An owner calls about a leak, and your last report says the bathroom was fine. How that call goes depends on the routine inspection checklist your team used on the day. A good one covers each room in the same order, notes what the tenant says and ends in a report the owner can act on. Use the one below as your agency template or test yours against it.
The Routine Inspection Checklist, Room by Room
A routine inspection checks the condition of a rental property and whether the lease is being kept. It is a visual check. It is not a building report or a safety certificate.
When I recorded my Hey Tiff episode on routine inspections, this is the order I gave: “Start with the exterior look and take a look at the roof, all of the outdoor areas, the gutters, the fencing.” Then, “move on inside and inspect each room, focusing on walls, ceilings, floors, windows and of course all of the appliances.”
For property managers, the value is in the sameness. Load the list below into your inspection app as your template, so your team follows one order and one rating scale. Rate each item as you go: Good, Attention Required or Urgent. Adapt the list for houses, units and townhouses.
Outside and Entry
Kitchen
Living Areas and Hallways
Bedrooms
Bathrooms and Toilets
Laundry
Garage and Storage
Yard and Gardens
Lease Terms
Safety Items
Stop Writing Inspection Reports at 9pm.
A dedicated PMVA virtual assistant handles the admin around each inspection, from entry notice to owner report, inside your own software. Your property manager still walks the property.
I also said on the show: “Don’t forget to check safety features like smoke alarms and any fire extinguishers.” Record what you can see and pass on the rest. Where a safety check or certificate is needed, a qualified trade or inspector does it.
The rules also differ by state. In Queensland, the RTA says each rental home classed as a domestic dwelling must have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms. In New South Wales, landlords must check smoke alarms every year. Check the rule for the property’s state before you mark this part done.
Talk to the Tenant
- Asked the tenant about any repairs or problems
- Noted anything the tenant raised, even if you could not see it
- Confirmed the best way to contact them about follow-up
I put it this way: “Engage with your tenants while you’re there.” Talking to them is “your chance to catch problems early and keep your tenants super happy.”
The visit is also part of the relationship. In the same episode, I said regular inspections “can also strengthen your relationships with your tenants”.
Why Routine Inspections Matter to the Owner and Your Rent Roll
A routine inspection shows how well a home is being looked after. As I said in the same episode, inspecting “prevents any small issues from becoming costly big problems”. It can also “give you a clear picture of how your property is being maintained”.
For property managers, the report is where the owner sees that work. I say it plainly when I talk about margins: “If landlords aren’t happy, they’ll leave and replacing them costs time and money.”
Inspections can also pay their way. In the same episode, I listed “routine inspection fees” among fees to add. A fee is easier to justify when the work is done well each time.
Notice and Frequency Rules by State
There is no national rule. Each state and territory sets how much notice you give and how often you can inspect. The table below was checked against each regulator or the Act in September 2026.
| State or Territory | Notice | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | At least 7 days, in writing | Up to 4 times in 12 months |
| Victoria | 7 days, in writing | Not in the first 3 months, then every 6 months at most |
| Queensland | At least 7 days, on an Entry notice (Form 9) | Not more than once every 3 months, unless the tenant agrees in writing |
| Western Australia | 7 to 14 days, in writing | No more than 4 times a year |
| South Australia | 7 to 28 days, in writing | 4 times a year, unless SACAT orders otherwise |
| Tasmania | At least 24 hours | Once every 3 months, plus one within the first month |
| Northern Territory | At least 7 days | Once every 3 months, unless the agreement sets a longer gap |
| ACT | At least 1 week, in writing | Twice in each 12 months from the start of the tenancy, plus once in the first month and once in the final month |
For property managers running more than one state, three details are easy to miss:
- Victoria: No general inspection in the first 3 months, then one every 6 months at most. A quarterly cycle breaks the rule.
- Western Australia and South Australia: Both set a window rather than a floor. A notice sent too early does not meet the rule.
- Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory: These are gaps between inspections, not yearly totals. Book from the date of the last inspection, not the calendar year.
Entry hours and days differ by state too, so set run times against the rule for each property. As I have said on compliance, “Property laws change regularly.” Check the regulator’s page before you rely on a figure.
My guide to routine inspection notice periods goes deeper on each rule.
Before You Arrive: Schedule, Notice and Preparation
A lot of the work of a good inspection happens before anyone reaches the front door.
Build the Month’s Run
At the start of each month, list the properties due. Check each one against its state’s rules and the date of its last inspection. Group properties that sit close together into the same run. It cuts travel and leaves time for each visit.
Our assistants build these runs for clients, month by month. Your team still confirms each date against the state’s rules.
Send the Notice the Right Way
Send the notice the property’s state requires, in the form it requires. In Queensland, that is the Entry notice (Form 9). Send it from your property management software.
That way the tenancy file holds a record of what went out and when. A reminder by text or email a day or two before helps the tenant plan.
Review the Lease and the Last Report
My inspections episode also covers preparation: “Before you even step foot on the property, preparation is key.”
For property managers, the last report is the one to beat. Open it before you leave the office and list what was flagged. On site, check whether each item was fixed.
Take these with you:
- Last report: The previous inspection report and any open work orders
- Lease terms: Special terms such as pets, garden care or approved changes
- Checklist: Loaded in your inspection app
- Tools: The keys and a charged phone or camera
During the Visit: What to Record and How
Work through the checklist in order, recording clear notes and photos as you go. This gives your team or PMVA assistant what they need to prepare the report and follow-up actions.
Rate Each Item the Same Way
Use the three ratings on every item. Anything rated Attention Required or Urgent gets a photo and a short note.
Write what you saw, not a verdict. “Needs cleaning” tells the owner nothing. “Black mould along the shower grout, spreading into the silicone” tells them what to approve.
Park Stray Tasks Without Losing the Report
Other jobs will come to mind as you walk through. In my book, From Stress to Success in Property Management, I call these open loops: “An open loop can jump into your mind at any time, like when shopping or when conducting a property inspection.” The Gather List is one running list for every open task. My fix is to keep yours on your phone and drop each one straight into it, then go back to the checklist.
Photos and the Tenant’s Privacy
A routine inspection is about the property and the lease, not the tenant’s belongings. Photos help the report, but the rules around them differ by state.
- Queensland: The RTA calls it common practice to take a few photos for the report, especially where there are repairs or damage to address. Using photos of a tenant’s things in an advert needs their written permission.
- South Australia: The tenant must get 7 days’ written notice if photos or video may capture their possessions and are for later distribution or public publishing.
- Western Australia: Regulator guidance is that tenant and landlord both agree to the photos and their accuracy at the time of inspection.
- Northern Territory: The inspection must be carried out in the presence of the tenant. The exceptions are when the tenant refuses to attend, waives that right in writing or is absent at the scheduled time. An emergency is also an exception.
This is not every state. Check the regulator’s page for the property’s state before you send the entry notice. Check again before any photo is used outside the report.
Frame each photo on the fixture or the damage, not on the room’s contents. It gives the owner what they need and keeps the tenant’s life out of the file.
After the Visit: Reports Owners Read and Act On
Next comes the report. My episode on inspections puts it plainly: “Document everything in photos and notes”. After that, share a detailed report with the owner and your team.
For property managers, a report in three parts is easy for an owner to read:
- Summary: One short paragraph on the overall state of the home, with any urgent items first
- Room notes: Each rating in plain words, with photos for anything that needs work
- Action list: Each issue, the fix, who does it and a target date
A report that arrives weeks after the visit is harder for an owner to act on. Set a standard for how soon reports go out and track it each month.
Close the Loop on Repairs
Each item on the action list becomes a work order, with owner approval where the spend needs it. Urgent repairs follow your state’s rules and your own escalation steps. Other repairs are done in the time your state and your agency set. The completion date, cost and a photo go on the file.
The episode’s checklist ends here: “Finally, make sure you schedule any necessary repairs or follow-up inspections.” My book has a rule called Double Your Time, with work order follow-up as its example. “If you have thirty minutes allocated to follow up maintenance work orders, then plan for sixty minutes.”
The spare time covers interruptions. Build that into the week, and the cycle holds: inspect, record, act, confirm and file.
Feed the Next Tenancy
When a tenancy ends, the same records feed your end of tenancy process. Pair this list with a property management turnover checklist. What you find at each visit then shapes how the home is readied for the next tenant.
Keeping Inspections Consistent When Your Team Changes
A checklist works best when everyone reads it alike. We saw this with Sarah, Head of Property Management for a large Canberra agency.
In her case study video, she described the problem: “When you’ve got so many different people in the office, everyone does things a different way. Everyone will read a checklist a different way.” With PMVA, she said, they now have “a very consistent process”.
Consistency is also your evidence. Sarah put it this way: “I know where things are up to, I know what documents have been saved, I know that we’ve got our evidence in certain situations.”
She said important tasks kept happening in the background as property managers changed. Audits and inspections were among them. Her case study adds that new team members “can focus on clients rather than auditing their portfolios.”
What to Hand Over and What Stays With Your Property Manager
Inspection day has two parts: the visit and the admin around it. The visit needs your property manager on site, but much of the admin does not. That admin is where things tend to slip. It also grows with your rent roll.
My book puts it this way: “A routine inspection is a routine inspection, and maintenance is maintenance.” The basics stay the same whether you manage a hundred homes or a thousand. As I wrote, “It’s the volume of work that changes.” In our introduction video, I say, “With a lack of consistency, all too often our clients come to us with problems around compliance and legislation.”
A PMVA assistant can take on this admin inside your own software:
- Scheduling: Building each month’s run for your team to confirm
- Notices: Preparing and sending entry notices to the timing your team sets, plus reminders
- Reports: Turning your property manager’s notes and photos into a report in your template
- Owner updates: Sending the signed-off report to the owner
- Work orders: Raising work orders in your software for the repairs your team approves, then tracking them
These stay with your agency:
- The visit: Your property manager walks the property and makes every call on site
- Decisions: Repairs, spend and any breach stay with your team
- The duty: Giving proper notice and keeping within your state’s limits stays with your agency, not the assistant
One of our assistants describes the inspection letters as a standing task. They go out on a fixed schedule, without the agency having to ask each time. In my compliance episode, I said our assistants help “track maintenance requests and follow up on safety checks”.
In our records, each PMVA assistant completes more than 200 hours of property management training before they support an agency. That training runs in our own academy. You do not need to tidy your processes first. Our Australian consultants map your inspection cycle with you, meeting twice a week for the first six weeks.
Read more about real estate outsourcing with PMVA. Or use a strategy session to map which parts of your inspection cycle could move.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Goes on a Routine Inspection Checklist?
Check each room’s walls, ceilings, floors, windows and fixtures. Add the kitchen appliances, wet areas and the outside of the home. Then add safety items like smoke alarms and a line for what the tenant raised. Rate each item and use one checklist across your team so each report can be compared with the last.
How Often Can You Do a Routine Inspection in Australia?
New South Wales allows four in 12 months, and Western Australia and South Australia four a year. Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory set a three-month gap, with some exceptions. Victoria allows one every six months, but none in the first three. The ACT allows two in each tenancy year, plus one each in the first and final months.
Can a Property Manager Take Photos During a Routine Inspection?
Yes, photos are common, but the rules differ by state. In South Australia, for example, the rule covers photos or video taken to share or publish later. If they might show the tenant’s things, the tenant needs 7 days’ written notice. In Western Australia, tenant and landlord are meant to agree at the inspection that photos can be taken and are accurate.
What Is the Difference Between a Routine Inspection and an Entry Condition Report?
An entry condition report records the property’s condition at the start of a tenancy. A routine inspection checks it during the tenancy. Compare what you see against the entry report and the last inspection report. That is how you tell new damage apart from wear that was there when the tenancy began.
Can a Virtual Assistant Do the Routine Inspection?
No, your property manager does the visit and makes the judgement calls. Our assistants build the schedule and send entry notices and reminders on your team’s timing. They turn what your property manager recorded on site into the report. Once your team signs it off, they send it to the owner.
Keep the Visit Simple and the Admin Moving
A routine inspection checklist protects you when each property manager uses it the same way. With the order, the notice and the report settled, the visit becomes the simple part. The time goes on the admin around it. Book a strategy session and we will walk through your inspection cycle with you.
Find Out How Outsourcing Can Work in Your Business
Having a dedicated Virtual Assistant in your real estate business can open the door to a variety of new strategies. Learn how you can grow beyond your current limits by booking a private consultation with our CEO, Tiffany Bowtell now.
