How often can a landlord do a routine inspection in Queensland?

No more than once every 3 months, unless the tenant agrees in writing to more frequent inspections. The RTA's Entry notice (Form 9) puts it as an inspection not within 3 months of the previous entry. The first routine inspection can be carried out at any time after the tenancy agreement has commenced, as long as the tenant gets the required notice.

How much notice does a Queensland landlord have to give for a routine inspection?

A minimum of 7 days, in writing, on an Entry notice (Form 9). The notice can set a specific time or a 2-hour window, for example between 9am and 11am. Entry on a Sunday, a public holiday or between 6pm and 8am needs the tenant's agreement. For rooming accommodation the notice is a Form R9 with a minimum of 48 hours.

What can a landlord check at a routine inspection in Queensland?

The RTA describes a routine inspection as a chance to check for water leaks, evidence of pests, and damage or deterioration to the property, to ensure inclusions and fixtures are working, and to look at future maintenance items. If the inspection shows a significant breach of the agreement, the owner can issue a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11). A routine inspection is not a licence to go through the tenant's belongings, and photos of the tenant's possessions can only be used with the tenant's written agreement.

Does the tenant have to be home for a routine inspection?

No. The RTA says tenants do not have to be present for an entry unless it is a condition of an agreed entry, but it recommends the owner or manager enters at a time the tenant can be present. The owner or manager must take reasonable steps to ensure the tenant has quiet enjoyment of the property, and entering without a valid notice or outside the stated time is an offence with a maximum of 20 penalty units.

Routine inspection rules in QLD: how often, how much notice, and the earliest date for your next one

Written for Queensland owners who manage their own rental. Checked against the Residential Tenancies Authority's routine inspections page, its rules of entry fact sheet and its Entry notice (Form 9) page on 1 November 2026. Links to the official source are under each section.

The short version. You can do a routine inspection no more than once every 3 months, unless the tenant agrees in writing to more. Each one needs a written Entry notice (Form 9, version v20 dated 13 November 2025) given at least 7 days ahead. The notice can name a specific time or a 2-hour window. Entry on a Sunday, a public holiday or between 6pm and 8am needs the tenant's agreement. The first inspection can happen at any time after the tenancy starts. At the inspection you check the property, not the tenant: leaks, pests, damage, deterioration, whether fixtures and inclusions work, and what maintenance is coming up. Enter without a valid notice, or outside the notice, and it is an offence.

The rules for a routine inspection

Once every 3 months at most. The RTA says routine inspections "cannot be carried out more than once every 3 months (unless the tenant agrees in writing)". The Form 9 table words it as an inspection "not within 3 months of previous entry". Less often is fine; many self-managing owners settle on every 3 to 6 months.
7 days written notice on a Form 9. The RTA says the tenant "must be given a minimum of 7 days' notice for entry, using an Entry notice (Form 9)". The current form is v20 dated 13 November 2025. The notice is completed by you and given to the tenant; it is not sent to the RTA.
A set time or a 2-hour window. The RTA's routine inspections page says entry "can be at a specific time or a property manager/owner can give a 2-hour window (e.g. entry to occur between 9-11am)". The 2-hour window is compulsory for entries to show the property to buyers or new tenants; for an inspection it is your choice, but a window is kinder to the tenant and to your own timing.
8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, unless agreed. The fact sheet: the owner or manager "can only enter the premises on a Sunday, public holiday, or between 6pm and 8am with the tenant's agreement".
The first inspection can be early. The RTA says the first routine inspection "can be carried out at any time after the tenancy agreement has commenced", with the 7 days notice. Around the 6 to 8 week mark is common; it catches problems while they are still small.
The tenant does not have to be home. The fact sheet says tenants "do not have to be present for an entry unless it is a condition of an agreed entry", but the RTA "recommends the owner/manager enters at a time the tenant can be present". Offer a time that works for them first.
Rooming accommodation is different. An Entry notice (Form R9) with a minimum of 48 hours notice for a resident's room; common areas can be entered at any reasonable time.

Source: RTA, Routine inspections, RTA, Rules of entry fact sheet and RTA, Entry notice (Form 9)

Work out the earliest date for your next inspection

Enter the date of the last routine inspection (leave it blank if this is the first) and the day the tenant will receive the Form 9. The tool applies the 3-month limit and the 7-day notice and gives you the later of the 2.

Date of the last routine inspection (leave blank for a first inspection) Day the tenant receives the Form 9 How you are giving it

A date helper, not legal advice. The RTA says an inspection cannot be "within 3 months of previous entry", so the tool takes the day after 3 calendar months have passed. It counts the 7 days from the day after the notice is received, and for post from the day after that, following the RTA's rule that a posted notice counts from the day after it reaches the property. It moves a Sunday to the Monday because Sunday entry needs the tenant's agreement. It does not know public holidays, so check those yourself.

Giving the Form 9 so the 7 days actually count

Hand, post, email or text. The RTA lists all 4 as ways of giving a notice. Email only counts if your tenancy agreement provides for electronic notices (the box on the Form 18a). What you send has to be the completed Form 9, not a one-line message.
Post starts the clock later. A posted notice counts from the day after it reaches the property, so allow delivery time on top. For a 7-day notice, hand delivery or email is the simpler choice.
Fill in every box. Reason for entry (inspection), the date, and either the time or the 2-hour window. A notice missing the time is not a valid notice.
Keep a copy and a record of how you gave it. Sent email, timestamped letterbox photo, or a note of the handover. If the tenant later disputes the entry, that record is your answer.
Tenant asks to change the time? Agree where you can. An entry by mutual agreement can be at any agreed time, including outside the usual hours, and keeps the relationship intact.

The entry notice rules page covers service and timing in detail, including the RTA's worked example for 48-hour notices and an earliest entry time calculator.

Source: RTA, Rules of entry fact sheet and RTA, Allowing time when serving notices

Every reason for entry and its notice period

A routine inspection is 1 of 15 entry reasons on the Form 9. The periods below are quoted from the RTA's Form 9 page.

Reason	Minimum notice
Inspection (general tenancies)	7 days, unless agreed, and not within 3 months of previous entry
Inspection, short tenancy caravan park	48 hours, unless agreed, and not within 3 months of previous entry
Routine repairs and maintenance	48 hours
To inspect or check repairs	48 hours, within 2 weeks of the repairs being done
Repairs where the property is remote and there is a shortage of tradespeople	No notice required
Smoke alarms: install, maintain or replace	48 hours
Safety switches: install, repair or maintain	48 hours
Show prospective purchasers or tenants	At least 48 hours, and reasonable time since the last entry for the same reason. A 2-hour window is compulsory. Purchasers need a Form 10 first
Valuation	48 hours
Suspected abandonment	48 hours
Check the tenant has remedied a significant breach	48 hours, within 2 weeks of the Form 11 expiring
Mutual agreement	At the agreed time
Emergency	No notice required
To protect the property from imminent or further damage	No notice required

2 limits sit on top of the table. Once a Notice to leave (Form 12) or Notice of intention to leave (Form 13) has been given, the RTA says you "cannot enter the property more than 2 times within a 7-day period", with exceptions for mutual agreement, smoke alarm and safety switch compliance, and entry to prevent imminent or further damage. And the routine inspections page says those entry limits apply "regardless of when" the Form 12 or 13 is issued, including a routine inspection in the final weeks.

Source: RTA, Entry notice (Form 9), RTA, Rules of entry fact sheet and RTA, Routine inspections

What to look at during the inspection

The RTA describes the purpose of a routine inspection in plain terms: check for "any water leaks, evidence of pests, damage or deterioration to the property", ensure "any inclusions and property fixtures are working", and look at "any future maintenance items that may need to be addressed". A practical walk-through:

Wet areas. Under sinks, around the shower screen and bath, behind the toilet, the laundry taps, the hot water system. Water damage is the expensive one and it starts small.
Walls, ceilings and windows. Mould, damp patches, cracks, window locks and latches, flyscreens. Working locks on reachable doors and windows and a property free of damp and mould are part of the minimum housing standards every tenancy has had to meet since 1 September 2024, so an inspection is the natural time to confirm them.
Fixtures and inclusions. Oven, cooktop, range hood, air conditioning, ceiling fans, exhaust fans, blinds, the dishwasher if it came with the property. Note anything the tenant reports as faulty and arrange the repair.
Smoke alarms. Look, do not dismantle. Alarm maintenance is its own 48-hour entry reason, and the tenant is responsible for the yearly test and battery changes during the tenancy. If an alarm is missing, beeping or over 10 years old, book the work with a separate notice. The smoke alarm page has the dates.
Outside. Gutters, downpipes, fences and gates, the pool fence and gate if there is one, trees near the roof, retaining walls, taps.
Pests. Droppings, termite mud trails, ant lines, cockroaches. Pest control for the structure is yours; infestations caused by the tenant are theirs.
Write it down and date it. A short report with dated photos of the property (not the tenant's belongings) is what you will rely on at the end of the tenancy and in any bond claim.

Source: RTA, Routine inspections and RTA, Minimum housing standards

What you must not do

Turn up without a valid notice, early, or outside the stated time. Unlawful entry under section 202 of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 carries a maximum of 20 penalty units. A Queensland penalty unit is $172.70 from 1 July 2026, so that is up to $3,454 for an individual. Interfering with the tenant's quiet enjoyment under section 183 carries the same maximum. The RTA prosecutes: a Gold Coast agency was fined $10,000 plus costs in July 2025 over unlawful entry and privacy breaches.
Inspect more often than every 3 months. Unless the tenant has agreed in writing. A tenant who agreed once has not agreed forever.
Go through the tenant's things. You are inspecting the property. Cupboards that belong to the property can be opened to check for leaks and damage; drawers full of the tenant's possessions are not yours to search.
Photograph the tenant's belongings for use elsewhere. Photos that show a tenant's possessions can only be used, including in advertising, if the tenant agrees in writing. Using them without consent is a separate offence with a maximum of 20 penalty units. Photograph walls, floors, fittings and damage.
Treat the inspection as a surprise test. The tenant is entitled to live there. Ordinary wear, a full sink or an unmade bed is not a breach. Damage, hazards and unapproved animals are.
Push past a refusal. If the tenant blocks a valid entry, the path is a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11), then RTA dispute resolution, then QCAT if needed. Not force.

Source: RTA, List of offences under the Act (PDF), RTA, Agency fined $10,000 for unlawful entry (July 2025) and RTA, Rules of entry fact sheet

After the inspection

Found a significant breach? The RTA says that if a routine inspection finds a significant breach of the agreement, the owner or manager may issue a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11). Common examples are unapproved pets, damage beyond wear and tear, and more people living there than the agreement allows. The breach notice page has the Form 11 steps and timing; the pet rules page covers an unapproved animal.
Found a repair? Routine repairs need a separate 48-hour notice for the tradesperson's visit, and you can check the work with another 48-hour notice within 2 weeks of it being done. Emergency repairs (burst pipe, gas leak, dangerous electrical fault, a failed hot water system) are a no-notice entry.
Found nothing? Tell the tenant. A 2-line email saying the property is in good order is worth more to the relationship than most owners realise, and it is a dated record.
Book the next one. Put the earliest next date from the tool above in your calendar, or let us email it to you. The usual trap is drifting from every 3 months to every 9 because nothing prompted you.

Source: RTA, Routine inspections and RTA, Entry notice (Form 9)

The mistakes self-managing landlords make with inspections

Texting "I'll pop round Saturday". Not a Form 9, not valid notice. Send the form.
Counting 7 days from when you sent it, not when it arrived. Post in particular: the clock starts the day after the letter reaches the property.
Arriving at 7:30pm because that is when the tenant is home. Fine if the tenant agreed. Without that agreement, 6pm is the cut-off.
Inspecting the tenant. Judging housekeeping instead of checking the property. It sours the tenancy and it is not what the entry is for.
No report, no photos. You will need both at the end of the tenancy and the inspection is the only lawful routine look you get.
Going months without one. The 3-month rule is a ceiling, but a leak found at 3 months costs a fraction of one found at 12.

The next inspection is 1 of about 30 dates you are meant to track

Inspection windows, smoke alarm tests, rent increase dates, bond lodgement, pet request deadlines, notice periods, fixed-term end dates. The free Landlord Minder checklist puts every Queensland date and obligation on 1 page with a link to the official source for each.

Read the free checklist Get reminded before each date

Frequently asked

Is it 3 months from the last inspection or 3 months from any entry?
The Form 9 table says "not within 3 months of previous entry", and the routine inspections page says inspections cannot be "more than once every 3 months". The tool counts from your last routine inspection, which is the common-sense reading. A repair visit in between is a different entry reason and does not reset the inspection clock.

Can the tenant agree to a shorter notice period?
Yes. The Form 9 table lists the inspection notice as "7 days, unless agreed", and an entry by mutual agreement can be at any agreed time. Get the agreement in writing, even a text reply, and keep it.

Can I inspect on a Saturday?
Yes, between 8am and 6pm. Sundays and public holidays need the tenant's agreement.

Can I bring a tradesperson to the routine inspection?
If you want work done, that is a repairs entry with its own 48-hour notice, which you can give at the same time as the inspection notice. Note the Form 9 has 1 reason per notice.

The tenant has just been given a notice to leave. Can I still inspect?
Yes, within the limits: still 7 days notice, still not within 3 months of the last inspection, and no more than 2 entries in any 7-day period while the notice runs, which is where showings to new tenants compete for slots.

What if the tenant refuses to let me in?
If your notice is valid, the tenant blocking entry is a breach. The RTA's path is to talk, then a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11), then RTA dispute resolution, then QCAT. Do not enter by force or use your key against the tenant's objection while they are there.

This page is general information, not legal advice. It summarises public information from the Residential Tenancies Authority and the Queensland Government. Check the linked official source or get professional advice before you act. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Sign up and reply to the welcome email, and it will be fixed.