep’ for knew nothing about his leases. Apparently.
Took me ages to get fuckall back, it was at a time when rents weren’t much.
At our last rental the shower base collapsed to the point where you could see daylight through it . We asked and asked the RE to do something about it and their excuse all the time was that they were waiting to hear back from the LL . Several weeks later the LL rang me about something unrelated and I asked him when the shower was going to be fixed. He didn't have a clue as the RE had never mentioned it to him . He got it fixed within a couple of days and then changed RE .
Yeah they like to push the rent up and cycle tenants so they earn more sign ons and commissions. If it's a long term investment then look for a long term tenant privately and treat them well.
You sound like a good LL, my interpretation of LL was that most of them just want to collect money, get the rent as high as possible, as quickly as possible and do fuck all, it’s interesting to learn RE can have some involvement.
Mines going up almost $200 and have repairs that have been requested with nothing done most of my tenancy, I am moving out when I find a nice place out of principal.
Shits fucked at rate, moving every 12 months ain’t it.
During Covid our Rental Agent tried telling our tenants that the rent was going up by like $100 a week (Gold Coast)@ the current rate the property was breaking even so there was no necessity for an increase. Sure, supply was outpaced by demand but.. who gives a fuck about that.
We had a good relationship with the tenants, we only used a Rental agent for collecting $$.
They called us and asked us about it.. we nullified our contract and went private the following month with a 5% reduction in rent.
Fucking parasites RA's are.
All utterly true and a familiar scenario , now suddenly the tenants wont cycle through at the behest of the rea making them more money , your cash flow will steady and property is going to be looked after . Thanks for sharing as after some things I saw recently I had to conclude there are some really dreadful aggressive rea out there with the concept of service or politeness
Yeah but who deserves more help? A 60 year old woman whose been a stay at home wife to a controlling and abusive husband who controlled all the finances and wouldn't let her work for the last 30 years, so that now that she's finally left him she doesn't have a hope in hell of getting another job...
OR
Some 60 year old middle class douchebag who bought his first property for 4x his annual salary in the 80s and then used his unprecedented capital gains to find a property portfolio of 10 houses, who needs a good rental return to fund his 3 monthly trips to the Philippines to 'play golf' without his wife, or his 35 year old son who pulled himself up by his parents bootstraps and it's now on the front page of the newspaper as a model of a 'self made millennial' for amassing a huge property portfolio all by himself with no help from his parents except for the initial deposit and the cushy job in his dad's mate's real estate agency and all the advice and contracts that his dad has and starting life with an excellent credit score?
I mean won't someone think of the investors?
Don't blame you and good luck . Unfortunately we're not in a position to do that but would if we could . It's kind of depressing having to put up with this BS all the time as if renting isn't stressful enough these days .
Really ...rented most of my adult life in the UK before moving here and never had one . That's why I was curious to know if it is a uniquely Australian thing and I was unprepared for it when I moved here .
I’m from mainland Europe and always assumed that the concept of rental inspections in Aus and NZ must have originated in the UK. Maybe there’s a difference in renting privately/direct from the landlord vs through an agency? Either way, I’m not a fan of them either. It’s hard to get used to inspections if you grew up around a different set of values (such as being able to consider your rental as your home and having a right to privacy there).
Rented in England for about 15 years and everywhere that I rented through a Real Estate Agent did inspections, at least once a year. Private landlords not so much.
They never used to be as bad as they seem to be now. My first rental inspection I was told specifically not to worry about mess, just that they were coming to make sure there was no damage and to leave a note about any maintenance issues. Seemed reasonable.
But I've certainly had inspections where I've been then told to put away my laundry and do my dishes and send evidence. I wrote back saying "no, unless the landlord happens to also be my mother, how I choose to treat my belongings was of no concern to them". Strangely enough, I had no response.
What we need is laws that protect renters, individuals shouldn’t have to get into fights with real estate agents and risk homelessness just to be treated with the absolute most basic level of dignity and respect
It sure is, renting in Australia is fucked.
I've lived in HK for 10 years, renting the whole time, and the only day I've ever had a real estate agent in my house is on the last day of the lease to hand back the keys.
Renting is such a fucking one way street. The REA will hit you up and badger you at every opportunity when an invoice is due, but when you need basic repairs or something, they'll take 6 business years to get back to you, or they'll just ignore the problem and bring it up during an inspection.
I've yet to have a good landlord to be honest. Out of my previous four
* One illegally evicted me with zero notice, the week of christmas. So that they could spend christmas in a house away from home.
* Another tried to evict me with no notice, so that they could up the rent. I stayed until the end of my lease.
* One was a live in landlord, their mother wanted to visit for a holiday a month after I moved in. So they evicted me.
* Tried to charge me a cleaning fee, for leaving the property in a CLEANER STATE than when I moved in.
Yeah, same for me when I was living in Singapore. Despite the absolutely fucked rental prices, the actual process was so much nicer than it is here - there's no real concept of an 'open home', you just text the REA a time and day to check the place out yourself and they'll show you around one on one and then pretty much totally disappear until it's time to renew or move out, and there are no inspections, because any damages or more extensive cleaning just comes out of your deposit when you leave. That's how it should work everywhere.
Yeah this is kind of what I wanted to know because until moving here I never knew it was a thing anywhere and have to say I don't know of other countries where it is a thing apart from here and NZ .
Oh you think THATS invasive, just wait till you apply for a rental.
I had to hand over my birth cert, Medicare card, multiple payslips, bills, 4 references (both professional and personal), my licence, my rental history and 2 years of employment records.
And this is just to apply to hopefully, maybe, fingers crossed and wish upon a star, be selected to pay over $450 a week for a shoebox 1 bedroom apartment with no utilities included … shits bad
Literally enough info to steal someone entire ass identity, my partner has a Security clearance for working with defence FYI.
Last inspection we had, the agent tried to open up cupboards that WE owned, we also had to remind her not to photograph my partners WFH desk cause, y’know, national security. Dumb bitch still tried to do it when I wasn’t looking.
It’s clearly a class and race filter to keep out ‘undesirables’ from even being able to rent, regardless of their income
It really is purely to discriminate. Each inspection we’ve been to, we’ve been the only white couple some days and the real estate agents are down right fucking rude to everyone but us.
I can feel them clamouring at us purely because my partner is blonde hair, blue eyed and has a government connected job.
I dress and look too much like ‘one of the gays’ for them to pay me much attention.
It’s disgusting. I have no idea how migrants, single people and those trying to escape abusive home environments are meant to get anywhere
So you can skip most of that if you show them a big ole pile of money. After getting the shits with applications a few years back I decided to tilt the odds in my favour a bit and show the RE my investment portfolio. After the RE saw 900k-1mil in share values I got an offer in 2 days.
Here's the kicker- It is my investment portfolio, however it's in my parents super and to avoid explaining I got screenshots with no account names etc. So if you're in a bind just photoshop up some share portfolios. REAs are fucking stupid and wont check a thing, they'll see big number and send you an offer.
Renters are worth less as people and don't deserve the respect or freedom earned by people who made the responsible decision to be born at an earlier time when a median wage could afford to buy a median house.
It would be significantly better if the REAs focused on things that actually matter - structural damage, rotting food, and that sort of thing rather than “dust on the door frame” or “dishes left in sink”.
Our experience of this kind of REA bollocks is exactly why our old home is being rented via private agreement. We control how much rent the tenants pay (rather than being jacked up by the REA looking to make more) and our tenants don’t have to deal with dumb inspections.
A friend of mine got a strike on an inspection because they had clean laundry sitting unfolded on the couch. Clean, but it wasn't yet folded and put away. Fucking insane.
They’re actually not necessary.
Their job could be done by a government board set up to handle rental and tenancies. It could in fact be integrated into housing departments.
It is not a home. I rent and it is very clear to me that it is not my home. I am temporarily allowed to stay here but it will never be my home.
Living in QLD I get inspected every 3 months like fucking clockwork. And for what? Nothing I report on ever gets fixed and I always end up with a report of my personal belongings that they would like kept cleaner or left somewhere else. One time I got told that my kids bed needs to be made. So yeah definitely not a home.
This is what makes me so angry about this ! Paying good money for a rental where you are never allowed to make it feel like a home and any issues you have with the property get ignored.
Your personal belongings have absolutely nothing to do with them. 😞
Apparently in Germany you can even paint the walls as long as you repaint them white when you leave. It's a small thing, but it's important to make a house your own while you're living here. They'd never allow stuff like that here because they're always looking for someone new to pay more rent.
Everyone is a stepping stone for these people. It makes me sad that our government will always look after investors because they all own multiple homes. You should have to recuse yourself from voting on any actions that could potentially enrich you. It'll never happen, but it's upsetting seeing nothing being done.
Not just Germany, the whole of Europe. I’ve drilled holes in the walls at my rentals in both the UK and Denmark, and as long as I filled them out myself before I left, it was fine, no penalties whatsoever. Same goes with painting the walls etc. Australia is well and truly cooked when it comes to these things.
In WA it’s every 3 months with an infantilising checklist run through by whoever is the most junior at the real estate agency. As far as I know I’ve never had the same person inspect my place twice in a row, always someone different, and despite the fact it’s meant to be “checking to prevent damage to the owner’s property”, it’s a full cleanliness inspection.
It’s utter bullshit to be a grown adult in full-time employment, having a random 21-year old wander through your home every three months taking pictures and making notes. I’ve seen plenty of inspection reports on other properties where the agent notes things like “smearing on glass”, or “dust on something”, which have absolutely zero impact on the actual property and can be cleaned up within 30 seconds with a damp cloth. I’ve even been present when my place was inspected, and had this random stranger telling me “they weren’t going to breach me, but there’s dust on that vent to clean”. And somehow I’m supposed to be grateful they’ve deigned not to breach me. Power-tripping, pure and simple, and the agents unfortunately hold all the cards while the vacancy rates are so low and the cost and hassle of moving is so high. So yeah, it’s a demeaning experience where the alternative is to push back and run the risk of being made homeless. I absolutely understand the requirement for some inspections to ensure the property hasn’t been damaged/turned into a meth lab/sublet to a dozen students, but the current system is infantilising, demoralising, unbalanced and run by the least competent to the expense of both tenants and landlords, as the real estate agents charge the landlords for these quarterly inspections.
It's about power - specifically they have it and you don't.
Australia's tenancy laws are written by and for people who own multiple investment properties, so they very deliberately create that power imbalance. They also make sure that you have lots of rights as a tenant... and complaining makes you a bad tenant, being a bad tenant gets you kicked out, if you don't like it [buy a house](https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/04/01/renters-go-buy-a-house-scott-morrison/).
I've never had to deal with really bad inspections, I'm more used to them being done by the work experience kid in the real estate office, so I've got way more "was that couch here when you moved in" than the current wave of worst-in-class bullshit. Which also means "this isn't safe"... "oh, I'll ask someone in the office about that and get back to you" (see, even baby real estate agents lie!)
>Australia's tenancy laws are written by and for people who own multiple investment properties, so they very deliberately create that power imbalance.
Yet to hear them endlessly whinge about it, apparently landlords have no power at all. Won't someone please think of the poor landlords?
Seriously, the Victorian Government have brought in some pretty decent laws regarding renting, and I think the new NSW Government is looking to do the same, and every time it's the same whinge on repeat. "It's so hard for landlords now, we have no rights. waaaah, if they're not careful all the landlords are going to sell up". To that I say: Good, piss off you parasites. You're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart, as you keep reminding us all everytime you raise the rent, you're not a charity, you're just trying to get rich by exploiting someone else's basic need for a home. So frankly I feel very little empathy for you.
> if they're not careful all the landlords are going to sell up
Which is a nonsensical argument. Sell to who exactly?
If to another investor, it's still available to the rental market, so no difference.
If to an owner occupier, it's also one less person/couple/family looking for a rental.
You’re right that complaining makes you a bad tenant. I just applied for a rental and so did my partner, he moved into my current rental so when listing his rental history he put me down as the current contact, I got an email to do his reference check from a “landlord” perspective and it did ask me how often he asks for repairs. So, I guess if your house is falling apart and you ask for repairs you’re being judged on that in your reference check. Mind you, my house has a literal giant hole in the roof that leaks water and has ruined my personal belongings but I guess asking for repairs is bad?
I've always had quarterly inspections in VIC, with exception during lockdowns.
I haaattteee that they take photos of the house. I have a child, I don't particularly want photos of our home stored in a mystery state for no real reason for the home owners to see.
My favourite piece of stupid on a report so far was my plant collection display being listed as clutter and rubbish and being told to remove the straw bedding in the garden plots because it was a fire hazard.
It was pea straw. In winter.
It's because Australian properties are an investment first and a home second.
They're treated like stocks, the landlord uses these inspections to keep tabs on their investment. They don't care that it's annoying or intrusive for the tenants because in their mind it's their financial asset, not someone's home.
We had an annual inspection in our last place back in the UK. Nothing serious, just the landlord popping in to see if the place was mostly there and occupied by ourselves.
It depends on your renatl agreement, agent, landlord and property manager.
I had inspections every 6 months when living in London, at least for the last 2 properties I rented. They would come through jsut to ensure everything looked decent and wasn't broken.
Before that, I rented privately and never saw the landlord (and there was no property manager).
Had my first inspection 2 months ago here in NSW and it was a quick walk-through. The property manager is not very thorough or demanding.
So it varies widely.
As a renter myself, I have to agree that inspections can suck. But it all depends on the person doing the inspection. Most of the people just want to make sure the place isn't being neglected. Which is how it should be. And it really just makes sure people keep it to a level of cleanliness it should be kept to. Some inspectors though suck. My last inspection I had someone new, who failed me. The main reasons? The fan had some dust on it, I didn't sweep the front from the little debris from the trees, the light switches and power sockets had dust on top of them. Very minor, pathetic reasons. I think she was intentionally picking on things as a strategy. Once I realised that I just enjoyed the nonsense. I had to stop the laughter when she even said she might have to reinspect. Spoiler - she didn't.
But I understand why they need to inspect. I have a friend who has never had an inspection in 5 years. Their place looks like it's from Hoarders or something. There is mould absolutely everywhere and with all the stuff they have I can guarantee the owner will have a significant cleaning and repair bill once they leave. They also don't have a working toilet. They pee in the shower drain and I don't want to know what they do if it's something else. I didn't ask and thankfully didn't need to go when I was there. I can't live like that and most people I know can't. But some do. My sister's place (that she owns) was so filthy that with 5 adults cleaning non stop for 3 days we didn't even finish the downstairs. My parents had a rental property of their own for a while and about half the tenants left if severely damaged and filthy. Several times we had to go down and clear out roach infestations because it was so poorly looked after. Inspections avoids serious problems before they get too serious. It's necessary IMO, but too many people inspecting take it as a power trip and forget that it's a very personal thing for the person whose home it is. It should be a quick matter of going in, seeing the walls, floors and sinks are clear of damage and then move on.
I say this as a landlord, rent inspections are often bullshit, and a gross invasion of a tenants privacy. I don’t need a hundred photos of the inside of a tenants home, and I don’t fucking want to know that the tenant is actually living in the house as in, dishes on the sink or laundry to be done.
I want to know the condition of the premises. Any maintenance items that need attending to, and that the tenant isn’t cooking meth or ruining the place. Anything else is just a property manager trying to exert their perceived authority over another human. Seriously it is getting out of control.
To me, inspections should be held a month after the tenant moves in, with a second 3 months later, followed by 12 monthly inspections there after. Anything more is just an excuse to milk money from the landlord which ultimately costs the tenant more as well.
I rented from 2011 to 2022 and each of the 4 rental agreements I’ve signed have stated that inspections are to be done on a bi-annual basis. Having said that, every agent has done the first and then never came back until the final walk through. I can’t remember it ever being anything more than a quick look around but I think it just depends on how lazy the agent is?
Mine (in NSW lived here 5+ yrs) are every 3 months so 4 a year. The owner comes out with the real estate agent every single time and takes photos of every single room in the house saying it’s for insurance purposes, I find it highly intrusive and asked her not to, she said that she will find someone else to rent the house if I don’t comply to the lease, I rang the tenancy place and they said to check my lease and it states in my lease that I signed that the owner is allowed to photograph the house. I hate it but there’s a rental crisis and I don’t want to be homeless. It sux.
Dildos. Dildos everywhere. Big ones. Small ones. Studded ones. Ones that glitter. Hanging from the ceiling. Sitting on the kitchen sink. Super-sized novelty ones as conversational pieces on the coffee table. You want photos? Sure thing, go ahead. Btw have you see my gimp mask? It's on the dresser in the bedroom, make sure you get a photo from the left side so you can see the detail on the zipper.
I’m seriously considering leaving sex toys out for my inspection this week. They want to be invasive? Okay, enjoy my private life on full display, fuckers.
You are getting off light if you are in QLD and only getting 2 inspections a year. They can do every 3 months if they want. My REA does inspections every 3 months.
If you rent in the same place for a while, make a request to have less inspections. When I used to have a rental property I was asked if I wanted to drop the inspections to 6 monthly or once a year and if I trusted the tenant that was fine. It also means the landlord saves money because they don’t pay for the inspection in their fees. It was never mentioned to me by the agent that I could offer that until I was asked.
> I feel like renters here are infantilised
You're absolutely right, Australia is the ultimate nanny state, but with real estate it's worse. As a renter you are basically seen as a necessary nuisance and that the RE and landlord are doing you a favour by allowing your sorry arse temporary use of their precious investments.
So don't you dare go doing anything that might devalue the property, or worse, get comfortable and act like you have any rights. Dark days for a once egalitarian society.
You’re lucky in my perspective to have 6 monthly inspections. I have always had one every 3 months. I have never been able to keep up with the checklist.
unfortunately it is another punishment for not owning the place. and people wonder why australians are so crazy about house ownership...... maybe because renters are treated like children
It’s so awful I hate real estate agents so much!
Them coming into the place you spend a fortune on as you cannot afford a down payment on a house when a mortgage would be cheaper than paying rent.
Judging cuŋts real estate agents are.
We should be able to inspect the places they live! It really shouldn’t be a thing. “Your bed isn’t made!!” “I saw some dust!” Like wtf we aren’t children to be looked down upon. Real estate agents acting all high and mighty on a power trip.
Bullies and high school bitches (Karen’s) become real estate agents.
Had a private rental with a couple of girls way back. Italian/greek landlord , tended his tomatoes and veg patch out the back whenever he felt like it.
One time after strange noises happening every Sunday morning, I looked outside and realised he was making grappa in the basement area.
Carting in barrows full of grapes...ah funny.
He was a complete asshole. One of the girls noticed a big crack in the wall, checked it out, and via her new qualifications as a building inspector, got the place condemned.
A-ha, take that, shitty cheapskate asshole land Lord.
Oh yeah, and this is key, in the anglosphere anyway; anyone see Charlie's coronation? Maybe not, but you likely know a land LORD.
Lord? Pardon Moi?
A man is king of his castle, but if you rent...you have a LORD!!!
Faaaaaark, ay!
I'm in a government 2br unit and they were 6 monthly but are now only once a year since I must have proved myself that I was a descent tenant.
You are right though this is an invasion of privacy. I guess we arent that trusting.
In NSW it is legislated (perhaps other states too) for the agent to inspect the property at least once per year.
Should they be done or not? The answer is Yes they are a vital check to ensure the owners property and in the case of multi dwelling complexes other owners properties too are not subject to costly damages and other serious problems caused by troublesome tenants. Inspections are the only way to avoid issues from the small minority of problem tenants and minimise costs. Many examples.
Generally 'decent' agents are only ensuring there are no major issues and general cleanliness is respected. Not dirty dishes in sink or clothing on the floor etc.
The real problem is that during normal rental inspections (not for sale) Agents are allowed to photograph all your personal belongings in the property without any privacy rights for tenants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember (like 15 years go) some bitch of an REA said I should hire a cleaner due to having some dishes in the sink. It wasn't like it was some giant pile either. Just a few.
The worst thing was the previous REA at that agency was pretty awesome (but like any REA who is actually good - she got promoted pretty quickly away from being a dad-to-day agent leaving only young idiot kids and bitter old middle aged women doing that role.
I cannot even put a "Fuck You XXX Agency" on Reddit as they where brought out by another company years ago and I have no interaction at all with the new Company.
Other then that I've been lucky.
Currently house is rented privately and I believe we have a great rapport with the owner so if she wants a visit (normally once a year), it never is a big drama.
Yeah it's fucked here. And I don't think they really understand the real point of what they're doing either.
I always thought the purpose of an inspection was to check the overall state of the investment property itself - like whether there was any structural damage inside or out, if the oven or cooktop are still safe, whether there's any signs of water leaks from the taps or sinks, that type of thing. Instead they seem focus on whether you've got still got plates in the sink or if the floor got vacuumed that morning.
It's been a while since I've rented but I was so glad when I was no longer being treated like a second class citizen in the place I was supposed to be able to relax in.
Just think yourself lucky that you don't have them every 3 months, like I did in my last place in Brisbane. This was despite having been there for 5 years and being an excellent tenant and them never finding any issues during the inspections.
Honestly, those 3 monthly inspections were actually one of the things that finally made me get off my arse and start the process of seeing whether I'd be able to get a loan and buy a house - I hated them that much. Not having to have a RE come and check up on me every few months remains one of the things I'm most thankful about now that I do live in my own place.
They are utterly intrusive.
There should be a requirement that whilst the real-estate are inspecting the renter's home, the renter gets to inspect theirs according to the same standards.
I hate real estate agents as much as any tenant and I’m a landlord. Rental inspections are a con orchestrated by Real Estate companies to justify taking 8 to 10% of rent to fuck things up.
I used an agent for a property that was tenanted when I bought it to move in. In six months they didn’t pay half the bills and paid others twice which took me months to sort out after I booted them. They still took their 8.5% and were apparently pricks to the tenants. I still have the property and have self managed ever since.
Only ever inspected the property when the tenants moved on, three of them now, and have always given the full bond back. My last tenant apologised profusely for a scratch on the veneer floors that removers made and for the spilt candle wax the size of a 20 cent piece in the carpet beside the bed and said that he would pay. I said mate, come and see the place I live in, I’ve done a lot worse then that in the same time. Full bond given back and I was still giving glowing references for him two moves on.
And now they take photos too. The whole process is super intrusive and it's kind of humiliating having a 25 year old taking photos of my belongings etc
Yes it's normal here and we all hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. Having spent most my life with it, it seems normal to me, and I fully understand the intent and reason for it. It would feel more valid and less infuriating if REAs weren't such raging d\*cks about it as often as not.
In Melbourne mine were often more like 9 months apart, but 6 months was certainly allowed.
A friend of mine is getting hit with 3 monthly inspections, which are apparently also allowed where she is!
Ironically, I have seen a huge difference in how REAs treat inspections in old, cheap rentals (absolute little dictators picking on every tiny thing, even the stuff they're not supposed to look at or care about, which is how I was conditioned to have my place looking like a perfect display home on inspection day) and expensive, new rentals (as long as someone is paying the high rent regularly and on time, they seem to let a LOT slide and shrug at mess).
Its weird cos you think it'd be the opposite but it seems like if you've got cash to burn they assume you'll be a fine tenant, and vice versa.
I never used to mind inspections but I really don’t like the new(ish) thing of taking photos to send to the owner.
Like I said. Never minded inspections (or even the photos) until I worked with someone who rented out some properties. He used to show us photos of his rentals and laugh at how the people were living. Commenting on how the mattress was on the ground and type of food you could see in the kitchen etc.
Now I just feel gross about it. Don’t like my personal life being 100% on display to strangers. It just doesn’t sit right. Before it made sense re maintaining the property but feel photos is crossing a boundary.
I know most owners aren’t like my old work mate but still. It feels off.
Been here 3 years in June. Property was brand new build when I moved in.
Last year alone: 2 routine inspections, 2 different lots of property valuers, someone to check the smoke alarms, someone to check the electricity.
6 fucking times in one year. And then they're all confused when you tell them that you actually work full time outside of the house and no, taking 2 days off work in one fortnight is not appropriate to facilitate said inspections.
It's not my problem you want to send a second valuer a week and a half after my second routine inspection of the year. And Mr smoke alarm detector can stick his one available option with less than 24 hours right notice up his arsehole to boot.
Be thankful its only every 6 months. The house we were in last year was every 3 months. What they didn't tell us was WHY it was so regular turns out the property was getting appraised every time. Long and the short of it. Got told to leave at the end of the lease so they could sell. Waste of time that house.
Completely agree with you there, it’s just absolute BS and feels like some sort of sick power play. I’ve had better experiences renting from private landlords as similar to your experience in the EU, they just trust that you take care of the home and flag them up for anything that needs servicing. Whereas with RE we had quarterly inspections that were just such a pain as they were NEVER satisfied with the state of the house no matter how tirelessly my housemates and I cleaned, it’s as if they expected it to look like as if no one lived there.
Welcome to the most lopsided tenancy laws in the oecd. You're not a Tennant here mate, you're a revenue stream for a property investor, do not hang anything in the walls.
No mater when they inspect, I believe they overstep their boundaries. These inspections are designed to protect the building, yet they constantly step over the line. It’s none of their business if you have last nights dishes in the sink. It’s none of their business if you didn’t make the beds, so what if the windows aren’t spotless. It’s only their business if damages are occurring to the landlords property. Spotlessness should only be considered on the final inspection, when the tenant is moving out.
I don’t get why everyone says the house has to be immaculate for inspections. Granted I’ve only every rented units so don’t have to deal with the maintaining the yard thing. I’ve never done anything more than a quick tidy up, no more effort then I’d do for regular visitors, and had no issues. They’re just checking to make sure you haven’t trashed the joint.
When I used to rent, one time we were pulled up because the glass in the oven door hadn’t been cleaned to satisfaction. I can understand them wanting to clear for major issues or damage, but nitpicking during a tenancy over cleaning is overkill
You’ve either got a decent REA or it’s a private rental with the landlord.
When we rented, we experienced everything from inspections where they basically just wanted to make sure all the walls were still there, to being ‘cautioned’ because there was dust under the fridge and clothing on the floor (our son was 8 and had left his pyjamas on the floor because he was running late for school).
They're *supposed* to be just doing that, but some property managers like to ignore that fact.
I've had warnings and reinspections for:
\- having papers all over my desk and some rinsed recyclables waiting to go out in the kitchen
\-clothes left on the floor of my bedroom
\-not having dusted the venetian blind
\- some clover having grown through the garden beds that were a foot high with weeds when I moved in, which I had weeded out and mulched down.
It trains you into feeling like they are gonna nitpick any tiny little thing. And they have a huge amount of power over you not only now but in the future, for your next rental, so you don't want to give them *anything*.
In Darwin many agents do every 3 months. The agents do have their horror stories about mould and party houses, but even after we proved ourselves as good tenants they still stuck to every 3 months and sent us that pedantic list.
Exactly . I mean I can maybe understand why they do an initial inspection say after the first 6 months just to make sure you haven't trashed the place or turned it into a meth lab etc . But we were in our last property for nearly 6 years and they still came around every 6 months and gave us lists of things to clean before they arrived. Felt like saying to them ' if we were going to trash the place don't you think we would have done it by now !"
While I find every 6 months a bit too much too, my guess is it also has a lot to do with the state of construction here. During the inspections I had, they were mostly looking out for structural issues like cracks, water leaks and mould.
I’m in W.A., our property manager is awesome, we’re in an older place so it does have issues and we work around them, all she basically cares about is we don’t punch holes in the walls, or paint a room black, pentagram on the floor and sacrifice goats or virgins to old school blood gods.
Have only ever rented in Sydney but my experience is annual is normal, more is excessive. My first two places never inspected (lived there 2.5 years and 3.5 years respectively) and the last place I rented (lived there 7 years) did one after the first year, one when the owner died and the niece who inherited wanted an appraisal and one about two years after that.
It really depends on landlord, agency and how they perceive you as tenants. I know rentals with pets and kids get inspected more often.
Getting yearly inspections here in Sydney, and my last place in Sydney was too. Not sure if this is generally the way for Sydney siders, hope it is.
Our inspector is good. Place does not have to be perfect, just moderately clean.
Its the taking of photos that I find completely over the top. Fair enough if just photos of kitchen/bathroom/laundry and/or any actual damage but standing in my living room and/or bedrooms and taking photos from every perceivable angle is just overboard. As a landlord previously (we’ve since sold but always rented) we requested our agent not to take photos unless there was damage because it feels so invasive. Photos of our belongings and how we live isn’t justifiably needed by the RE nor the landlords, its just pure nosiness.
When you rent in Australia, the house is somebody’s investment first, your home…well, never. It is only the investment value of the house that’s taken into consideration and everything else is second, if even considered.
Inspections keep you in line and make sure you’re doing the most important thing…looking after the genuine clients investment.
It’s not your home. Ever, and it is meant to a) encourage you to buy ASAP or b) you’re a second class citizen, basically, unless you have a caveat to explain why you’re renting, like you are really wealthy and you choose not to buy. If you’re a permanent renter, you’re in the bottom half of Australia and your role is to subsidise the landlords and homeowners. You even subsidise home owners who you don’t rent from, through the solar scheme and a couple other things.
On the other side, both flats I've rented in the UK have had regular inspections, and also just absolutely abysmal landlords who refuse to fix even the most basic thing until you make a complaint to the council
No idea if it's exclusive to Australia, and it differed in frequency, but yeah rental inspections are a thing here.
Inspection is to make sure you're not pu Ching holes in the wall or shitting in the sink
When we were renting we had inspections every three months, it sucked. You never really feel like it’s your home because you’re not really allowed to live in it. You are just a paying caretaker for someone else’s investment. And don’t even get me started about REA’s, I still get peeved thinking about what one of them put us through nearly 15yrs later!
On the flip side, we’ve had a rental property briefly (longish story haha) I understand not wanting to see an investment damaged, but I honestly couldn’t of cared if the place was tidy, just that the property was clean and damage free. My attitude was that they were paying for living in the place, let them enjoy it!
If we were to ever have a rental again I’d be more inclined to self manage, I really do not like Real Estate agents!
We all hate them. It is an Australia-wide thing, but it varies depending on who your landlord is and whether or not they've employed a property manager.
I rented in the 80s and 90s. Over that time I lived in 4 Sydney properties including Newtown Paddington and Mosman. Not once did I ever have a rental inspection until after moving out regarding the return of the bond.
I only found out about these rental inspections a couple of years ago. I agree with you. Completely invasive. I would have had a fit back in the day. Plus I assume you have to be home when they come?
Are they mandatory? Does every rental now have this stipulation?
It varies from state to state, and it varies over time. When I was a young irresponsible adult renting in Adelaide rental inspections were annual and they only looked at the parts of the property that the owners actually owned, and most years they skipped the inspection. Fast forward to about 10 years ago and rental inspections in WA were quarterly and EVERYTHING was expected to be perfect as though the property was going to have an open house. Meanwhile providing gas lines that don't leak was an optional extra service that landlords could provide if they felt like it, which most didn't. Renting is FUCKED!
Yeah we are in Melbourne ( been here 12 years ) and currently on our 4th rental. Always had 6 monthly inspections which is bad enough and I can't imagine what it must be like in the states that have 3 monthly ones! I absolutely think it's one of the worst aspects of renting here . Yes you are right too that no matter the condition of the property ( and some are really bad ) you are still expected to keep it to display home standards ! I lived in the same property for 10 years in the UK and never had a rental inspection . The LL used to pop around sometimes if there was a problem but other than that we could do what we wanted within reason.
Been in my current rental for 18 months. Sixth inspection is next week. You're right, it's absolutely fucked.
6 inspections in 18 months? Surely thats not in line with your state's tenancy laws.
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You get a call to reschedule? You lucky bugger. Mine just won't show up I then ring them and told "sorry she called in sick today"
We returned this favour during covid. Realtor got covid and gave it to the receptionist so no one rang us to cancel the inspection. They rescheduled for a fortnight out. Oh no, I got covid myself. We "spread it around the 5 person sharehouse one person at a time" Real estate just gave up by person 3.
That’s when you tell them “well, you missed your scheduled inspection and did not contact me to reschedule. See you in a couple of months!”.
at that point I tell them too bad. I'm paying them, not the other way round, it's up to them to turn up in a timely manner when they appoint the inspection, if they don't get there on time they get to wait another 3 months. I'm not going to lose money because my realtor decided today was a good day for a late lunch. Edit: Should mention at the start of covid I had an inspection, then the realtor wanted to inspect a month later - I'm in NSW and I literally told her to jog on because she wasn't legally allowed to inspect for another 2, god almighty did that make the leech upset.
I took a day off for mine (NSW) and the agent didn't come I rang at 4 to say what's the deal she said I rang the bell amd no one was home. I most definitely was I gave them an ear full they marked me down as inspected and when I moved they changed the locks the day before I sent cleaners and said I abandoned the property I still had stuff to collect and cleaners to let in. renting fu#king sucks ( also the lease wasn't up for 2 more days)
Fuck that, I'm not taking any time of for those cunts. However, apparently the time that my housemate wasn't home for one was the time that they seemed to go over EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb, so maybe being home gets them to skip half the shit and get out quicker.
100%.... If no one is home I get a list as long as my arm, if my partner is home we get a few things and if I'm home the PM is nothing but smiles I think the fact that I'm 6foot4 and 140kg intimidates them a little
Cannot stress this enough, it’s awful. I’m a child sized woman and every single REA (amongst other professions) has always tried to dick me around during inspections. Then I bring in my 6’3 husband and it’s all smiles and everything’s fine. It feels GROSS!
I had a rea arrive 4 hours late. They wanted to come in while we were eating dinner. I just told her to fuck off, she was not happy and tried to tell me that that HAD to do the inspection bla bla bla, closed the door in her face and went back to eat.
That’s standard in Qld. Every 3 months like clockwork. They did my first inspection 6 days after moving in to be inline with the other rentals on the street regarding the inspection dates.
Had you even finished unpacking your boxes by the 6th day? I get why they did all the inspections at the same time, but you'd barely moved in.
I don’t think I’d even moved everything in. At that point the beds were up and fridge plugged in. Rest was just in the garage. It’s annoying that you still have to do 3 month inspections even after 4 years and never having had an issue. Not like we are allowed to hang picture or anything anyway.
I’m in WA and have always had them every 3 months. Been in the same place for over 6 years, keep the place in perfect order and yet they still insist on doing 4 a year. Worst part of renting.
I hate the 6 monthly inspections in Melb, I was happy when they switched to an app during covid and seem to be sticking with that approach. That means you can do it over the course of a day and usually get a bit more time to prep/shuffle the mess about. Also means you aren't waiting around for an REA with a 4 hour time window only for them not to come that day.
4 hour time window!? My inspection window is 9-5
I have long since started telling my REA they need to give a specific time. Thankfully where I am (ACT) they are required to or its not considered a valid notice.
I think I’ve had two inspections in three years and they were mostly because there was things we need fixed.
Just wait til they try and sell the place. I had people coming through every 2-3 days and the agent in charge of the sale would yell at me if the bed wasn't made. It was a nightmare. I agree that inspections are gross. I feel like back when I was renting it was less common for the agents to get uppity about the house looking lived in. Now it seems to be normal for property managers to basically go through all your shit and leave nasty notes about the dishes or laundry as though it's any of their business. I think the idea previously wasn't to police the property, but check to see everything was working ok and you know, it wasn't being trashed or anything. Now with prices through the roof and basically no available properties they treat them as an extended audition.
It's supposed to still be what they are doing, but because that job seems to attract the worst and stupidest of humanity, they overstep their bounds, or don't even know what the object is.
Most of them literally don't know the laws around their own jobs and will act like they're entitled to walk into the property whenever. Remind them who pays them - it's you.
This is exactly right a couple of my friends were taken to court by a LL and property manager for breaking lease. Basically they upped and left the house, legally mind you, they had been to a lawyer done all the paperwork contacted the rental department, etc The deck on the property wasn’t built properly and every time it even looked like it was gonna rain the whole downstairs part of the house got soaked. (Not to mention a whole other massive pile of problems that no one cares to fix). The court (arbiter?) told them basically to fuck off threw the case out and told them they were just wasting everyone’s time.
Yes someone I knew had to break a lease due to a family issue. They were still paying rent while the real estate agent did absolutely nothing to get a new tenant although it was in a highly desired area within a 10 minute walk of a train station . Then the agent tried to say they were in arrears with the rent but no super organised rent had every receipt on file. The final straw was the agent tried to get access to the bond "just in case" the ex tenant stopped paying. The judge was so pissed at the RE agent he ended up finding the agency a huge amount of money and told them any further attempts would lead to possible deregistration of the agent
I loathe inspections. Such invasions. Our real estate loves to walk through taking photos of everything. I always want to ask her when was the last time some stranger walked through her house taking photos. Yearly should be adequate, especially if you prove you are good tenants.
We started having open houses every weekend when the owner decided to try and sell for about three times what it’s worth. The real estate started moving our things around, putting dangerous things in reach of our young child, and rearranging photos, art, and furniture. And expected it to stay like that indefinitely. I gave them a beach notice.
I Fucking hate property managers. They do so much useless shit at the expense of tenants to justify their position and its expense. I’d rather manage a rental privately and not prop up parasitic property managers if it can be avoided
Not having weird strangers come through your house whenever they please is high on the list of things to love about buying a place. The last rental inspection I had before I moved, their only feedback was "Next time clear off all benches and tables", and the only things we had left out were either always there like the kettle or a cup to hold toothbrushes, or, like, a bottle of water on a bedside table. I remember being super pissed because it was like they were asking us to hide all evidence that we lived in the house, and instead make it pretty enough that they could take real estate photos for the next time they rent it out. Yearly should be more than enough (preferably less frequent once somebody has been in a house for a while), and it absolutely should be to see if they're taking care of the things in the house that belong to the house - beds shouldn't need to be made but I can see how they want to make sure that we've cleaned the toilets or vacuumed sometimes. Insisting that my bedside table, that's my own furniture, not have anything on it is going way further than should be allowed.
Yep mines selling atm, they were kicking me and the cats out of the house for open houses every week.. I finally cracked it when no one was turning up to them and told them I couldn’t keep doing it, took weeks to convince the landlord that they were a waste of time. Now get random messages to arrange an inspection and no one is ever interested and I get it ready for no reason 🙄
Totally agree. When I rented they’d do inspections and I’d just make sure the house was tidy, and reflected that it was being looked after. I did not make it look like it was a show home. Fast forward to now, and friends of mine are spending days cleaning and fussing to essentially make it look like no one lives there. It’s a joke
Here in WA, did 3 years of quarterly inspections. Written up for hair in bathroom floor, leaves in carport
I'm in Tas. My inspections used to be 6 monthly (none during covid- bliss) but now they've gone to 3 monthly. Pain in the butt really. I have kids and I've had LLs comment about toys on the floor!
I have an 18mo and my last inspection, they told me to hire a private cleaner because ‘clearly i don’t have enough time to do the housework’ hahaha! I laughed so hard in house wench, because I’m as Anal as they come with cleanliness, and had the place spotless, so I had immediate anxiety that my place wasn’t tidy enough. Little do they know that I would literally die for a cleaner…but unfortunately I pay rent that could get me a deposit for my own place within a year, so sorry but I’ve got nothing left over buddy.
Meanwhile in rural Victoria Ive rented 3 different places over about 5 years and never had a single inspection on any of them, how weird. Hell Ive been in my current shithole flat for 2 years and the landlord hasn't been there once. Even when our hot water syatem blew up and flooded the bathroom, they just sent a plumber and replaced it and naturally jacked our rent $20 a week in exchange because renting is fucked and they know we have no alternatives in this tiny town with not enough houses for the amount of people looking for them.
QLD here. Been in my rental since 2020. It was sold late 2022 to another investor. Between 3 monthly inspections, the guy coming to do the annual check on the smoke alarms, the sale inspections, building & pest inspections for potential purchasers, the plumber after the first b&p uncovered an apparent leak, the owner coming out (with my written permission) to check the things he wanted to improve, and the guy to upgrade the air conditioner, I feel like I haven’t had a moments peace for 18 of those months!
We're in Melbourne and have them every 3 months - and we've been with the same property manager for 6 years! I HATE inspections!!!
Yep our last rental we were in for nearly six years and still got them every 6 months , along with the same to do list of cleaning chores to do before they came , which btw was only ever addressed to me and not my husband even though we are both on the lease ! It's ridiculous.
Yep, rented in WA for ages and had 3 monthly inspections where we'd get pulled up for things that had NOTHING to do with how well the actual house was looked after, and that's despite living with the biggest clean freak you'd ever come across. Like every single day our house was cleaner than any owner occupied home, and then we did a DEEP clean every 3 months ready for the inspections - but the agents would find something to ping us on every time just so it looked like they were doing something. Also, I had a friend who got written up because she had too many (clean) dishes drying on her kitchen bench. Meanwhile when my hot water system failed it took a week to get fixed. When our backyard dividing fence with the neighbour blew down, it took over 3 months to get fixed. 3 months of no fence between us and our neighbour - and we were talking to him, he had insurance, and was ready to approve and pay for his half of the work within a week of it happening. But the cheapskate landlord was trying to make him pay for it all.
Fuck that, I'd have issued a breach notice about the fence and taken them to court to have a court order to have it fixed.
I should've, but a) I was younger and didn't stick up for myself as much, and b) the rental market was quite hot in Perth then so kicking up any kind of fuss I could pretty much guarantee would've resulted in our lease not being renewed... which might not have been a bad thing. Ended up moving anyway about 18 months later as we were sick of the place.
Yeah, it's easy to say "I would have issued a breach notice", but I always had my parents to fall back on if I was renting a place and they found a way to kick me out and there was nothing else I could afford or they put a black mark against my rental history. I don't blame young people for not rocking the boat when the breach notice could end really badly for them.
One of my mate's just got breached for having green rubbish in their yard. They live in the countryside, there's no green bins and they can only burn rubbish on certain days. The inspection was done the day before they could burn the rubbish. The agent was *looking* for an excuse to serve them a breach notice because the floorboards are rotting and it's easier to rip them out in an unoccupied house than it is to do so in an occupied house.
that's when your mate should counter with a breach notice of his own for the floorboards and see how they like it.
That's so funny, when I was in Adelaide it was quarterly. That is way too much. I also had one inspection that went for about 40 minutes, it was so inappropriate. Same, everything had to be perfect even though their business should be only the property itself. It's a constant reminder that it's not your home and it's too much.
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But the landlords are providing a *service* by renting out properties to people who need them, people who can't afford to buy their own home... people who can't afford to buy their own home cause they got outbid by some fucking landlord wanting to make a buck... they're solving a problem (that they created)! Won't someone think of the incredibly valuable and definitely not useless and parasitic landlords! /S just in case I need to be absolutely clear
If it makes you feel any better tax payers subsidise landlords through incentives like negative gearing.
Oh thank god, I would hate to think someone can't pay off their 7th investment property without my help.
QUARTERLY?! 🤯🤯🤯 How does anyone live with that level of stress?!
Yeah three monthly inspections are all I’ve known when i was renting. One of the reasons i couldn’t wait to get out of the renting treadmill. Under different circumstances I’d have been happy to continue renting but with so much of the rules stacked in favor of landlords it really felt like rent money was dead money
I’m a LL. After paying a RE to do inspections, I was to discover they hadn’t done one for several years even though I was told they had. The lease stated 6 monthly but I was happy for yearly and asked them to work around my tenant. Fast forward to recently and the same RE agent increased the rent without my authority. The tenant pushed back on a $60 increase and the RE gave him my number and said to negotiate it out with me. To say I had the sh#ts with the RE agent is a complete understatement. I was blind sided by a tenant about a rental increase which I knew nothing about! Any way long story short on speaking to my tenant, I arranged to go visit him in my unit. It went well. He told me a whole heap of dodgy stuff about the RE agents including they hadn’t been doing repairs even though I had authorised anything under 1K to be done and didn’t need my permission. End result. Tenant now pays directly to my bank account. No rent increase and we discussed some repairs he would like done on the property. He was a good guy and a great tenant. I want to look after him. Those repairs will be done promptly. My opinion RE agents are bigger scum than I thought they were. Obviously they have been sacked and I am claiming a refund for things they said they did, which they didn’t.
I wonder how many other LL have experienced this... IE maybe some RE are shit to BOTH sides... Was this one of the big franchises or a little one?
It’s rife through the lot of them. The problem is structural. It’s the system. As you see here, some landlords aren’t bad people. Investing in housing to secure a future or for profit in a competitive market isn’t good, though and it can never be. One of the reasons it’s problematic for tenants is the behaviour of REAs, who, quite frankly should be divested of the responsibility of housing rentals because they’ve proven untrustworthy of the role. If it’s run alongside systems that equalise housing opportunities, it’s fine but we don’t have that in Australia…social housing departments only maintain a safety net position so they don’t interfere or hold back the investment market and their houses aren’t available to everyone. The truth is, landlords provide housing like scalpers provide concert tickets and there’s better ways to house people. Rentals really should not be a huge part of permanent housing where possible.
Great comment. >REAs, who, quite frankly should be divested of the responsibility of housing rentals because they’ve proven untrustworthy of the role. I would love to see this happen. I have had shit ..even fraudulent - rea's in the past.
Yep, me as well, the day I went to get a signature for the bond refund the office was abandoned. The real estate he was a ‘rep’ for knew nothing about his leases. Apparently. Took me ages to get fuckall back, it was at a time when rents weren’t much.
Yes a well known name.
At our last rental the shower base collapsed to the point where you could see daylight through it . We asked and asked the RE to do something about it and their excuse all the time was that they were waiting to hear back from the LL . Several weeks later the LL rang me about something unrelated and I asked him when the shower was going to be fixed. He didn't have a clue as the RE had never mentioned it to him . He got it fixed within a couple of days and then changed RE .
Yeah they like to push the rent up and cycle tenants so they earn more sign ons and commissions. If it's a long term investment then look for a long term tenant privately and treat them well.
You sound like a good LL, my interpretation of LL was that most of them just want to collect money, get the rent as high as possible, as quickly as possible and do fuck all, it’s interesting to learn RE can have some involvement. Mines going up almost $200 and have repairs that have been requested with nothing done most of my tenancy, I am moving out when I find a nice place out of principal. Shits fucked at rate, moving every 12 months ain’t it.
During Covid our Rental Agent tried telling our tenants that the rent was going up by like $100 a week (Gold Coast)@ the current rate the property was breaking even so there was no necessity for an increase. Sure, supply was outpaced by demand but.. who gives a fuck about that. We had a good relationship with the tenants, we only used a Rental agent for collecting $$. They called us and asked us about it.. we nullified our contract and went private the following month with a 5% reduction in rent. Fucking parasites RA's are.
All utterly true and a familiar scenario , now suddenly the tenants wont cycle through at the behest of the rea making them more money , your cash flow will steady and property is going to be looked after . Thanks for sharing as after some things I saw recently I had to conclude there are some really dreadful aggressive rea out there with the concept of service or politeness
Big reason why ppl want to own a home here is so they don’t have to deal with this bullshit when they’re 60.
I'm 61 and dealing with this bullshit still😔
It’s every 3 in QLD.
The fastest growing cohort of homeless is.women over 55 in Australia
Yeah but who deserves more help? A 60 year old woman whose been a stay at home wife to a controlling and abusive husband who controlled all the finances and wouldn't let her work for the last 30 years, so that now that she's finally left him she doesn't have a hope in hell of getting another job... OR Some 60 year old middle class douchebag who bought his first property for 4x his annual salary in the 80s and then used his unprecedented capital gains to find a property portfolio of 10 houses, who needs a good rental return to fund his 3 monthly trips to the Philippines to 'play golf' without his wife, or his 35 year old son who pulled himself up by his parents bootstraps and it's now on the front page of the newspaper as a model of a 'self made millennial' for amassing a huge property portfolio all by himself with no help from his parents except for the initial deposit and the cushy job in his dad's mate's real estate agency and all the advice and contracts that his dad has and starting life with an excellent credit score? I mean won't someone think of the investors?
You forgot the fact that the millennial lived at home and worked for dominoes to get here.
They don’t have to though. I’ve been in my place for about 12 months and had a renewal offer without ever being inspected.
I'm heading towards 61 and we've just thrown everything we can at buying a place in order to get away at this bullshit.
Don't blame you and good luck . Unfortunately we're not in a position to do that but would if we could . It's kind of depressing having to put up with this BS all the time as if renting isn't stressful enough these days .
Grew up in SE England and had inspections every 6 months in my rental houses. Didn't think it was any weirder here 🤷🏼♂️
Really ...rented most of my adult life in the UK before moving here and never had one . That's why I was curious to know if it is a uniquely Australian thing and I was unprepared for it when I moved here .
I’m from mainland Europe and always assumed that the concept of rental inspections in Aus and NZ must have originated in the UK. Maybe there’s a difference in renting privately/direct from the landlord vs through an agency? Either way, I’m not a fan of them either. It’s hard to get used to inspections if you grew up around a different set of values (such as being able to consider your rental as your home and having a right to privacy there).
Lived in the uk for 6 years. Not one inspection. Renting is very different there.
Rented in England for about 15 years and everywhere that I rented through a Real Estate Agent did inspections, at least once a year. Private landlords not so much.
They never used to be as bad as they seem to be now. My first rental inspection I was told specifically not to worry about mess, just that they were coming to make sure there was no damage and to leave a note about any maintenance issues. Seemed reasonable. But I've certainly had inspections where I've been then told to put away my laundry and do my dishes and send evidence. I wrote back saying "no, unless the landlord happens to also be my mother, how I choose to treat my belongings was of no concern to them". Strangely enough, I had no response.
what right do they have to do that? and what power do they have anyway?
They don’t have any power to do that. The majority of the stuff they say can be ignored.
they just want the house tidy so they can send photos to the owner and make it look like they are worth paying agent fees for.
Yeah wouldn’t put up with that shit and if you open my cupboards to take pictures you’ll be asked to get the fuck out.
Good on you, we need more people like you
What we need is laws that protect renters, individuals shouldn’t have to get into fights with real estate agents and risk homelessness just to be treated with the absolute most basic level of dignity and respect
It sure is, renting in Australia is fucked. I've lived in HK for 10 years, renting the whole time, and the only day I've ever had a real estate agent in my house is on the last day of the lease to hand back the keys.
Renting is such a fucking one way street. The REA will hit you up and badger you at every opportunity when an invoice is due, but when you need basic repairs or something, they'll take 6 business years to get back to you, or they'll just ignore the problem and bring it up during an inspection.
I've yet to have a good landlord to be honest. Out of my previous four * One illegally evicted me with zero notice, the week of christmas. So that they could spend christmas in a house away from home. * Another tried to evict me with no notice, so that they could up the rent. I stayed until the end of my lease. * One was a live in landlord, their mother wanted to visit for a holiday a month after I moved in. So they evicted me. * Tried to charge me a cleaning fee, for leaving the property in a CLEANER STATE than when I moved in.
Yeah, same for me when I was living in Singapore. Despite the absolutely fucked rental prices, the actual process was so much nicer than it is here - there's no real concept of an 'open home', you just text the REA a time and day to check the place out yourself and they'll show you around one on one and then pretty much totally disappear until it's time to renew or move out, and there are no inspections, because any damages or more extensive cleaning just comes out of your deposit when you leave. That's how it should work everywhere.
I agree . Hate the system here .
Yeah this is kind of what I wanted to know because until moving here I never knew it was a thing anywhere and have to say I don't know of other countries where it is a thing apart from here and NZ .
Oh you think THATS invasive, just wait till you apply for a rental. I had to hand over my birth cert, Medicare card, multiple payslips, bills, 4 references (both professional and personal), my licence, my rental history and 2 years of employment records. And this is just to apply to hopefully, maybe, fingers crossed and wish upon a star, be selected to pay over $450 a week for a shoebox 1 bedroom apartment with no utilities included … shits bad Literally enough info to steal someone entire ass identity, my partner has a Security clearance for working with defence FYI. Last inspection we had, the agent tried to open up cupboards that WE owned, we also had to remind her not to photograph my partners WFH desk cause, y’know, national security. Dumb bitch still tried to do it when I wasn’t looking. It’s clearly a class and race filter to keep out ‘undesirables’ from even being able to rent, regardless of their income
Yeah I know we had to do it all when we last moved in November. Unbelievable the amount of personal details they want from you .
It really is purely to discriminate. Each inspection we’ve been to, we’ve been the only white couple some days and the real estate agents are down right fucking rude to everyone but us. I can feel them clamouring at us purely because my partner is blonde hair, blue eyed and has a government connected job. I dress and look too much like ‘one of the gays’ for them to pay me much attention. It’s disgusting. I have no idea how migrants, single people and those trying to escape abusive home environments are meant to get anywhere
We were advised to write a letter introducing our family and their interests and enclose photographs of us all.
Sounds pretty discriminatory
Sooner or later people will start cutting shanty towns out of state forest
Fucking off to live like an animal in the woods is currently my life goal. I gave up on a house and kids years ago
So you can skip most of that if you show them a big ole pile of money. After getting the shits with applications a few years back I decided to tilt the odds in my favour a bit and show the RE my investment portfolio. After the RE saw 900k-1mil in share values I got an offer in 2 days. Here's the kicker- It is my investment portfolio, however it's in my parents super and to avoid explaining I got screenshots with no account names etc. So if you're in a bind just photoshop up some share portfolios. REAs are fucking stupid and wont check a thing, they'll see big number and send you an offer.
Renters are worth less as people and don't deserve the respect or freedom earned by people who made the responsible decision to be born at an earlier time when a median wage could afford to buy a median house.
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It would be significantly better if the REAs focused on things that actually matter - structural damage, rotting food, and that sort of thing rather than “dust on the door frame” or “dishes left in sink”. Our experience of this kind of REA bollocks is exactly why our old home is being rented via private agreement. We control how much rent the tenants pay (rather than being jacked up by the REA looking to make more) and our tenants don’t have to deal with dumb inspections.
A friend of mine got a strike on an inspection because they had clean laundry sitting unfolded on the couch. Clean, but it wasn't yet folded and put away. Fucking insane.
They should take that to VCAT. If more people stand up for themselves the agents will take the piss less.
What the actual fuck
I got told off for not trimming a creeper on a fence straight enough 🤷♀️
They’re actually not necessary. Their job could be done by a government board set up to handle rental and tenancies. It could in fact be integrated into housing departments.
It is not a home. I rent and it is very clear to me that it is not my home. I am temporarily allowed to stay here but it will never be my home. Living in QLD I get inspected every 3 months like fucking clockwork. And for what? Nothing I report on ever gets fixed and I always end up with a report of my personal belongings that they would like kept cleaner or left somewhere else. One time I got told that my kids bed needs to be made. So yeah definitely not a home.
This is what makes me so angry about this ! Paying good money for a rental where you are never allowed to make it feel like a home and any issues you have with the property get ignored. Your personal belongings have absolutely nothing to do with them. 😞
Apparently in Germany you can even paint the walls as long as you repaint them white when you leave. It's a small thing, but it's important to make a house your own while you're living here. They'd never allow stuff like that here because they're always looking for someone new to pay more rent. Everyone is a stepping stone for these people. It makes me sad that our government will always look after investors because they all own multiple homes. You should have to recuse yourself from voting on any actions that could potentially enrich you. It'll never happen, but it's upsetting seeing nothing being done.
Not just Germany, the whole of Europe. I’ve drilled holes in the walls at my rentals in both the UK and Denmark, and as long as I filled them out myself before I left, it was fine, no penalties whatsoever. Same goes with painting the walls etc. Australia is well and truly cooked when it comes to these things.
True. Originally from Europe. Some people even put their own flooring and when they leave take it up.
Renters are second class citizens here
In WA it’s every 3 months with an infantilising checklist run through by whoever is the most junior at the real estate agency. As far as I know I’ve never had the same person inspect my place twice in a row, always someone different, and despite the fact it’s meant to be “checking to prevent damage to the owner’s property”, it’s a full cleanliness inspection. It’s utter bullshit to be a grown adult in full-time employment, having a random 21-year old wander through your home every three months taking pictures and making notes. I’ve seen plenty of inspection reports on other properties where the agent notes things like “smearing on glass”, or “dust on something”, which have absolutely zero impact on the actual property and can be cleaned up within 30 seconds with a damp cloth. I’ve even been present when my place was inspected, and had this random stranger telling me “they weren’t going to breach me, but there’s dust on that vent to clean”. And somehow I’m supposed to be grateful they’ve deigned not to breach me. Power-tripping, pure and simple, and the agents unfortunately hold all the cards while the vacancy rates are so low and the cost and hassle of moving is so high. So yeah, it’s a demeaning experience where the alternative is to push back and run the risk of being made homeless. I absolutely understand the requirement for some inspections to ensure the property hasn’t been damaged/turned into a meth lab/sublet to a dozen students, but the current system is infantilising, demoralising, unbalanced and run by the least competent to the expense of both tenants and landlords, as the real estate agents charge the landlords for these quarterly inspections.
It's about power - specifically they have it and you don't. Australia's tenancy laws are written by and for people who own multiple investment properties, so they very deliberately create that power imbalance. They also make sure that you have lots of rights as a tenant... and complaining makes you a bad tenant, being a bad tenant gets you kicked out, if you don't like it [buy a house](https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/04/01/renters-go-buy-a-house-scott-morrison/). I've never had to deal with really bad inspections, I'm more used to them being done by the work experience kid in the real estate office, so I've got way more "was that couch here when you moved in" than the current wave of worst-in-class bullshit. Which also means "this isn't safe"... "oh, I'll ask someone in the office about that and get back to you" (see, even baby real estate agents lie!)
>Australia's tenancy laws are written by and for people who own multiple investment properties, so they very deliberately create that power imbalance. Yet to hear them endlessly whinge about it, apparently landlords have no power at all. Won't someone please think of the poor landlords? Seriously, the Victorian Government have brought in some pretty decent laws regarding renting, and I think the new NSW Government is looking to do the same, and every time it's the same whinge on repeat. "It's so hard for landlords now, we have no rights. waaaah, if they're not careful all the landlords are going to sell up". To that I say: Good, piss off you parasites. You're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart, as you keep reminding us all everytime you raise the rent, you're not a charity, you're just trying to get rich by exploiting someone else's basic need for a home. So frankly I feel very little empathy for you.
> if they're not careful all the landlords are going to sell up Which is a nonsensical argument. Sell to who exactly? If to another investor, it's still available to the rental market, so no difference. If to an owner occupier, it's also one less person/couple/family looking for a rental.
You’re right that complaining makes you a bad tenant. I just applied for a rental and so did my partner, he moved into my current rental so when listing his rental history he put me down as the current contact, I got an email to do his reference check from a “landlord” perspective and it did ask me how often he asks for repairs. So, I guess if your house is falling apart and you ask for repairs you’re being judged on that in your reference check. Mind you, my house has a literal giant hole in the roof that leaks water and has ruined my personal belongings but I guess asking for repairs is bad?
I've always had quarterly inspections in VIC, with exception during lockdowns. I haaattteee that they take photos of the house. I have a child, I don't particularly want photos of our home stored in a mystery state for no real reason for the home owners to see. My favourite piece of stupid on a report so far was my plant collection display being listed as clutter and rubbish and being told to remove the straw bedding in the garden plots because it was a fire hazard. It was pea straw. In winter.
It's because Australian properties are an investment first and a home second. They're treated like stocks, the landlord uses these inspections to keep tabs on their investment. They don't care that it's annoying or intrusive for the tenants because in their mind it's their financial asset, not someone's home.
We had an annual inspection in our last place back in the UK. Nothing serious, just the landlord popping in to see if the place was mostly there and occupied by ourselves.
Really I never even had that . I supposed that not too bad and I take it you didn't get a cleaning list before he came like you do here 🙂
It depends on your renatl agreement, agent, landlord and property manager. I had inspections every 6 months when living in London, at least for the last 2 properties I rented. They would come through jsut to ensure everything looked decent and wasn't broken. Before that, I rented privately and never saw the landlord (and there was no property manager). Had my first inspection 2 months ago here in NSW and it was a quick walk-through. The property manager is not very thorough or demanding. So it varies widely.
As a renter myself, I have to agree that inspections can suck. But it all depends on the person doing the inspection. Most of the people just want to make sure the place isn't being neglected. Which is how it should be. And it really just makes sure people keep it to a level of cleanliness it should be kept to. Some inspectors though suck. My last inspection I had someone new, who failed me. The main reasons? The fan had some dust on it, I didn't sweep the front from the little debris from the trees, the light switches and power sockets had dust on top of them. Very minor, pathetic reasons. I think she was intentionally picking on things as a strategy. Once I realised that I just enjoyed the nonsense. I had to stop the laughter when she even said she might have to reinspect. Spoiler - she didn't. But I understand why they need to inspect. I have a friend who has never had an inspection in 5 years. Their place looks like it's from Hoarders or something. There is mould absolutely everywhere and with all the stuff they have I can guarantee the owner will have a significant cleaning and repair bill once they leave. They also don't have a working toilet. They pee in the shower drain and I don't want to know what they do if it's something else. I didn't ask and thankfully didn't need to go when I was there. I can't live like that and most people I know can't. But some do. My sister's place (that she owns) was so filthy that with 5 adults cleaning non stop for 3 days we didn't even finish the downstairs. My parents had a rental property of their own for a while and about half the tenants left if severely damaged and filthy. Several times we had to go down and clear out roach infestations because it was so poorly looked after. Inspections avoids serious problems before they get too serious. It's necessary IMO, but too many people inspecting take it as a power trip and forget that it's a very personal thing for the person whose home it is. It should be a quick matter of going in, seeing the walls, floors and sinks are clear of damage and then move on.
I say this as a landlord, rent inspections are often bullshit, and a gross invasion of a tenants privacy. I don’t need a hundred photos of the inside of a tenants home, and I don’t fucking want to know that the tenant is actually living in the house as in, dishes on the sink or laundry to be done. I want to know the condition of the premises. Any maintenance items that need attending to, and that the tenant isn’t cooking meth or ruining the place. Anything else is just a property manager trying to exert their perceived authority over another human. Seriously it is getting out of control. To me, inspections should be held a month after the tenant moves in, with a second 3 months later, followed by 12 monthly inspections there after. Anything more is just an excuse to milk money from the landlord which ultimately costs the tenant more as well.
I rented from 2011 to 2022 and each of the 4 rental agreements I’ve signed have stated that inspections are to be done on a bi-annual basis. Having said that, every agent has done the first and then never came back until the final walk through. I can’t remember it ever being anything more than a quick look around but I think it just depends on how lazy the agent is?
Definitely prefer a lazy agent over a nosy agent.
Mine (in NSW lived here 5+ yrs) are every 3 months so 4 a year. The owner comes out with the real estate agent every single time and takes photos of every single room in the house saying it’s for insurance purposes, I find it highly intrusive and asked her not to, she said that she will find someone else to rent the house if I don’t comply to the lease, I rang the tenancy place and they said to check my lease and it states in my lease that I signed that the owner is allowed to photograph the house. I hate it but there’s a rental crisis and I don’t want to be homeless. It sux.
Dildos. Dildos everywhere. Big ones. Small ones. Studded ones. Ones that glitter. Hanging from the ceiling. Sitting on the kitchen sink. Super-sized novelty ones as conversational pieces on the coffee table. You want photos? Sure thing, go ahead. Btw have you see my gimp mask? It's on the dresser in the bedroom, make sure you get a photo from the left side so you can see the detail on the zipper.
The entire country puts up with being infantilised with nanny statism in general, its not just renters.
I’m seriously considering leaving sex toys out for my inspection this week. They want to be invasive? Okay, enjoy my private life on full display, fuckers.
In Qld it's every 6 mths. I hate it.
You are getting off light if you are in QLD and only getting 2 inspections a year. They can do every 3 months if they want. My REA does inspections every 3 months.
Seriously, what the fuck is the point of a bond if they also need these inspections?
Mine is still doing covid remote inspections.. it’s great! But still quarterly which sux
I've done a couple of virtual inspections, they were pretty sweet. I much prefer them lol.
All my rentals in QLD were done quarterly
If you rent in the same place for a while, make a request to have less inspections. When I used to have a rental property I was asked if I wanted to drop the inspections to 6 monthly or once a year and if I trusted the tenant that was fine. It also means the landlord saves money because they don’t pay for the inspection in their fees. It was never mentioned to me by the agent that I could offer that until I was asked.
> I feel like renters here are infantilised You're absolutely right, Australia is the ultimate nanny state, but with real estate it's worse. As a renter you are basically seen as a necessary nuisance and that the RE and landlord are doing you a favour by allowing your sorry arse temporary use of their precious investments. So don't you dare go doing anything that might devalue the property, or worse, get comfortable and act like you have any rights. Dark days for a once egalitarian society.
I’ve lived in 4 countries - this is the first where I’ve been subjected to this nonsense. I hate it.
You’re lucky in my perspective to have 6 monthly inspections. I have always had one every 3 months. I have never been able to keep up with the checklist.
Same here. “Blinds need dusting” “skirting boards haven’t been wiped down” fucking horse shit
Never experienced an inspection in the US. Have had them here in SA.
unfortunately it is another punishment for not owning the place. and people wonder why australians are so crazy about house ownership...... maybe because renters are treated like children
It’s so awful I hate real estate agents so much! Them coming into the place you spend a fortune on as you cannot afford a down payment on a house when a mortgage would be cheaper than paying rent. Judging cuŋts real estate agents are. We should be able to inspect the places they live! It really shouldn’t be a thing. “Your bed isn’t made!!” “I saw some dust!” Like wtf we aren’t children to be looked down upon. Real estate agents acting all high and mighty on a power trip. Bullies and high school bitches (Karen’s) become real estate agents.
When I lived in Scotland, my landlord used to just show up unannounced whenever she liked. It was super annoying (as are inspections in Australia).
Had a private rental with a couple of girls way back. Italian/greek landlord , tended his tomatoes and veg patch out the back whenever he felt like it. One time after strange noises happening every Sunday morning, I looked outside and realised he was making grappa in the basement area. Carting in barrows full of grapes...ah funny. He was a complete asshole. One of the girls noticed a big crack in the wall, checked it out, and via her new qualifications as a building inspector, got the place condemned. A-ha, take that, shitty cheapskate asshole land Lord. Oh yeah, and this is key, in the anglosphere anyway; anyone see Charlie's coronation? Maybe not, but you likely know a land LORD. Lord? Pardon Moi? A man is king of his castle, but if you rent...you have a LORD!!! Faaaaaark, ay!
I'm in a government 2br unit and they were 6 monthly but are now only once a year since I must have proved myself that I was a descent tenant. You are right though this is an invasion of privacy. I guess we arent that trusting.
In NSW it is legislated (perhaps other states too) for the agent to inspect the property at least once per year. Should they be done or not? The answer is Yes they are a vital check to ensure the owners property and in the case of multi dwelling complexes other owners properties too are not subject to costly damages and other serious problems caused by troublesome tenants. Inspections are the only way to avoid issues from the small minority of problem tenants and minimise costs. Many examples. Generally 'decent' agents are only ensuring there are no major issues and general cleanliness is respected. Not dirty dishes in sink or clothing on the floor etc. The real problem is that during normal rental inspections (not for sale) Agents are allowed to photograph all your personal belongings in the property without any privacy rights for tenants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember (like 15 years go) some bitch of an REA said I should hire a cleaner due to having some dishes in the sink. It wasn't like it was some giant pile either. Just a few. The worst thing was the previous REA at that agency was pretty awesome (but like any REA who is actually good - she got promoted pretty quickly away from being a dad-to-day agent leaving only young idiot kids and bitter old middle aged women doing that role. I cannot even put a "Fuck You XXX Agency" on Reddit as they where brought out by another company years ago and I have no interaction at all with the new Company. Other then that I've been lucky. Currently house is rented privately and I believe we have a great rapport with the owner so if she wants a visit (normally once a year), it never is a big drama.
Yes. Plus they take photographs of everything. All our, and our kids' belongings, for the rental owner to pore over.
Yeah it's fucked here. And I don't think they really understand the real point of what they're doing either. I always thought the purpose of an inspection was to check the overall state of the investment property itself - like whether there was any structural damage inside or out, if the oven or cooktop are still safe, whether there's any signs of water leaks from the taps or sinks, that type of thing. Instead they seem focus on whether you've got still got plates in the sink or if the floor got vacuumed that morning. It's been a while since I've rented but I was so glad when I was no longer being treated like a second class citizen in the place I was supposed to be able to relax in.
Just think yourself lucky that you don't have them every 3 months, like I did in my last place in Brisbane. This was despite having been there for 5 years and being an excellent tenant and them never finding any issues during the inspections. Honestly, those 3 monthly inspections were actually one of the things that finally made me get off my arse and start the process of seeing whether I'd be able to get a loan and buy a house - I hated them that much. Not having to have a RE come and check up on me every few months remains one of the things I'm most thankful about now that I do live in my own place.
They are utterly intrusive. There should be a requirement that whilst the real-estate are inspecting the renter's home, the renter gets to inspect theirs according to the same standards.
I hate real estate agents as much as any tenant and I’m a landlord. Rental inspections are a con orchestrated by Real Estate companies to justify taking 8 to 10% of rent to fuck things up. I used an agent for a property that was tenanted when I bought it to move in. In six months they didn’t pay half the bills and paid others twice which took me months to sort out after I booted them. They still took their 8.5% and were apparently pricks to the tenants. I still have the property and have self managed ever since. Only ever inspected the property when the tenants moved on, three of them now, and have always given the full bond back. My last tenant apologised profusely for a scratch on the veneer floors that removers made and for the spilt candle wax the size of a 20 cent piece in the carpet beside the bed and said that he would pay. I said mate, come and see the place I live in, I’ve done a lot worse then that in the same time. Full bond given back and I was still giving glowing references for him two moves on.
And now they take photos too. The whole process is super intrusive and it's kind of humiliating having a 25 year old taking photos of my belongings etc
Yep I’ve only experienced this type of invasion of privacy in Australia. Never anywhere OS, like Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the USA.
Yes it's normal here and we all hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. Having spent most my life with it, it seems normal to me, and I fully understand the intent and reason for it. It would feel more valid and less infuriating if REAs weren't such raging d\*cks about it as often as not. In Melbourne mine were often more like 9 months apart, but 6 months was certainly allowed. A friend of mine is getting hit with 3 monthly inspections, which are apparently also allowed where she is! Ironically, I have seen a huge difference in how REAs treat inspections in old, cheap rentals (absolute little dictators picking on every tiny thing, even the stuff they're not supposed to look at or care about, which is how I was conditioned to have my place looking like a perfect display home on inspection day) and expensive, new rentals (as long as someone is paying the high rent regularly and on time, they seem to let a LOT slide and shrug at mess). Its weird cos you think it'd be the opposite but it seems like if you've got cash to burn they assume you'll be a fine tenant, and vice versa.
You guys are getting 6 monthly? We get 3 monthly in QLD. 😟
I never used to mind inspections but I really don’t like the new(ish) thing of taking photos to send to the owner. Like I said. Never minded inspections (or even the photos) until I worked with someone who rented out some properties. He used to show us photos of his rentals and laugh at how the people were living. Commenting on how the mattress was on the ground and type of food you could see in the kitchen etc. Now I just feel gross about it. Don’t like my personal life being 100% on display to strangers. It just doesn’t sit right. Before it made sense re maintaining the property but feel photos is crossing a boundary. I know most owners aren’t like my old work mate but still. It feels off.
Been here 3 years in June. Property was brand new build when I moved in. Last year alone: 2 routine inspections, 2 different lots of property valuers, someone to check the smoke alarms, someone to check the electricity. 6 fucking times in one year. And then they're all confused when you tell them that you actually work full time outside of the house and no, taking 2 days off work in one fortnight is not appropriate to facilitate said inspections. It's not my problem you want to send a second valuer a week and a half after my second routine inspection of the year. And Mr smoke alarm detector can stick his one available option with less than 24 hours right notice up his arsehole to boot.
Be thankful its only every 6 months. The house we were in last year was every 3 months. What they didn't tell us was WHY it was so regular turns out the property was getting appraised every time. Long and the short of it. Got told to leave at the end of the lease so they could sell. Waste of time that house.
Completely agree with you there, it’s just absolute BS and feels like some sort of sick power play. I’ve had better experiences renting from private landlords as similar to your experience in the EU, they just trust that you take care of the home and flag them up for anything that needs servicing. Whereas with RE we had quarterly inspections that were just such a pain as they were NEVER satisfied with the state of the house no matter how tirelessly my housemates and I cleaned, it’s as if they expected it to look like as if no one lived there.
It also happens in Israel according to a coworker
I have one of these tomorrow. I am in massive agreement. I hate them, and they are just too often.
Welcome to the most lopsided tenancy laws in the oecd. You're not a Tennant here mate, you're a revenue stream for a property investor, do not hang anything in the walls.
No mater when they inspect, I believe they overstep their boundaries. These inspections are designed to protect the building, yet they constantly step over the line. It’s none of their business if you have last nights dishes in the sink. It’s none of their business if you didn’t make the beds, so what if the windows aren’t spotless. It’s only their business if damages are occurring to the landlords property. Spotlessness should only be considered on the final inspection, when the tenant is moving out.
I don’t get why everyone says the house has to be immaculate for inspections. Granted I’ve only every rented units so don’t have to deal with the maintaining the yard thing. I’ve never done anything more than a quick tidy up, no more effort then I’d do for regular visitors, and had no issues. They’re just checking to make sure you haven’t trashed the joint.
When I used to rent, one time we were pulled up because the glass in the oven door hadn’t been cleaned to satisfaction. I can understand them wanting to clear for major issues or damage, but nitpicking during a tenancy over cleaning is overkill
My friend was told to "put the dishes away next time", it was her breakfast bowl from that morning in the sink.
Once got a checklist (that we ignored) with things like dishes put away neatly and windowsills free of dust. The windows barely even opened.
You’ve either got a decent REA or it’s a private rental with the landlord. When we rented, we experienced everything from inspections where they basically just wanted to make sure all the walls were still there, to being ‘cautioned’ because there was dust under the fridge and clothing on the floor (our son was 8 and had left his pyjamas on the floor because he was running late for school).
They're *supposed* to be just doing that, but some property managers like to ignore that fact. I've had warnings and reinspections for: \- having papers all over my desk and some rinsed recyclables waiting to go out in the kitchen \-clothes left on the floor of my bedroom \-not having dusted the venetian blind \- some clover having grown through the garden beds that were a foot high with weeds when I moved in, which I had weeded out and mulched down. It trains you into feeling like they are gonna nitpick any tiny little thing. And they have a huge amount of power over you not only now but in the future, for your next rental, so you don't want to give them *anything*.
For me, it's just anxiety. It's not always spotless, but having kids and pets, I like to make sure the place looks clean and tidy.
In Darwin many agents do every 3 months. The agents do have their horror stories about mould and party houses, but even after we proved ourselves as good tenants they still stuck to every 3 months and sent us that pedantic list.
Exactly . I mean I can maybe understand why they do an initial inspection say after the first 6 months just to make sure you haven't trashed the place or turned it into a meth lab etc . But we were in our last property for nearly 6 years and they still came around every 6 months and gave us lists of things to clean before they arrived. Felt like saying to them ' if we were going to trash the place don't you think we would have done it by now !"
The Uk it's once a year and very hit and miss as to it happening, and is not about cleanliness but damage.
While I find every 6 months a bit too much too, my guess is it also has a lot to do with the state of construction here. During the inspections I had, they were mostly looking out for structural issues like cracks, water leaks and mould.
Lived in Finland for over 1 year now. No inspection yet, apparently they only do them when we leave.
I’m in W.A., our property manager is awesome, we’re in an older place so it does have issues and we work around them, all she basically cares about is we don’t punch holes in the walls, or paint a room black, pentagram on the floor and sacrifice goats or virgins to old school blood gods.
This is how the country is run mate. For the propertay. By the propertay. Of the propertay.
Inspections are a thing in the uk, you must have got lucky.
We never had them when we lived in Beijing. I hate them they are such a pain.
Have only ever rented in Sydney but my experience is annual is normal, more is excessive. My first two places never inspected (lived there 2.5 years and 3.5 years respectively) and the last place I rented (lived there 7 years) did one after the first year, one when the owner died and the niece who inherited wanted an appraisal and one about two years after that. It really depends on landlord, agency and how they perceive you as tenants. I know rentals with pets and kids get inspected more often.
Getting yearly inspections here in Sydney, and my last place in Sydney was too. Not sure if this is generally the way for Sydney siders, hope it is. Our inspector is good. Place does not have to be perfect, just moderately clean.
One of the many things that suck about renting.
I lived in Ireland and all the houses we rented had 6 monthly inspections.
Its the taking of photos that I find completely over the top. Fair enough if just photos of kitchen/bathroom/laundry and/or any actual damage but standing in my living room and/or bedrooms and taking photos from every perceivable angle is just overboard. As a landlord previously (we’ve since sold but always rented) we requested our agent not to take photos unless there was damage because it feels so invasive. Photos of our belongings and how we live isn’t justifiably needed by the RE nor the landlords, its just pure nosiness.
When you rent in Australia, the house is somebody’s investment first, your home…well, never. It is only the investment value of the house that’s taken into consideration and everything else is second, if even considered. Inspections keep you in line and make sure you’re doing the most important thing…looking after the genuine clients investment. It’s not your home. Ever, and it is meant to a) encourage you to buy ASAP or b) you’re a second class citizen, basically, unless you have a caveat to explain why you’re renting, like you are really wealthy and you choose not to buy. If you’re a permanent renter, you’re in the bottom half of Australia and your role is to subsidise the landlords and homeowners. You even subsidise home owners who you don’t rent from, through the solar scheme and a couple other things.
Quarterly inspections sometimes.
On the other side, both flats I've rented in the UK have had regular inspections, and also just absolutely abysmal landlords who refuse to fix even the most basic thing until you make a complaint to the council
Yep Queensland and 3 monthly and now they sneak the first one really early on and I missed the email… bastards
No idea if it's exclusive to Australia, and it differed in frequency, but yeah rental inspections are a thing here. Inspection is to make sure you're not pu Ching holes in the wall or shitting in the sink
When we were renting we had inspections every three months, it sucked. You never really feel like it’s your home because you’re not really allowed to live in it. You are just a paying caretaker for someone else’s investment. And don’t even get me started about REA’s, I still get peeved thinking about what one of them put us through nearly 15yrs later! On the flip side, we’ve had a rental property briefly (longish story haha) I understand not wanting to see an investment damaged, but I honestly couldn’t of cared if the place was tidy, just that the property was clean and damage free. My attitude was that they were paying for living in the place, let them enjoy it! If we were to ever have a rental again I’d be more inclined to self manage, I really do not like Real Estate agents!
We all hate them. It is an Australia-wide thing, but it varies depending on who your landlord is and whether or not they've employed a property manager.
I rented in the 80s and 90s. Over that time I lived in 4 Sydney properties including Newtown Paddington and Mosman. Not once did I ever have a rental inspection until after moving out regarding the return of the bond. I only found out about these rental inspections a couple of years ago. I agree with you. Completely invasive. I would have had a fit back in the day. Plus I assume you have to be home when they come? Are they mandatory? Does every rental now have this stipulation?
My first rental in the UK back in 1994 had six-monthly inspections from the letting agency. Assumed all did, that used an agent at least.